The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
Accidents by Thalassophryne nattereri fish venom are characterised by severe local symptoms and signs including pain of fast onset, oedema and necrosis with impaired muscle regeneration. These effects have been related to alterations in hemostatic mechanisms and cytolytic effects rather than to conventional inflammatory pathways. In this work we evaluated the effects induced by the venom on microcirculatory...
Tourniquet use, which localises necrotising snake venom to the bite site, is suspected to exacerbate local necrosis. In view of this, the effect of immediate active movement on the outcome of necrotising snake venom injection was investigated in mice. A minimal macroscopic necrotic dose of Bitis arietans venom (2.5μg) was administered subcutaneously into the dorsum of the right hind feet of 40 mice...
The possible tumor growth- and metastasis-inhibiting effects of bee venom in mice and in tumor cell cultures were studied. The tumor was a transplantable mammary carcinoma (MCa) of CBA mouse. Intravenous administration of bee venom to mice significantly reduced the number of metastases in the lung. However, subcutaneous administration of bee venom did not reduce the number of lung metastases, indicating...
Freshwater stingrays are very common in the Parana, Paraguay, Araguaia, and Tocantins Rivers and tributaries in Brazil. This study presents the clinical aspects of 84 patients injured by freshwater stingrays. Intense pain was the most conspicuous symptom. Skin necrosis was observed in a high percentage of the victims, mostly fishermen and bathers. The initial therapeutic procedures, like immersion...
Lys49 phospholipase A 2 homologues are abundant in viperid snake venoms. These proteins have substitutions at the calcium-binding loop and catalytic center which render them enzymatically inactive; however, they display a series of toxic activities, particularly cytotoxicity upon various cell lines in vitro. In this study we explored whether myotoxin II (MT-II), a Lys49 phospholipase A ...
We investigated the impact of highly purified Haemophilus ducreyi cytolethal distending toxin (HdCDT) on the apoptosis and necrosis of various human cells; including myeloid cells, epithelial cells, keratinocytes, and primary fibroblasts. The levels of apoptosis and necrosis induced in these cells were compared to those induced by HdCDT in human T cells and in the Jurkat T cell line. Levels of caspase-3...
Cobra cardiotoxins (CTXs) are basic polypeptides with diverse pharmacological functions that are cytotoxic to many different cell types through both necrotic and apoptotic cell death pathways. In this comparative study of the action of CTX A3 from the Taiwan cobra (Naja atra) on fetal rat cardiomyocytes and cortical neurons, it was shown that CTX A3 induced different patterns of elevation of intracellular...
Phytoplanktivorous bighead carp were injected i.p. with extracted microcystins (mainly MC-RR and -LR) at two doses, 200 and 500MC-LReq.μgkg −1 bw, and the changes in extractable MCs in liver and in the ultrastructure of hepatocytes were studied at 1, 3, 12, 24 and 48h after injection. Quantitative and qualitative determinations of MCs in the liver were conducted by HPLC and LC-MS, respectively...
A catalytically-inactive Lys49 phospholipase A 2 homologue from the venom of the snake Bothrops asper induces diverse effects (necrosis, apoptosis and proliferation) in a lymphoblastoid cell line, depending on the toxin concentration. The increments in cytosolic Ca 2+ levels induced by this toxin in this cell line were assessed. At high toxin concentration (100μg/mL) the toxin induces...
Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is a cyanobacterial alkaloid that has been implicated in outbreaks of human morbidity and animal mortality. The principal mode of action for CYN is inhibition of protein and glutathione synthesis, and its toxicity seems to be mediated by cytochrome P-450-generated metabolites. It was also shown that CYN might be responsible for tumor initiation in animals; nevertheless, mechanisms...
Complete blood counts are used frequently by physicians to assess and manage the development of complications of diseases. We studied 100 patients bitten by Bothrops jararaca snakes, and correlated their haematological values with the severity of envenoming and the development of complications. Patients who developed both local and systemic bleeding showed a greater drop in packed cell volume, red...
Bites by the brown spider (Loxosceles spp.) are an important health problem in South America, where three species predominate (Loxosceles laeta, Loxosceles gaucho, Loxosceles intermedia). Brown spider bites (loxoscelism) induce a block of cutaneous necrosis and, less commonly, may cause fatal systemic poisoning. A variety of controversial protocols are used to treat loxoscelism, while treatment with...
Crude preparations as well as purified components of venoms isolated from American, Asian and European snakes have been shown to inhibit the growth of some mouse and human cancer cell lines. However, it is not known if Cerastes cerastes venom (CCV) obtained from the Egyptian desert possesses any anti-tumor activity. In the present study we examined in vitro the effect of CCV on the growth rate and...
We aimed to study the histological and cytological alterations induced by cylindrospermopsin (CYN), a protein synthesis inhibitory cyanotoxin in roots of common reed (Phragmites australis). Reed is an ecologically important emergent aquatic macrophyte, a model for studying cyanotoxin effects. We analyzed the histology and cytology of reed roots originated from tissue cultures and treated with 0.5–40μgml...
Studies of genotoxicity in fish caused by cyanobacterial extracts containing microcystins (MCs) can be useful in determining their carcinogenic risk due to a genotoxic mechanism. An extract of cyanobacterial Microcystis ssp, containing MC-LR and -LA from a bloom collected in a eutrophic lake, showed genotoxicity to Oreochromis niloticus. DNA damage (comet assay) was significantly induced in peripheral...
Loxosceles spiders are found globally, especially in South and North America. In Brazil, approximately 10,000 cases of Loxosceles spp. spider bites are reported annually. Herein we analyzed 81 patients diagnosed as either cutaneous or cutaneous-hemolytic loxoscelism, in a geographical area where most accidents are caused by Loxosceles gaucho, and we report their clinical and laboratory data obtained...
Injuries caused by freshwater stingrays are characterized by intense pain and pathological changes at the lesion site, including oedema, erythema and, in most cases, necrosis. In this study, the systemic myotoxic activity induced by mucus extracts from the dorsal region and stinger of the stingrays Plesiotrygon iwamae and Potamotrygon motoro was described, analysed and quantified. Twenty-four hours...
Diplodiosis, a neuromycotoxicosis of cattle and sheep grazing on mouldy cobs infected by Stenocarpella maydis, is considered the last major veterinary mycotoxicosis for which the causative mycotoxin is still unknown. The current study was aimed at characterizing the cell death observed in mouse neuroblastoma (Neuro-2a), Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) and Madin–Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cell lines...
Cyanobacteria are a rich source of biologically active compounds used in pharmacology and biotechnology. Due to their high capacity of adaptation, which is reflected in the production of diverse metabolites, including toxins, these microorganisms are able to inhabit very different environments. In this work, water and ethanol extracts from 11 cyanobacterial strains derived from the Baltic Sea (Microcystis,...
Tityus serrulatus is the scorpion specie responsible for the majority of scorpion sting accidents in Brazil. Symptoms of envenomation by Tityus serrulatus range from local pain to severe systemic reactions such as cardiac dysfunction and pulmonary edema. Thus, this study has evaluated the participation of bronchial epithelial cells in the pulmonary effects of Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom (Tsv)...
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.