Protective Effectiveness of an Immunization Protocol Against the Toxic Effects ofVenom in Rabbits.

Abstract

spp. (brown spiders) bites are responsible for the development of a syndrome consisting mainly of dermonecrotic lesions, and also systemic effects. Rabbits are one of the main experimental models used for better understanding the systemic and local effects ofvenom. The aim of this study is to evaluate the toxic and protective effects of rabbits immunized withspp. venom. Male New Zealand rabbits were allocated as a control group (CG;= 5) that received adjuvant (Montanide) and phosphate-buffer saline (PBS), or as venom group (VG;= 5) that received 21 μg ofvenom using Montanide as adjuvant. After five immunization cycles, a trial with 7 μg of(.) venom was performed, and dermonecrotic lesions were measured. The rabbits were then euthanized, and their organs were collected for histopathology analysis. Rabbits that had undergonevenom immunization protocol showed minor clinical disturbances during the experimental period. The used immunization protocol protected the rabbits against the toxic effect of thevenom because they showed minor clinical disturbances during the experimental period.