Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Instituto Butantan, Av Vital Brasil, 1500, Butantã, CEP 05503-900, São Paulo, Brazil.
Toxicon. 2011 Mar 15;57(4):600-7. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.12.023. Epub 2011 Jan 9.
Crotalus durissus terrificus venom and its main component, crotoxin (CTX), have the ability to down-modulate the immune system. Certain mechanisms mediated by cells and soluble factors of the immune system are responsible for the elimination of pathogenic molecules to ensure the specific protection against subsequent antigen contact. Accordingly, we evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of CTX on the immune response of mice that had been previously primed by immunisation with human serum albumin (HSA). CTX inoculation after HSA immunisation, along with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or Aluminium hydroxide (Alum) immunisation, was able to suppress anti-HSA IgG1 and IgG2a antibody production. We showed that the inhibitory effects of this toxin are not mediated by necrosis or apoptosis of any lymphoid cell population. Lower proliferation of T lymphocytes from mice immunised with HSA/CFA or HSA/Alum that received the toxin was observed in comparison to the mice that were only immunised. In conclusion, CTX is able to exert potent inhibitory effects on humoral and cellular responses induced by HSA immunisation, even when injected after an innate immune response has been initiated.
响尾蛇毒液及其主要成分 crotoxin（CTX）具有下调免疫系统的能力。免疫系统的某些细胞和可溶性因子介导的机制负责消除致病分子，以确保针对随后抗原接触的特异性保护。因此，我们评估了 CTX 对先前用人血清白蛋白（HSA）免疫接种的小鼠免疫反应的免疫调节作用。在 HSA 免疫接种后接种 CTX，并与完全弗氏佐剂（CFA）或氢氧化铝（Alum）免疫接种，能够抑制抗 HSA IgG1 和 IgG2a 抗体的产生。我们表明，这种毒素的抑制作用不是通过任何淋巴细胞群的坏死或凋亡介导的。与仅接受免疫接种的小鼠相比，接受毒素的用 HSA/CFA 或 HSA/Alum 免疫接种的小鼠的 T 淋巴细胞增殖较低。总之，CTX 能够对 HSA 免疫接种诱导的体液和细胞反应发挥强大的抑制作用，即使在先天免疫反应已经启动后注射也是如此。
