USTHB, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, BP32, El Alia, Bab Ezzouar, 16111, Algiers, Algeria.
Inflammation. 2017 Aug;40(4):1131-1142. doi: 10.1007/s10753-017-0557-x.
In regions at risk of scorpion envenomation, children remain the principal victims; they exhibit severe symptoms and represent a higher mortality rate compared to adults. The pathophysiology of envenomation is related to an excessive inflammatory response; however, no studies have identified the differences in immune responses to scorpion stings and mainly the mechanisms of inflammation between children and adults, which may be a determinant key of the susceptibility of children to scorpion envenomation. In this study, we compared the systemic (blood and lung) and the central (brain) inflammatory responses after injection of Androctonus australis hector (Aah) venom to 7 and 21 postnatal days (pnds) and adult mice by subcutaneous route. Results revealed that 7 and 21 pnd mice were more sensitive to Aah venom than adults and presented also severe systemic and central inflammatory responses characterized by a high activation of immune cells, NO liberation, and lipid peroxidation. Lymphocyte levels were much lower in young animals than in adults; however, neutrophil levels seemed to be higher in immature mice. The antioxidant GSH and catalase levels were more reduced in 7 and 21 pnd mice compared to adults leading to more pronounced tissular alterations and edema formation in lung and brain. These findings show a relationship between the severity of the pathophysiological effects of Aah venom and the age. The vulnerability of immature animals to Aah venom might result from uncontrolled inflammatory response and central nervous system alterations. Data from the present study emphasize the need for the development of age-specific therapeutic modalities.
在容易遭受蝎子蜇伤的地区，儿童仍然是主要受害者；与成年人相比，他们表现出更严重的症状和更高的死亡率。蝎毒的病理生理学与过度炎症反应有关；然而，目前还没有研究确定儿童对蝎子蜇伤的免疫反应和炎症机制与成人之间的差异，这可能是儿童对蝎子蜇伤易感性的关键决定因素。在这项研究中，我们比较了经皮下途径注射安德逊毒蛛（Aah）毒液后 7 天和 21 天以及成年小鼠的全身（血液和肺部）和中枢（大脑）炎症反应。结果表明，7 天和 21 天龄的小鼠比成年小鼠对 Aah 毒液更敏感，并且表现出严重的全身和中枢炎症反应，其特征是免疫细胞高度激活、NO 释放和脂质过氧化。与成年动物相比，年轻动物的淋巴细胞水平要低得多；然而，未成熟小鼠的中性粒细胞水平似乎更高。与成年小鼠相比，7 天和 21 天龄的小鼠的抗氧化剂 GSH 和过氧化氢酶水平降低更为明显，导致肺部和大脑组织发生更明显的改变和水肿形成。这些发现表明 Aah 毒液的病理生理效应的严重程度与年龄有关。未成熟动物对 Aah 毒液的脆弱性可能是由于炎症反应失控和中枢神经系统改变所致。本研究的数据强调了开发针对特定年龄的治疗方法的必要性。
