venom has immunomodulatory effects mainly up-regulating pro-inflammatory cytokines in the spleens of mice.

Beside their toxicity, snake venom components possess several pharmacological effects and have been used to design many drugs. Recently, the cytotoxic, antibacterial, vasorelaxant, pro- and anti-coagulant as well as inflammatory activities of venom have been described . However, the effects of this Lebanese snake venom on the immune system has not been established yet. Here, we investigate the immunomodulatory effects of venom on the murine splenic levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-1ß and IL-17 at 6 and 24 h post treatment. Different doses of the venom (1 mg/kg, 2 mg/kg, 4 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally in BALB/c mice. Using the logit method, LD of was proved to be 1.92 mg/kg in our experimental conditions. This study also shows that 1 mg/kg and 2 mg/kg of venom are able to modulate the levels of cytokines in the spleen of mice, as assessed by ELISA. In fact, this snake's venom up-regulates TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1ß and IL-17 with a trend in decreasing IL-4 and IL-10. Therefore, by favoring Th1 and Th17 over Th2 and Treg responses, venom might have important clinical implication especially in the field of cancer immunotherapy.