Laboratorio de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica, Departamento de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México.
PLoS One. 2019 Feb 7;14(2):e0211689. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211689. eCollection 2019.
Loxocelism is a neglected medical problem that depends on its severity, can cause a cutaneous or viscero-cutaneous syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by hemostatic effects and necrosis, and the severity of the loxoscelism depends on the amount of venom injected, the zone of inoculation, and the species. In the Chihuahuan desert, the most abundant species is L. apachea. Its venom and biological effects are understudied, including neurological effects. Thus, our aim is to explore the effect of this regional species of medical interest in the United States-Mexico border community, using rat blood and central nervous system (CNS), particularly, two brain structures involved in brain homeostasis, Area postrema (AP) and Choroid plexus (PC). L. apachea specimens were collected and venom was obtained. Different venom concentrations (0, 0.178 and 0.87 μg/g) were inoculated into Sprague-Dawley rats (intraperitoneal injection). Subsequently, blood was extracted and stained with Wright staining; coronal sections of AP were obtained and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining and laminin γ immunolabelling, the same was done with CP sections. Blood, AP and CP were observed under the microscope and abnormalities in erythrocytes and fluctuation in leukocyte types were described and quantified in blood. Capillaries were also quantified in AP and damage was described in CP. L. apachea venom produced a segmented neutrophil increment (neutrophilia), lymphocyte diminishment (leukopenia) and erythrocytes presented membrane abnormalities (acanthocytosis). Extravasated erythrocytes were observed in HE stained sections from both, AP and CP, which suggest that near to this section a hemorrhage is present; through immunohistofluorescence, a diminishment of laminin γ was observed in AP endothelial cells and in CP ependymal cells when these structures were exposed to L. apachea venom. In conclusion, L. apachea venom produced leukopenia, netrophilia and acanthocytosis in rat peripheral blood, and also generated hemorrhages on AP and CP through degradation of laminin γ.
裂颊海蛇咬伤是一种被忽视的医学问题，其严重程度不一，可导致皮肤或内脏-皮肤综合征。该综合征的特征为止血作用和坏死，裂颊海蛇咬伤的严重程度取决于注入的毒液量、接种区域和物种。在奇瓦瓦沙漠，最丰富的物种是 Loxoceles apachea。其毒液和生物学作用研究较少，包括神经毒性作用。因此，我们的目的是利用大鼠血液和中枢神经系统（CNS），特别是参与脑内稳态的两个脑结构——后极（AP）和脉络丛（PC），来研究美国-墨西哥边境地区这种具有医学意义的区域物种的效应。收集了 L. apachea 标本并获得了毒液。将不同浓度的毒液（0、0.178 和 0.87μg/g）注入 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠（腹腔注射）。随后，提取血液并进行 Wright 染色；获得 AP 的冠状切片，并用苏木精-伊红（HE）染色和层粘连蛋白 γ 免疫标记进行染色，CP 切片也进行相同处理。在显微镜下观察血液、AP 和 CP，描述和量化血液中红细胞的形态异常和白细胞类型的波动。还对 AP 中的毛细血管进行了量化，并描述了 CP 的损伤。L. apachea 毒液导致了分段中性粒细胞增加（中性粒细胞增多症）、淋巴细胞减少（白细胞减少症）和红细胞出现膜异常（棘红细胞症）。在 AP 和 CP 的 HE 染色切片中观察到红细胞漏出，这表明在该区域附近存在出血；通过免疫荧光，当 AP 内皮细胞和 CP 室管膜细胞暴露于 L. apachea 毒液时，观察到层粘连蛋白 γ 减少。总之，L. apachea 毒液在大鼠外周血中引起白细胞减少症、中性粒细胞增多症和棘红细胞症，并通过降解层粘连蛋白 γ 在 AP 和 CP 上产生出血。
