By Anel Kenjekeeva
Last week, the Clodomiro Picado Institute of the University of Costa Rica (ICP-UCR) highlighted the creation of a potential antidote capable of neutralizing the venom of the snake Dendroaspis polylepis, an African species better known as black mamba.
This venom causes death in less than 20 minutes. The antidote is in its experimental stage and consists of a panel of specific human antibodies against the dendrotoxins of the black mamba.
The researchers discovered that this element contributes to the toxicity of said species, so they designed a drug proposal,”
reported the UCR.
This is a historical milestone at a scientific level, because anti-ophidic sera currently produced come from the plasma of animals, which can cause some allergic reactions in people. However, the Costa Rican prototype is the first attempt made on the planet regarding the use of human antibodies, in order to combat snake bites effects.
This is just a preliminary step, it is still far from being a ‘human’ anti-ophidic serum that completely neutralizes the mamba venom. The important thing here is that, for the first time, a 100% human product is being produced experimentally from recombinant DNA technology,”
said José María Gutiérrez, researcher at ICP-UCR.
In addition to Gutiérrez, scientists Bruno Lomonte and Ana Silvia Arias also participated in the study.
The potential antidote was tested in mice with positive results. The rodents with the antibody managed to be protected from the detrimental effects caused by the dendrotoxin of the black mamba.
Now the project will focus on generating new defenses against other toxins of this venom, so that in the future a ‘cocktail’ of antibodies is capable of neutralizing 100% of the mamba’s toxins.