AUTHOR=de Miranda Ana Luísa Soares , Lima Sabrina de Almeida , Botelho Ana Flávia Machado , Gomes Campos Marco Túlio , Eckstein Camila , Minozzo João Carlos , Chávez-Olórtegui Carlos Delfin , Soto-Blanco Benito 

TITLE=Protective Effectiveness of an Immunization Protocol Against the Toxic Effects of Loxosceles intermedia Venom in Rabbits

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.852917

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2022.852917

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=Loxosceles spp. (brown spiders) bites are responsible for the development of a syndrome consisting mainly of dermonecrotic lesions, but also systemic effects. Rabbits are one of the main experimental models used for better understanding the systemic and local effects of Loxosceles venom. The aim of this study is to evaluate the toxic and protective effects of rabbits immunized with Loxosceles spp. venom. Male New Zealand rabbits were allocated as a control group (CG; n=5), that received adjuvant (Montanide) and phosphate-buffer saline, or as venom group (VG; n=5), that received 21μg of Loxosceles venom using Montanide as adjuvant. After five immunization cycles, a trial with 7μg of L. intermedia venom was performed, and dermonecrotic lesions were measured. Rabbits were then euthanized, and their organs were collected for histopathology analysis. Rabbits that have undergone Loxosceles venom immunization protocol showed minor clinical disturbances during the experimental period. The used immunization protocol protected rabbits against the toxic effect of the Loxosceles venom, because they showed minor clinical disturbances during the experimental period.