In vivo neutralization of bee venom lethality by IgY antibodies

LEIVA C.; GEOGHEGAN, P.; LAMMER M.; CANGELOSI, A.; MARICONDA V.; CELI A.; BRERO ML; CHACANA P.

MOLECULAR IMMUNOLOGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2021

0161-5890

Bee venom is a complex mixture of molecules, among which melittin andphospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ) are the toxic components involved in envenomingaccidents with multiple honeybee stings. Traditionally, the treatment of envenomingshas been based on the administration of specific antibodies to neutralize thedeleterious effects of toxins. An alternative to mammalian polyclonal antibodies is theuse of egg yolk immunoglobulins (IgY) due to their advantages regarding animalwelfare and lower costs of production as compared to the conventional productionmethods. In this work, a novel composition containing specific IgY antibodies wasdeveloped. After four immunizations, IgY extracted from the egg yolks was able torecognize several components of the bee venom, including melittin and PLA 2 . Theperformance of IgY to neutralize the lethal activity was evaluated in a mouse model byusing one median lethal dose (LD 50 ) of the bee venom. The effective dose of theIgY extract was determined as 30.66 µg/mg. These results demonstrate the feasibilityto produce IgY-based antivenoms to treat envenomings by multiple bee stings.