Biotechnological potential of Phospholipase D for Loxosceles antivenom development

MATIAS FINGERMANN; DE ROODT ADOLFO; CASCONE O; MARÍA VICTORIA MIRANDA

Toxicon X

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2020

Loxoscelism is one of the most important forms of araneism in South America. The Health Authorities fromcountries with the highest incidence and longer history in registering loxoscelism cases indicate that specificantivenom should be administered during the first hours after the accident, especially in the presence or at risk ofthe most severe clinical outcome. Current antivenoms are based on immunoglobulins or their fragments, obtained from plasma of hyperimmunized horses. Antivenom has been produced using the same traditionaltechniques for more than 120 years. Although the whole composition of the spider venom remains unknown, thediscovery and biotechnological production of the phospholipase D enzymes represented a milestone for theknowledge of the physiopathology of envenomation and for the introduction of new innovative tools in antivenom production. The fact that this protein is a principal toxin of the venom opens the possibility of replacingthe use of whole venom as an immunogen, an attractive alternative considering the laborious techniques and lowyields associated with venom extraction. This challenge warrants technological innovation to facilitate production and obtain more effective antidotes. In this review, we compile the reported studies, examining theadvances in the expression and application of phospholipase D as a new immunogen and how the newbiotechnological tools have introduced some degree of innovation in this field.