Differential Hematotoxic Activity of Southeast Asian Pit Viper Venoms: The Cross-Neutralizing Effect of Available Antivenoms

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  Image Credit: Creative Commons (some rights reserved) CC BY-NC Photo 111998430, (c) Nicholas Hess Differential Hematotoxic Activity of Southeast Asian Pit Viper Venoms: The Cross-Neutralizing Effect of Available Antivenoms Abstract Background/Objectives : Pit vipers (subfamily Crotalinae) are responsible for a large proportion of snakebite envenoming cases in Southeast Asia. Envenomation by these snakes commonly causes hematotoxic effects, including platelet dysfunction and coagulation disturbances. Although antivenom remains the mainstay of treatment, species-specific antivenoms are not available for several regional pit viper species. This study evaluated the hematotoxic activities of selected Southeast Asian pit viper venoms and the cross-neutralizing capacity of commercially available antivenoms.  Methods : Venoms from five medically important pit viper species— Calloselasma rhodostoma ,  Trimeresurus albolabris ,  T. hageni ,  T. purpureomaculatus , ...

Disparity among venom components, and morphometrics in Centruroides baergi Hoffmann, 1932, a medically relevant scorpion species from Mexico

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Disparity among venom components, and morphometrics in Centruroides baergi Hoffmann, 1932, a medically relevant scorpion species from Mexico

Abstract

Centruroides baergi is a scorpion species distributed in the biogeographical province of the Balsas Basin in Mexico. Health officials have reported acute envenomation in human populations living on the western side of this scorpion's range, but none in the eastern region. This disparity in toxicity suggested that there may be two distinct species. We used two different approaches, including venom analysis and morphometric specimens from both regions, to test our hypothesis. We performed chromatographic, electrophoretic, and mass spectrometry analysis to identify the known β-toxins involved in the intoxication. The most remarkable finding was the absence of Cb3 β-toxin in the eastern population. Consequently, the LD50 of the eastern population was lower than that of the western population. We analyzed linear and ratio body measurements with parametric and nonparametric statistics to test species limits. These analyses indicated that all putative populations of C. baergi are significantly similar, suggesting that they may represent a single species. Unexpectedly, the population of scorpions in the center of the study area, Suchixtlahuaca, previously identified as C. baergi, showed significant morphological and venom composition differences. We provided empirical evidence of an abrupt change of highly toxic peptides around the 98th meridian that limits populations of Centruroides baergi to the east of Mexico.
Bejarano-Mendoza, F. O., Gómez-Ramírez, I. V., Cortés Guzmán, A. J., Becerril, B., Possani, L. D., Cid Uribe, J. I., & González-Santillán, E. (2025). Disparity among venom components, and morphometrics in Centruroides baergi Hoffmann, 1932, a medically relevant scorpion species from Mexico. Toxicon, 108370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2025.108370