Effect of Crotalus venom on the humoral and cellular immune response.

The effect of venom of South American rattlesnake Crotalus durissus terrificus (cdt) on the humoral and cellular immune response was studied in BALB/c mice that were immunized with soluble antigens [human serum albumin (HSA) or chicken ovoalbumin (OVA)] or sensitized to DNFB 1 hr after venom injection. Pretreatment of the animals with cdt venom induced a significant reduction in the level of anti-OVA and anti-HSA IgG antibodies. The effect of crotoxin, a major neurotoxic component of cdt venom, its acidic non-toxic subunit (CA) and its basic phospholipase A2 subunit (CB) was also studied. The whole crotoxin molecule was as able as cdt venom to induce a significant decrease in the level of anti-OVA and anti-HSA IgG antibodies. However, the CA and CB subunits of crotoxin did not change the antibody level to either antigen, suggesting that the suppressive effect of crotoxin requires the intact molecule. Both cdt venom and the whole crotoxin molecule were able to induce a significant decrease in the level of anti-HSA IgG1 antibodies. The levels of other IgG isotypes and IgE were barely detectable and could not be estimated. In spite of their suppressive effect on the humoral immune response neither cdt venom nor crotoxin had any effect on the cellular immune response as estimated by contact sensitivity reaction to DNFB. It is suggested that cdt venom and its crotoxin component have an inhibitory effect on the humoral but not on the cellular immune response.