Microscopic organisation of the myocardium of experimental rats 1 and 3 hours after exposure to the venom of the scorpion Leiurus macroctenus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26641/1997-9665.2024.4.120-125Keywords:
venom, scorpions, myocardium, lymphohistiocytic infiltration, rats.Abstract
Background. Animal venom toxins are characterised by significant variability in structure and biological effects. They are usually represented by proteins, numerous peptides that have undergone restructuring over many years of evolution, which influenced the mechanisms and features of their effect on the victim's body. Scorpion venom can cause myocardial damage, initiating many pathogenetic mechanisms. After bites from these animals, the development of myocardial infarction due to coronary spasms is quite often recorded. Objective. Study of microscopic changes in the heart of mature rats 1 and 3 hours after exposure to the venom of the scorpion Leiurus macroctenus. Methods. Experimental studies were conducted on 60 male rats (180 g±3 g), which were injected intramuscularly with 0.5 ml of venom solution (28.8 mg/ml) (LD50=0.08 mg/kg). Heart samples of animals from all groups were taken for microscopic examination. Histological preparations of the heart were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, azan trichrome and iron hematoxylin. Results and conclusion. Administration of Leiurus macroctenus scorpion venom to rats resulted in the smoothing and homogenisation of cardiac muscle fibres and their moderate hypertrophy. Diapedetic haemorrhages and pronounced lymphohistiocytic infiltration were observed. After 3 hours of the experiment, the deepening of morphological changes in the rat myocardium was detected. Wave-like deformation of muscle fibres and their pronounced oedema was noted. Edematous changes, lymphocytic infiltration, and haemorrhages characterised the stroma of the cardiac muscle. Manifestations of desquamation of the endothelial lining of the vascular wall and perivascular lymphohistiocytic infiltration were observed.
References
- Martinez PA, Gutiérrez JM, Olalla-Tárraga MÁ, Amado TF. Venomous animals in a changing world. Glob Chang Biol. 2022;28(12):3750-3753. doi: 10.1111/gcb.16175
- Von Reumont BM, Anderluh G, Antunes A, Ayvazyan N, Beis D, Caliskan F, et al. Modern venomics – Current insights, novel methods, and future perspectives in biological and applied animal venom research. Gigascience. 2022;11:048. doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giac048
- Chaisakul J, Hodgson WC, Kuruppu S, Prasongsook N. Effects of Animal Venoms and Toxins on Hallmarks of Cancer. J Cancer. 2016;7(11):1571-1578. doi: 10.7150/jca.15309
- Coelho GR, da Silva DL, Beraldo-Neto E, Vigerelli H, de Oliveira LA, Sciani JM, Pimenta DC. Neglected Venomous Animals and Toxins: Underrated Biotechnological Tools in Drug Development. Toxins (Basel). 2021;13(12):851. doi: 10.3390/toxins13120851
- Seifert SA, Armitage JO, Sanchez EE. Snake Envenomation. N Engl J Med. 2022;386(1):68-78. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra2105228
- Warrell DA. Venomous Bites, Stings, and Poisoning: An Update. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2019;33(1):17-38. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2018.10.001
- Abd El-Aziz FEA, El Shehaby DM, Elghazally SA, Hetta HF. Toxicological and epidemiological studies of scorpion sting cases and morphological characterization of scorpions (Leiurusquin questriatus and Androctonus crassicauda) in Luxor, Egypt. Toxicol Rep. 2019;6:329-335. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2019.03.004
- Abroug F, Ouanes-Besbes L, Tilouche N, Elatrous S. Scorpion envenomation: state of the art. Intensive Care Med. 2020;46(3):401-410. doi: 10.1007/s00134-020-05924-8
- Ahmadi S, Knerr JM, Argemi L, Bordon KCF, Pucca MB, Cerni FA, et al. Scorpion Venom: Detriments and Benefits. Biomedicines. 2020;8(5):118. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines8050118
- Cid-Uribe JI, Veytia-Bucheli JI, Romero-Gutierrez T, Ortiz E, Possani LD. Scorpion venomics: a 2019 overview. Expert Rev Proteomics. 2020;17(1):67-83. doi: 10.1080/14789450.2020.1705158
- Abroug F, Souheil E, Ouanes I, Dachraoui F, Fekih-Hassen M, Ouanes Besbes L. Scorpion-related cardiomyopathy: Clinical characteristics, pathophysiology, and treatment. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2015;53(6):511-518. doi: 10.3109/15563650.2015.1030676
- Schendel V, Rash LD, Jenner RA, Undheim EAB. The Diversity of Venom: The Importance of Behavior and Venom System Morphology in Understanding Its Ecology and Evolution. Toxins (Basel). 2019;11(11):666. doi: 10.3390/toxins11110666
- Yu C, Yu H, Li P. Highlights of animal venom research on the geographical variations of toxin components, toxicities and envenomation therapy. Int J Biol Macromol. 2020;165:2994-3006. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.10.190
- Bakir F, Ozcan O, Alcigir ME, Vural SA. Effects of Androctonus crassicauda scorpion venom on the heart tissue. J Anim Vet Adv. 2012;11(14):2594-2599. DOI: 10.3923/javaa.2012.2594.2599
- Bayar N, Küçükseymen S, Yüksel IO, Arslan S. Rapidly improving acute myocarditis after a scorpion sting. Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2013;41(7):629-632. doi: 10.5543/tkda.2013.36459
- Baykan AO, Gür M, Acele A, Şeker T, Çaylı M. Scorpion envenomation-induced acute thrombotic inferior myocardial infarction. Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2016;44(1):82-86. doi: 10.5543/tkda.2015.88590
- Ageitos L, Torres MDT, de la Fuente-Nunez C. Biologically Active Peptides from Venoms: Applications in Antibiotic Resistance, Cancer, and Beyond. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(23):15437. doi: 10.3390/ijms232315437
- Herzig V, Cristofori-Armstrong B, Israel MR, Nixon SA, Vetter I, King GF. Animal toxins - Nature's evolutionary-refined toolkit for basic research and drug discovery. Biochem Pharmacol. 2020;181:114096. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114096
- Peigneur S, Tytgat J. Toxins in Drug Discovery and Pharmacology. Toxins (Basel). 2018;10(3):126. doi: 10.3390/toxins10030126
- Prasad R, Kumar A, Jain D, Das BK, Singh UK, Singh TB. Echocardiography versus cardiac biomarkers for myocardial dysfunction in children with scorpion envenomation: An observational study from tertiary care center in northern India. Indian Heart J. 2020;72(5):431-434. doi: 10.1016/j.ihj.2020.07.020
- Reis MB, Rodrigues FL, Lautherbach N, Kanashiro A, Sorgi CA, Meirelles AFG, et al. Interleukin-1 receptor-induced PGE2 production controls acetylcholine-mediated cardiac dysfunction and mortality during scorpion envenomation. Nat Commun. 2020;11(1):5433. doi: 10.1007/s12012-021-09640-7
- Torrez PPQ, Dourado FS, Bertani R, Cupo P, França FOS. Scorpionism in Brazil: exponential growth of accidents and deaths from scorpion stings. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2019;52:e20180350. doi: 10.1590/0037-8682-0350-2018
- Pourkhalili K, Kim E, Mashayekhy NR, Kamyab M, Hoseiny SM, Evazy R, et al. Cardiotoxic and Arrhythmogenic Effects of Hemiscorpius lepturus Scorpion Venom in Rats. J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2015;9(2):215-225. PMCID: PMC4662793 PMID: 26623433
- Sagarad SV, Kerure SB, Thakur B, Reddy SS, Joshi RM. Echocardiography guided therapy for myocarditis after scorpion sting envenomation. J Clin Diagn Res. 2013;7(12):2836-2838. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2013/6791.3693
- Sagarad SV, Thakur BS, Reddy SS, Joshi RM, Kerure SB. NT-proBNP in Myocarditis after a Scorpion Sting Envenomation. J Clin Diagn Res. 2013;7(1):118-121. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2012/4858.2684
- Vaucel JA, Larréché S, Paradis C, Courtois A, Pujo JM, Elenga N, et al. French Scorpionism (Mainland and Oversea Territories): Narrative Review of Scorpion Species, Scorpion Venom, and Envenoming Management. Toxins (Basel). 2022;14(10):719. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjab109
- Ghosh A, Roy R, Nandi M, Mukhopadhyay A. Scorpion Venom-Toxins that Aid in Drug Development: A Review. Int J Pept Res Ther. 2019;25(1):27-37. doi: 10.1007/s10989-018-9721-x
- Matkivska R, Samborska I, Maievskyi O. Effect of scorpion venom toxins on structural and functional parameters of internal organs, including kidneys (Review). Wiad Lek. 2023;76(6):1491-1498. doi: 10.36740/WLek202306124
- Ratnayake RM, Kumanan T, Selvaratnam G. Acute myocardial injury after scorpion (Hottentotta tamulus) sting. Ceylon Med J. 2016;61(2):86-87. doi: 10.4038/cmj.v61i2.8293
- Vogt N. Venomous organoids. Nat Methods. 2020;17(4):360. doi: 10.1038/s41592-020-0806-z
- Zuliani JP, Soares AM. Toxins of Animal Venoms and Inhibitors. Curr Top Med Chem. 2019;19(22):1950-1951. doi: 10.2174/156802661922191024125315
- Gunas V, Maievskyi O, Raksha N, Vovk T, Savchuk O, Shchypanskyi S, Gunas I. Study of the Acute Toxicity of Scorpion Leiurus macroctenus Venom in Rats. The Scientific World Journal. 2024;(1):9746092. doi: 10.1155/2024/9746092
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The authors reserve the right to authorship of their work and transfer to the Journal the right to the first publication of this work under the terms of a license Creative commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), which allows other people to freely distribute the published work with a mandatory reference to the authors of the original work and the first publication of the work in this journal.By submitting a manuscript to the editorial office of the Journal ‘Morphologia’ authors agree to transfer the rights to protect and use the manuscript (all supplemental materials, particularly protected objects such as photos, drawings, diagrams, tables, etc.), including the reproduction in the press and distribution via the Internet; translation of the manuscript into any language; export and import of journal copies with the Authors’ article in order to make it available for public. Authors convey the rights mentioned above to the editorial office without any temporal or territorial limitation all over the world.
The Authors guarantee that they have the exclusive rights to use the material transferred to editorial office. Editors are not responsible to third parties for contraventions of warranty given by the Authors. The considered rights are transferred to the editorial office since the moment when the current issue is signed for publishing. Reproduction of materials published in the Journal by other individuals and legal entities is possible only with the consent of Editorial office, with the obligatory indication of the full bibliographic reference of the primary publication. The Authors reserve the right to use the published material, its fragments and parts for teaching materials, oral presentations, dissertation thesis prepararion with obligatory bibliographic citation of the original paper. Electron copy of the published article, downloaded from official journal web-site in .pdf format may be put by authors on the official web-site of their institutions, any other official resources with open access.
