Abstract
Envenomation caused by contact with Lonomia obliqua bristles is characterized by pain, an intense systemic proinflammatory reaction and disturbances in the coagulation cascade that can cause severe clinical manifestations and death. However, the role of immune system components in these effects is still poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the cytotoxic effect of L. obliqua venom on THP-1-derived macrophages and its ability to modulate inflammatory markers, as well as the cytokine and chemokine release profile. Our results show that L. obliqua venom is able to directly exert a potent pro-inflammatory reaction in macrophages, characterized by the activation of the NF-κB transcription factor pathway, the expression of CD80 and CD83, and the release of pro-inflammatory mediators such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and CXCL10. These results suggest that macrophages can play an important role during the orchestration of the inflammatory response present in envenomation caused by Lonomia obliqua caterpillars.
Highlights
Caterpillars of the genus Lonomia are present in South and Central America [1,2,3]
Lonomia obliqua and Lonomia achelous are two species known to cause lonomism, a type of envenomation associated with hemorrhagic syndrome, proinflammatory response and acute renal dysfunction that can lead the victim to death [4]
Our results show that a low dose of L. obliqua crude bristle extract (LOCBE) is able to activate the NF-κB pathway in macrophages derived from THP-1 monocytes in a short period of time
Summary
Lonomia obliqua and Lonomia achelous are two species known to cause lonomism, a type of envenomation associated with hemorrhagic syndrome, proinflammatory response and acute renal dysfunction that can lead the victim to death [4]. L. obliqua, is responsible for accidents in the non-Amazonian regions of Brazil, mainly in the Southern Region, and in neighboring countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina [5]. Recent data from the epidemiological monitoring direction of Santa Catarina state (Brazil) show that about 200 people were hospitalized for poisoning by L. obliqua in 2017 (DIVE—Diretoria de Vigilância Epidemiológica, 2018) [6]. Lonomism caused by L. obliqua is a public health problem in Brazil, and the antilonomic serum produced by the Butantan Institute is the only clinical recourse to revert the dramatic hemorrhagic syndrome in poisoned patients
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