A team of American researchers, published in a new issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, said they had found an antibody that could fight the deadly venom of a variety of venomous snakes. This represents a big step towards the development of broad-spectrum antivenoms.
To develop antibodies against a variety of snake venoms, the researchers isolated and compared the venoms of several cobras and found that a snake venom protein called "three-finger toxin" is present in the venom of all species of cobras. With the help of the gene encoding the protein of the "three-finger toxin", the toxin is made in the laboratory and the corresponding antibodies are searched for in a huge library of human antibodies. Eventually, they screened out an antibody called 95mat5, which can strongly bind to different variants of the "three-finger toxin" protein, blocking the "three-finger toxin" from exerting neurotoxicity and thus acting as an anti-toxic effect.
In current animal experiments, this antibody has successfully protected laboratory rats from the venom of many venomous snakes such as cobras, ring snakes, and black mamba snakes. The laboratory rats were injected with different snake venom and did not become paralyzed or die.
Researchers hope to further develop broad-spectrum antivenoms that can fight a wide range of snake venoms. Especially in low- and middle-income countries, broad-spectrum antibody treatment can not only save a lot of lives, but also greatly reduce the medical burden of the injured.