The authors who have taken part in this study declare that they do not have anything to disclose regarding funding or conflict of interest

with respect to this manuscript. The authors who have taken part in this study do not have a relationship with the manufacturers of the drugs used either in the past or present and do not receive funding from the manufacturers to carry out their research. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81272555, 81070327, 81071895 and 30971174) and Excellent Project of the Fourth Military Medical University (for Ya-Yun Wang). Ya-Yun Wang and Yan-Ling Yang conceived of the review and drafted the manuscript. Bao-Lin

Guo and Chen-Xi Zheng participated in the design of the figures and helped to draft the manuscript. Bing-Dong Sui 3 MA participated in the design of the selleck chemical review and helped to revise the manuscript. Yun-Qing Li helped to revise the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript. “
“Antivenom immunotherapy still is the most effective treatment for victims of venomous animals, particularly snakes and scorpions. The efficacy of conventional antivenoms in neutralizing most of the toxic properties of the venom, including their lethality, has been improved by the introduction of modifications in production protocols dictated by new discoveries in basic immunology and protein chemistry. Moreover, immunization schedules are continuously adapted, new adjuvants have been introduced, and the resulting antibodies are better isolated, assayed, and characterized. Despite the progress in the preparation of conventional antivenoms, the risk of adverse reactions remains (Cardoso et al., 1993; Otero-Patiño et al., 1998; FUNASA, 2001). Although F(ab′)2 rich antivenoms are just as effective as the rich intact IgG in neutralizing venom toxins, their side-effects and ability to activate the host complement system have not yet been eliminated (Chippaux and Goyffon, 1991; Chippaux, 1991). In Brazil, of the 17,704 snake accidents

(incidence rate: 10.4 accidents/100,000 inhabitants) reported in 1999, 21% (3697) snake bites occurred in the northern Liothyronine Sodium region, where only 7.6% of the Brazilian population live (28.6 accidents/100,000 inhabitants) (IBGE, 2004). In that region, Bothrops atrox is the major snake group responsible for accidents ( FUNASA, 2001). B. atrox snake venom, like the venom from other Bothrops species, is a complex mixture that includes proteins exhibiting proteolytic activity ( Rosenfeld, 1971; Kamiguti and Cardoso, 1989). Some of these proteins are proteases, whose substrates include components of the blood clotting system such as factors XII, X, and fibrinogen ( Nahas et al., 1964; Kamiguti et al., 1992).