Comparative study on the ability of IgG and Fab sheep antivenoms to neutralize local hemorrhage, edema and myonecrosis induced by Bothrops asper (terciopelo) snake venom
Artículo académico
In Costa Rica, sex work has been studied for decades from a pre-evolutionary perspective, and often with an underlying patriarchal bias because sex work is seen as a social pathology, ignoring contributions from sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. In this study, we measured the performance of predictions made by the evolutionary model, in a sample of 78 women aged 18 to 81 years, who perform sex work in San José, capitol of Costa Rica, interviewed in 2008. The interviews were based on a questionnaire, respondents were paid for their time, and data were analyzed with the SPSS statistical program. All predictions of the evolutionary; model are met by this sample: the customers are mostly men in reproductive age (29 to 54 years) who pay women for sexual activity even in cases in which they establish an emotional relationship with the workers. The predictions of the model for workers are also met, since they are primarily women of reproductive age (24 to 41 years), 100% charge for their services, and women who are more attractive for their beauty, intellect and education, earn 10 times more than the rest. In the human species, resources can be given in exchange for sexual services, and 98% of these sex workers are women who have no other source of income; besides, 69% have no partner helping them to support their children. The other 31% have a partner but do not receive enough money from him.
The ability of sheep antivenoms, consisting of whole IgG molecules or Fab fragments, to neutralize local hemorrhage, edema and myonecrosis induced by Bothrops asper venom was comparatively studied in mice. The two antivenoms were produced from the same batch of hyperimmune plasma and were adjusted to the same neutralizing potency against these effects in assays where venom and antivenoms were incubated prior to injection. Thus, if differences are observed in experiments involving independent injection of venom and antivenoms, they would depend on the pharmacokinetic profiles of the products. Despite the observation that both antivenoms neutralized the three effects if preincubated with venom, neutralization was only partial when antivenoms were administered i.v. at various time intervals after envenomation. No significant differences were observed between IgG and Fab antivenoms concerning neutralization of hemorrhagic and edema-forming activities, whereas IgG antivenom was slightly more effective in neutralizing myotoxic activity in experiments involving independent injection of venom and antivenom. These results do not support the hypothesis that Fab fragments are more effective than whole IgG molecules in the neutralization of locally-acting toxins from B. asper venom.
