Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Jan 5;10(2):159-67.
eCollection 2016 Jun.

The Effect of Hemiscorpius lepturus (Scorpionida: Hemiscorpiidae) Venom on Leukocytes and the Leukocyte Subgroups in Peripheral Blood of Rat

Mehri Ghafourian  1 , Neda Ganjalikhanhakemi  2 , Ali Asghar Hemmati  3 , Rouhullah Dehghani  4 , Wesam Kooti  5
Affiliations

The Effect of Hemiscorpius lepturus (Scorpionida: Hemiscorpiidae) Venom on Leukocytes and the Leukocyte Subgroups in Peripheral Blood of Rat

Mehri Ghafourian et al. J Arthropod Borne Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Hemiscorpius lepturus venom on leukocytes and the leukocyte subgroups in peripheral blood of rat.

Methods: In this experimental study, sixty N-Mari rats were divided into three groups of 20 rats. Then the rats in each group were divided into four subgroups based on the blood sampling time that was 2, 6, 24 and 48 hours after the venom injection, respectively. The control group did not receive anything, however, the first and the second experimental groups received 0.1 and 0.01mg/kg of venom, subcutaneously. In accordance with a designated four sampling times, the blood sampling was carried out in three groups. After RBC lysis, the leukocytes and leukocyte sub-populations were determined and counted using appropriate hematological standard methods.

Results: The leukocyte and the neutrophil count at two (P<0.05), six (P<0.01) and 24 (P<0.05) hours after the venom injection showed a significant decline compared with the control group, this decrease was significant at the dose of 0.1 mg/kg until 48 hours after the venom injection (P<0.05). The lymphocyte count showed a significant decline throughout the all hours of the experiment, compared with the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Leukocytes are probably affected by the cytotoxicity effect of the H. lepturus venom in a dose-dependent manner. This could be a wakeup call for the medical staff to perform quick and accurate treatment in the least time possible.

Keywords: Hemiscorpius lepturus; Leucocyte; Rat; Venom.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The comparison of the Mean±SD of white blood cells (× 10 per ml3) in peripheral blood of rat between the groups receiving venom with the concentration of 0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg and the control group at different times *Significant difference (P< 0.05) between the experimental and control groups ** Significant difference (P< 0.01) between the experimental and control groups
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
The comparison of the Mean±SD of neutrophils (× 10 per ml3) in peripheral blood of rat between the groups receiving venom with the concentration of 0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg and the control group at different times * Significant difference (P< 0.05) between the experimental and control groups ** Significant difference (P< 0.01) between the experimental and control groups
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
The comparison of the Mean±SD of lymphocytes (× 10 per ml3) in peripheral blood of rat between the groups receiving venom with the concentration of 0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg, and the control group at different times * Significant difference (P< 0.05) between the experimental and control groups Significant difference (P< 0.01) between the experimental and control groups
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
The comparison of the Mean±SD of monocytes (× 10 per ml3) in peripheral blood of rat between the groups receiving venom with the concentration of 0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg and the control group at different times
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
The comparison of the Mean±SD of eosino-phil (× 10 per ml3) in peripheral blood of rat between the groups receiving venom with the concentration of 0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg and the control group at different times
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abbas AK, Lichtman HH, Pillai S. (2011) Cellular and Molecular Immunology. 7th ed PA: Elsevier Health Sciences; Philadelphia.
    1. Bigdeli MR, Taghavi-Moghadam A. (2006) Extraction of proteinous components from the venom of scorpion Hemiscorpious lepturus and evaluation of some their toxic effects in mice. Jundishapur Sci Med J. 5(2): 538– 542.
    1. Bradford MM. (1976) A rapid and sensitive method for quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem. 72: 248– 254. - PubMed
    1. Celis A, Gaxiola-Robles R, Sevilla-Godinez E, de Orozco Valerio MJ, Armas J. (2007) Trends in mortality from scorpion stings in Mexico, 1979–2003. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 21( 6): 373– 380. - PubMed
    1. Chippaux JP, Goyffon M. (2008) Epidemiology of scorpionism: a global appraisal. Acta Trop. 107( 2): 71– 79. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources