Evaluation of the clinical safety of the synthetic peptide crotalphine in wistar rats

• Grant number: 23/04079-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Annelise Carla Camplesi dos Santos
• Grantee: Gabriel Tavares dos Santos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Chronic pain is a public health problem in Brazil and is difficult to manage clinically, since the pharmacological treatment alternatives available today are partially effective in controlling nociception. Given the importance of the development of new drugs, the synthetic peptide crotalphine has shown promise, in previous studies it showed an effect for up to five days in acute pain models and up to three days in chronic pain models, and so far has not shown adverse effects related to its use. In vivo studies are important to ensure the clinical safety of crotalphine. In this project 40 male Wistar rats weighing approximately 250g will be used, the animals will be treated orally by gavage, the control group will receive 2 mL of sterile saline and the other test groups will receive increasing doses of crotalphine (50 µg/kg, 125 µg/kg, 250 µg/kg and 500 µg/kg) on days 0, 3 and 6. To measure oral toxicity, the groups will be evaluated by hypocritical screening for 15 minutes at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours after the administration of crotalphine and every 24 hours until a new application, the animals will be evaluated for 14 days. In addition, for hematological and serum biochemistry analysis 50% of the animals will be euthanized on day 9 and the rest on day 14, for collection of material, general inhalation anesthesia will be performed and blood will be collected by intracardiac puncture (3 to 5 mL). Therefore, the present project aims to evaluate the clinical safety of the synthetic peptide crotalphine, through hematological and behavioral analyses, so that in the future it can be used clinically for pain control in human patients and animals.