Generation of an antitoxin immune library from Lonomia obliqua

• Grant number: 24/03866-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Sonia Aparecida de Andrade Chudzinski
• Grantee: Giovanna da Fonseca Batista
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Currently, around 1 billion people live in multidimensional poverty, which makes them more vulnerable to neglected diseases. Accidents caused by venomous animals affect millions of people every year around the world, generating social, economic and public health impacts. Accidental contact with the Lonomia obliqua caterpillar can cause hypotension, pain, a burning sensation, edema, changes in the victim's hemostasis, such as consumption coagulopathy, and in more serious cases, death. The Instituto Butantan is a pioneer in the production of immunobiologicals that are highly effective in preventing fatalities resulting from accidents caused by venomous animals. Antilonomic serum is the only specific therapy available in the world to treat victims. However, despite advances in obtaining these biopharmaceuticals, part of the antibodies or antibody fragments purified from immunized animals are not specifically neutralizing. With a market value of approximately 260 billion dollars in 2024, monoclonal antibodies, the largest group of biotherapeutics used in the treatment of diseases, can be strategic in the treatment of poisonings. In this context, recent studies demonstrate that the construction of an immune library from genetic material from immunized animals represents an innovative strategy for obtaining monoclonal antibodies that broadly neutralize toxins and their isoforms. Thus, this project aims to generate an immune library from the genetic material of horses from the Instituto Butantan immunized with Lonomia obliqua caterpillar venom and sequentially, the establishment of stable cell lines, which will allow the continuous production of neutralizing antitoxin antibodies in the future. Furthermore, the production of this library can be an alternative to minimize the use of animals, as recommended by the European Union council.