Efeito do veneno do escorpião Tityus serrulatus em células epiteliais brônquicas humanas (BEAS) e células endoteliais (tEnd)

Abstract

The scorpionism is considered a public health worldwide, with Tityus serrulatus the main cause of accidents in Brazil. Symptoms of envenomation by Tityus serrulatus ranging from local pain to severe systemic reactions such as cardiac dysfunction and pulmonary edema, which is the leading cause of death. The amount of venom injected the age, physical and genetic factors of the victims are related to the severity of the symptoms presented by patients. Endothelial cells under physiological conditions play a protective role in the cardiovascular system. In the case of dysfunction or injury of that tissue occurs repercussion in the vascular structure, surrounding tissue, and finally on the cardiovascular system. In bronchial epithelial cells after injury, occurs repair mechanism mediated by cytokines and growth factors also occur increase in cell proliferation and differentiation after epithelial damage. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the modulating effect of Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom on endothelial cells and bronchial epithelial cells analyzing the viability of these cells and the mechanism by which inflammation occurs. Therefore, the cells in this study are cultured and incubated in culture plates with Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom in different concentrations and periods of time. The inflammatory mechanism was assessed through the measurement of cytokines in the supernatant of these cells. The results showed that Tityus serrulatus venom changed the viability of monolayers of endothelial cells (tEnd), and bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS), and this effect was more marked in bronchial epithelial cells. The results also demonstrate that the venom induces the release of cytokines IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8. iii This study extend the knowledge of the actions of the venom of the scorpion Tityus serrulatus on bronchial epithelial and endothelial cells thus demonstrating changes in pulmonary physiology that may contribute to a better treatment strategy of scorpion envenomation.