Miryam Paola Alvarez-Flores, Isabel de Fatima Correia Batista, Isadora Maria Villas Boas, Michelle Cristiane Bufalo, Jean Gabriel de Souza, Douglas Souza Oliveira, Giuliano Bonfá, Cristina Maria Fernandes, Rafael Marques Porto, Flavio Lichtenstein, Gisele Picolo, Denise V Tambourgi, Ana Marisa Chudzinski-Tavassi, Olga Célia Martinez Ibañez, Catarina Teixeira
Most anti-inflammatory drugs currently adopted to treat chronic inflammatory joint diseases can alleviate symptoms but they do not lead to remission. Therefore, new and more efficient drugs are needed to block the course of joint inflammatory diseases. Animal venoms, rich in bioactive compounds, can contribute as valuable tools in this field of research. In this study, we first demonstrate the direct action of venoms on cells that constitute the articular joints. We established a platform consisting of cell-based assays to evaluate the release of cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, TNFα, IL-1β, and IL-10) by human chondrocytes, synoviocytes and THP1 macrophages, as well as the release of neuropeptides (substance-P and β-endorphin) by differentiated sensory neuron-like cells, 24 h after stimulation of cells with 21 animal venoms from snake and arthropod species, sourced from different taxonomic families and geographic origins...
December 16, 2023: Toxicon: Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology