Passive Immunization against Saxitoxin Administered Intravenously or Via the Respiratory Tract

摘要

Saxitoxin, one of the most lethal non-protein toxins known, is produced by dinoflagellates of the genus Gonyaulax. Gonyaulax dinoflagellates can contaminate shellfish, which, when eaten by humans, have been known to cause numbness, paralysis and death due to respiratory arrest. The primary therapy for saxitoxin poisoning in man is artificial respiration; there is no specific antidote accepted. In a previous paper, DAVIO (1985) reported that anti-saxitoxin rabbit serum injected i.p. protected mice against the lethal effects of s.c. injected saxitoxin. However, the slower absorption kinetics of S.C. injected saxitoxin could have contributed to the protection afforded by the i.p. injected antiserum by allowing more time for interaction of toxin and antitoxin serum in the circulation. To test this, we passively immunized mice against saxitoxin by i.p. injection of anti-saxitoxin rabbit serum and challenged the mice 1 hr later by either i.v. injection or intratracheal instillation of saxitoxin. The results of these experiments are presented in this report.