An anonymous male patient was admitted to a hospital in Andhra Pradesh, India wi
ID: 68881 • Letter: A
Question
An anonymous male patient was admitted to a hospital in Andhra Pradesh, India with a bite wound from an Indian Cobra (Naja naja). The patient is given antivenom upon admission to the hospital (bites from Naja naja are quite common in this area and the hospital is well-prepared for these cases). The wound is inflamed and over the course of the next few days necrosis sets in and the patient presents with a pyogenic bacterial infection. The patient is started on IV antibiotics and within a week he has returned to health although swelling at the wound site persists for several weeks.
1. Define pyogenic
2. What molecule in cobra venom causes the type of immune suppression that might lead to a pyogenic bacterial infection?
3. What is the effect this molecule has on the innate immune system?
4. Would cobra bite victims be more susceptible to infection with viruses and intracellular bacteria? Why or Why not?
5. How is this molecule used in the laboratory to study a component of the innate immune system?
Explanation / Answer
Pyogenic - it is medical condition caused by bacterial infection. basically infection caused by bacteria.
2. Cobra venom factor (CVF), a key protein in the snakes’ toxin, known to interfere with complement activity in humans by using up components of the system to the point that it stops working.
3. no victims would not be susceptible to virus and intrecellular bacteria because it affestc only complement
4. In study this days scientists found a way to defang CVF while preserving its ability to suppress the complement system. in steps they spliced DNA encoding for CVF and the complement protein C3 without it are at higher risk for certain bacterial infections. Now it can be cloned to produce the protein in bulk. In experiments, these hybrid molecules—which are 96 percent human—dramatically depleted complement activity in serum, both in the test tube and in animals.