Inhibitory Effect of Hemiscorpius lepturus Scorpion Venom Frac-tions on Tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii

Lida Khaleghi  Rostamkolaie; Hossein  Hamidinejat; Mohammad Hossein  Razi Jalali; Hossein  Najafzadeh Varzi; Massoud Reza  Seifi Abadshapouri; Hedieh  Jafari

doi:10.18502/ijpa.v17i1.9019

Lida Khaleghi Rostamkolaie Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
Hossein Hamidinejat Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, IranDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
Mohammad Hossein Razi Jalali Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
Hossein Najafzadeh Varzi Department of Pharmacology, Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
Massoud Reza Seifi Abadshapouri Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
Hedieh Jafari Department of Venomous Animal and Biological Product, Razi Vaccines and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Re-search Education and Extension Organization, Ahvaz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v17i1.9019

Keywords: Scorpion; Hemiscorpius lepturus; Toxoplasma gondii; Tachyzoites; Therapeutic effect

Abstract

Background: The present study determined the effect of the fractions obtained from Hemiscorpius lepturus scorpion venom on the tachyzoite of Toxoplasma gondii.

Methods: The fractions of dried venom of He. lepturus scorpion of Khuzestan Province, southern Iran in 2019 were isolated through gel filtration chromatography, and then tachyzoites were exposed to fractions of venom at different concentrations. Trypan blue counting and MTT were applied to assay tachyzoite viability, and the inhibition of the cellular growth of fractions in Vero cells was evaluated.

Results: The maximum effect on tachyzoite was observed in fraction 5 of venom. To further separate the protein, fraction 5 was used in high-performance liquid chromatography assay to purify its proteins. Based on the results of HPLC of fraction 5, among which the second peak, a peptide with <10 KDa representing a more potent effect in eliminating the tachyzoite of T. gondii.

Conclusion: The scorpion venom-purified fractions possess anti-parasitic activity against the tachyzoite of T. gondii and can be used in parasite-controlling studies.