STUDIES ON DISTRIBUTION OF ELAPINE VENOMS IN ANIMAL BODIES AFTER ENVENOMATION. A NUCLEOSIDE ISOLATED FROM THE VENOM OF BUNGARUS MULTICINCTUS.

The distribution of the venom of Bungarus multicinctus, its neurotoxins alpha-and beta-Bungarotoxin and the venom of Naja naja atra in animal bodies after envenomation was studied. In rabbits injected with the I131-labelled Bungarusvenon, alpha-and beta-Bungarotoxins, and cobra venom respectively at a dose of 1 mgkg, radioactivity could be detected in the C.S.F. at 15 min. after injection. However, the C.S.F. levels are too low to account for the rapid respiratory paralysis caused by these venoms. Evidence that the radioiodinated venom may undergo decomposition in the animal body is presented. The highest radioactivity was found in kidneys, followed respectively by lungs, spleen, heart, stomach, intestines, diaphragm and skeletal muscle, with the lowest in the brain, which is less than 1100 of that in kidneys. The distribution patterns of the venoms given subcutaneously in mice were similar to those in rabbits except that relatively higher radioactivity was found in the G-I tract. It is concluded that the neurotoxins of elapid venoms pass the blood-brain barrier with difficulty and that the small amount of the venom detected in the C.S.F. will hardly account for the rapid paralysis of the respiratory center. Author