Academic Journal
Animal models in venom and antivenom research: The need to align academic discovery with manufacturing and regulatory expectations.
| Τίτλος: | Animal models in venom and antivenom research: The need to align academic discovery with manufacturing and regulatory expectations. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Ainsworth S; Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom., Casewell NR; Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom., Sartim MA; Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.; Fundaçao de Medicina Tropical - Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil., Marriott AE; National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, London, United Kingdom., Gutiérrez JM; Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica. |
| Πηγή: | PLoS neglected tropical diseases [PLoS Negl Trop Dis] 2026 Jul 27; Vol. 20 (7), pp. e0014537. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 27 (Print Publication: 2026). |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Review |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101291488 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1935-2735 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19352727 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Antivenins*/pharmacology , Antivenins*/therapeutic use , Snake Venoms*/toxicity , Snake Bites*/drug therapy , Disease Models, Animal*, Animals ; Humans ; Models, Animal |
| Περίληψη: | The study of snake venom toxicity and evaluation of the neutralisation ability of antivenoms and novel therapeutic agents for envenoming has largely relied on animal tests, especially the analysis of the lethal activity of venoms and its neutralisation. In addition, other animal-based assays are used to assess pathology-specific effects of venoms. Despite their demonstrated value, these assays have several limitations. They involve acute stress and pain in animals, and their validity, vis-à-vis the characteristics of human snakebite envenoming, is limited owing to the nature of the assays. Therefore, urgent innovations are required in this field. Ensuring the implementation of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) is essential when animal studies are required. These include: (a) refinement of the tests (e.g., use of analgesia, reduction of assay duration, and refining of humane endpoints); (b) reduction in the number of animals used by more thorough in vitro assessment of antivenoms prior to in vivo assays, and improved statistical analyses and group sizing; and, most importantly, and (c) replacement of in vivo rodent tests with validated in vitro approaches, such as immunoassays, enzymatic and cell-based assays, the use of invertebrate models, and the implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), i.e., novel in vitro or in silico techniques that model complex pathophysiological processes of envenoming. A roadmap involving researchers, manufacturers, quality control groups, regulators, and funding agencies is proposed, with the aim of driving significant changes in this field. (Copyright: © 2026 Ainsworth et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.) |
| Competing Interests: | The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Antivenins) 0 (Snake Venoms) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260727 Date Completed: 20260727 Latest Revision: 20260730 |
| Update Code: | 20260730 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13405073 |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pntd.0014537 |
| PMID: | 42507656 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1935-2735 |
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| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pntd.0014537 |