Life Science Journal 2013;10(4) http://www.lifesciencesite.com 810 Histochemical and Biolchemical effects induced by LD 50 of Cerastes cerastes gasperetti crude venom in mice Mohamed K. Al-Sadoon 1,* , Ahmed E. Abdel Moneim 2 , Amira A. Bauomy 2 and Marwa S. M. Diab 3 1 Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. 2 Department of Zoology & Entomology, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt. 3 Molecular Drug Evaluation Department, National Organization for Drug Control & Research (NODCAR), Giza, Egypt. msadoon@ksu.edu.sa Abstract: Snake venoms comprise mixtures of enzymes and proteins that act on vital systems of the victim. The present study aimed to investigate the histochemical and biochemical effects of the horned viper (Cerastes cerastes gasperetti: Ccg) snake venom in mice. Thirty six male adult Swiss albino mice (20–25g) were injected intraperitoneally and divided into 2 groups (n=18): control group injected with 200 μl saline solution and group (2) injected with LD 50 of Ccg venom (0.978 mg/kg). Liver, kidney and testis were collected from six mice after 1, 3 and 6 hours, post envenomation. Histological examination of testis sections after1, 3 and 6 hours, post envenomation showed seminferous tubules displaying an impairment of spermatogenesis stages arrangement with severe vacuolization of most affected tubules and appearance of pyknotic spermatocyt. Histochemical investigations revealed marked reduction in both carbohydrates and proteins after injection of LD 50 of Ccg crude venom at the different time. Oxidative stress biomarkers malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitrite/nitrate levels, antioxidants glutathione (GSH) content and catalase (CAT) activity were assayed in tissues homogenates. The venom induced significant increases in the levels of MDA and nitrite/nitrate while the content of GSH and the activity of CAT were significantly decreased, especially after 6 hours of envenomation. The results revealed that the Ccg venom induced time-dependant significant increases in the levels of MDA and nitrite/nitrate in all examined organs, especially in the hepatic tissues. It can be concluded that cytotoxic effects of Ccg venom might be related to induction of excessive oxidative stress and histochemical alternations in organs of the envenomated animals. [Al-Sadoon MK, Abdel Moneim AE, Bauomy AA, Diab MM. Histochemical and Biolchemical effects induced by LD 50 of Cerastes cerastes gasperetti crude venom in mice. Life Sci J 2013;10(4):810-817] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com . 102 Keywords: Cerastes cerastes gasperetti, histochemical, oxidative stress, liver, kidney, testis. 1. Introduction Snake venom is a complex mixture of many substances, such as toxins, enzymes, growth factors, activators, and inhibitors with a wide spectrum of biological activities (Theakston, 1983; Rahmy and Hemmaid, 2000). They are also known to cause different metabolic disorders by altering the cellular inclusions and enzymatic activities of different organs (Aiesenberg, 1981). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and surrounding areas are inhabited by several venomous snakes of medical importance. Among them are the families Elapidae, Hydrophiidae, Viperidae and Atractaspididae, in addition to the innocuous family Colubridae, which includes weakly venomous, back- fanged representatives (Gasperetti, 1977). From the medical point of view, vipers, with their highly sophisticated venom delivery system, are the most important snakes in Saudi Arabia since they are responsible for most of the snakebites affecting humans, and the sand viper (Cerastes cerastes gasperettii; Ccg ) is the most frequent of all (Gasperetti, 1988). The horned viper Ccg is widely distributed from Africa to South-Western Asia. It is the most common snake in Saudi Arabia especially in the central region (Al- Sadoon, 1989), and it poses a serious medical problem (Djebari and Martin- Eauclaire, 1990). Envenoming by the Cerastes cerastes viper is quite common both in the area of its occurrence and among snake-keepers because of the high popularity and availability of this species (Valenta et al., 2010). The clinical course of intoxication is usually not severe, presenting with mild discomfort, elevated temperature, nausea, sometimes vertigo, vomiting accompanied by laboratory evidence of coagulation disorder without major clinical presentation, and minor local lesion. Some afflicted persons do not even seek medical consultation. For these reasons, publications on envenoming by the Cerastes viper are quite rare and mostly depict a typical course with coagulation disorder and renal failure (Lifshitz et al., 1995, 2000, 2002; Schneemann et al., 2004). In view of the paucity of information on the effects of Ccg crude venom, the present study was planned to investigate the effects of the snake crude venom on hepatic, renal and testicular tissues histochemical and biochemical parameters of mice.