ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the protective effects of Dextran-40 on fatal jellyfish stings at whole animal and cellular levels.MethodsFirstly, using the fatal jellyfish envenomation syndrome (acute jellyfish envenomation syndrome, AJES and delayed jellyfish envenomation syndrome, DJES) models established earlier by ourselves, we surveyed the effects of Dextran-40 on the survival rate of AJES mice, on the circulatory function of AJES rats and on the serum biochemical indexes of DJES rats.In addition, the protective effects of Dextran-40 on cardiomyocytes against the damage induced by tentacle extract (TE) from the jellyfish Cyanea capillata were studied at the cellular level by laser scanning confocal microscopy.ResultsAt the whole animal level, Dextran-40 at 0.8g/kg significantly improved the survival rate of AJES mice, and at 0.6g/kg greatly inhibited the drop of blood pressure of AJES rats.For the DJES rats, Dextran-40 at 0.6g/kg had a significant protective effect on the liver function indexes (ALT, AST, A/G) and myocardial enzymes (CK, LDH).At the cellular level, Dextran-40 5μg/mL greatly inhibited the TE-induced increase in intracellular Ca2+ content and the death of cardiomyocytes.ConclusionThe protective effects of Dextran-40 on fatal jellyfish stings may be related to its ability to stabilize blood pressure or block the TE-induced pore formation in the cardiomyocytes.Considering that the clinical safety of Dextran-40, we strongly recommend it as a first-aid medicine for jellyfish stings.