These antibodies could contribute to the protective immunity of snakebite victims during subsequent exposures. To date, the only strategy available for assessing the memory response to snakebites is by measuring the humoral response through the quantification of venom-specific antibodies in serum. Yanomami, antivenom, snakebite resistance, immune response, Amazon == 1. Introduction == In Brazil, approximately 30, 000 snakebites are reported each year [1], presenting high morbidity and mortality rates within the Brazilian Amazon region [2]. Snake venoms are composed of a protein cocktail of high complexity and diversity [3], triggering a variety of biochemical and toxicological effects on victims, which influences several clinical manifestations [4] ranging from mild to severe outcomes, including hospitalization for long periods, surgical procedures, and follow-up for rehabilitation [5]. Indeed, snakebite after-effects depend on several factors, including the species, region of the bite, quantity Mirtazapine of venom injected, and influence of ecology and evolution in driving inter- and intra-specific venom variations, in addition to the health condition of the victim [6,7]. Antivenom (i.e., horse-derived polyvalent antibodies) has been the primary and single specific snakebite treatment for more than a century. Although lifesaving, antivenoms still have therapeutic limitations [8,9], presenting limited efficacy against some effects of envenoming, such as local tissue damage [4,10]. Based on that, vaccines targeting snakebites were raised as a possibility to induce protection to those at risk for death by snakebite [11]. Knowing that many snake venom-derived toxins are immunogenic, different experimental approaches and studies have demonstrated that vaccine-elicited antibodies can neutralize venoms and protect from envenomation injury [12,13,14,15]. In humans, the ability of venom to induce neutralizing antibodies has also been demonstrated [16]. This article will review evidence of human antibodies targeting snake venoms and inducing protection for the victims, aiming to understand the memory immune response. == 2. Snakebites in the Yanomami Indigenous Community of the Brazilian Amazon == The Yanomamis are a hunterhorticulturist indigenous population from the interfluvial tropical forest of the western Guiana massif, who inhabit the borders between Venezuela (upper Orinoco and Cassiquiare) and Brazil (upperRio Branco, left bank ofRio Negro). They constitute a cultural and linguistic set composed of four territorially adjacent subgroups that speak mutually intelligible languages: the Yanomami (approximately 56% of the ethnic group), the Yanomam (25%), the Sanum (14%), and the Ninam (5%) [17]. Mirtazapine On the Brazil side, the Yanomami Indigenous Land (YIL) was demarcated in 1992, occupying 96,560 km2in the west of the state of Roraima and north of the state of Amazonas (Figure 1), where around 21,600 indigenous people live in 260 Rabbit polyclonal to AMACR communities [18]. == Figure 1. == Map of the Yanomami indigenous land. Hence, the Yanomami peoples way of life, deeply intertwined with theUrihi(Forest-Earth, as it is referred to in Yanomami language), renders them particularly susceptible to snake-related accidents. Their homes (calledXaponoin the Yanomami Mirtazapine language) lack walls that would provide insulation from the surrounding forest. Additionally, their swidden agriculture is carried out in dense forest, and they frequently visit collection sites to gather roots and other plant materials essential to their daily lives. Moreover, their hunting and fishing grounds, crucial for sustenance, expose them to further potential encounters with snakes. Since the Yanomamis are a closed indigenous community, there is no road to access the Mirtazapine YIL, resulting in communities with difficult Mirtazapine access (remote), which are marked by frequent snakebite envenomings due to the typical humid tropical Amazon Forest environment. Although highly prevalent, snakebites in YIL are commonly treated in situ, with the victims care mainly performed by local healers and health professionals working in the area [19]. In cases of severe envenomings with no improvement following local therapy, the indigenous victims can be transferred by air to main hospitals in cities [20,21]. Although snakebites are considered one of the main diseases in the YIL, there is a lack of studies in the region compared with other regions in the Amazon such as the state of Par [22,23,24,25] and the Central Amazon [26,27]. As the Yanomamis live in places with difficult access, different causes have been shown to be responsible for the negligence of snakebite care, including the delay in therapy and difficulty in removing patients from the isolated areas, resulting in a higher lethality rate and sequelae than in other parts of Brazil [22]. In addition, recent studies [18,28,29] corroborate the fact that the Yanomamis have a mythological relationship with snakes, which can be considered as an evil for their population. Thus, they believe that being attacked by a snake may be a kind of punishment by the gods.