ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060271
R Wayne Litaker, Julie A Matweyou, Steven R Kibler, D Ransom Hardison, William C Holland, Patricia A Tester
{"title":"Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in Alaskan Butter Clams: Does Cleaning Make Them Safe to Eat?","authors":"R Wayne Litaker, Julie A Matweyou, Steven R Kibler, D Ransom Hardison, William C Holland, Patricia A Tester","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060271","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060271","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Butter clams (<i>Saxidomus gigantea</i>) are a staple in the subsistence diets of Alaskan Native communities and are also harvested recreationally. This filter-feeding species can accumulate saxitoxins (STXs), potent neurotoxins produced by late spring and summer blooms of the microalga <i>Alexandrium catenella</i>. The consumption of tainted clams can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Traditional beliefs and early reports on the efficacy of removing clam siphons have created the impression that cleaning butter clams by removing certain tissues makes them safe to eat. However, the toxin distribution within clams can vary over time, making the practice of cleaning butter clams unreliable. This study tested the effectiveness of the cleaning methods practiced by harvesters on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Specifically, butter clams were cleaned by removing different tissues to produce samples of \"edible\" tissues that were tested for STX content. The results were compared to historical data from a study conducted in Southeast Alaska from 1948 to 1949. Using these data, the risk for an average-sized man and woman consuming 200 g of edible tissue was calculated. The results showed that for clams containing >200 µg STX-equivalents 100 g edible tissue<sup>-1</sup>, no cleaning method reduced the concentration of STXs in the remaining tissue below the regulatory limit. Meals containing >900 µg STX-equivalents 100 g edible tissue<sup>-1</sup> posed a substantial risk of moderate or severe symptoms. No cleaning method assured that untested butter clams are safe to eat.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197486/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"<i>Micrurus nigrocinctus</i> in Colombia: Integrating Venomics Research, Citizen Science, and Community Empowerment.","authors":"Paola Rey-Suárez, Lina Preciado Rojo, Jeisson Gómez-Robles, Sanin Parra-Moreno, Erica Pachon-Camelo, Yirlys Fuentes-Florez, Bruno Lomonte, Julián Fernández, Mahmood Sasa, Vitelbina Núñez, Mónica Saldarriaga-Cordoba","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060268","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060268","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Snakebite is a high-priority neglected tropical disease, and a strategic goal based on four pillars has been recommended to reduce mortality and morbidity. One is empowering rural communities through citizen science, education, and engagement. In this study, an integrative approach was used to expand our knowledge of <i>Micrurus nigrocinctus</i> status and characterize its venom. Using citizen science data and field visits to local communities, 99 records of <i>M. nigrocinctus</i> distributed in Antioquia, Chocó, and Córdoba were obtained. Children, young people, and adults recognized <i>M. nigrocinctus</i> as the most common coral snake species in their region, and two specimens were recovered for venomic and Phylogenetic analyses. The <i>M. nigrocinctus</i> venom from Colombia exhibited similar chromatographic and electrophoretic profiles and biological activities and shared nearly identical protein families with Costa Rica. Commercial coral snake antivenoms also recognized and neutralized the whole venom from both countries. However, phylogenetic relationships showed greater divergence with specimens from Costa Rica. Involving communities helps prevent coral snake bites and facilitates access to rare specimens such as <i>M. nigrocinctus</i>, thereby enabling venom analyses, improving antivenom evaluation, and advancing toxinology research for medically significant species.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197593/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060266
Kyung-Jik Lim, Do-Kyeong Lee, Han-Seung Shin
{"title":"Evaluation of the Formation of Six Beta-Carboline Alkaloids, a Class of Natural Toxins, in Meat Products Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry.","authors":"Kyung-Jik Lim, Do-Kyeong Lee, Han-Seung Shin","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060266","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060266","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Beta-carboline alkaloids (βC-alkaloids) are natural toxins found in various foods, and can also form during the thermal processing of protein-rich ingredients. This study investigated the formation of six βC-alkaloids in pork belly, beef sirloin, mackerel, and cutlassfish subjected to pan-frying, boiling, steaming, and air-frying at 170-250 °C for 2-24 min. Microwave pretreatment (1-5 min) was applied prior to cooking to assess its mitigation potential. Quantification was performed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Pan-frying significantly promoted βC-alkaloid formation, with harman and norharman levels reaching up to 534.63 µg/kg and 217.06 µg/kg in beef sirloin, and 212.44 µg/kg and 533.01 µg/kg in cutlassfish, respectively. Air-frying generated lower alkaloid levels overall compared to pan-frying. Microwave pretreatment effectively mitigated alkaloid formation. The pretreatment of beef sirloin for 2 min resulted in a reduction in the norharman and harmaline levels by 78.4% and 96.5%, respectively. This study provides a comprehensive comparison of six βC-alkaloids across various food types and cooking methods, demonstrating the influence of cooking parameters on alkaloid formation. This study underscores the importance of understanding the thermal formation of natural toxins in foods and offers insight into practical strategies to minimize their occurrence in daily diets.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197532/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060269
Jihen Zouaoui, Pierre Poteaux, Audrey Beaussart, Nicolas Lesniewska, David Duval, Jérôme F L Duval
{"title":"Probing Bacterial Interactions with the <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i>-Killing Toxin Biomphalysin via Atomic Force Microscopy and Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy.","authors":"Jihen Zouaoui, Pierre Poteaux, Audrey Beaussart, Nicolas Lesniewska, David Duval, Jérôme F L Duval","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060269","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060269","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent work has identified biomphalysin (BM) protein from the snail <i>Biomphalaria glabrata</i> as a cytolytic toxin against the <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i> parasite. Ex vivo interactome studies further evidenced BM's ability to bind bacterial outer membrane proteins, but its specific antibacterial mechanisms and selectivity remain unclear. Accordingly, this study aims to elucidate the interaction between BM and two model bacteria with distinct cell surface architectures: <i>Escherichia coli</i> (Gram-) and <i>Micrococcus luteus</i> (Gram+). Employing a multiscale approach, we used in vivo single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) to probe molecular interactions at the single cell level. Combined with cell aggregation assays, immunoblotting and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging, SMFS results evidenced a selective interaction of BM from snail plasma with <i>M. luteus</i> but not <i>E. coli</i>. Exposure of <i>M. luteus</i> to BM compromised cell surface integrity and induced cell aggregation. These effects correlated with a patch-like distribution of BM on <i>M. luteus</i> reminiscent of pore-forming toxins, as revealed by the anti-BM antibody-functionalized AFM tip. Overall, this work highlights the utility of SMFS in dissecting host-pathogen molecular dialogs. It reveals BM's selective action against <i>M. luteus</i>, potentially via surface clustering, and it shows spatially heterogeneous responses to the toxin within and between individual cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197742/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060270
Raphael M Kudela
{"title":"Laboratory-Scale Evaluation of a Plant-Based Algaecide for Harmful and Non-Harmful Algae.","authors":"Raphael M Kudela","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060270","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060270","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Harmful algal blooms can negatively impact freshwater, estuarine, and coastal marine systems globally and pose serious risks to water quality, human and ecosystem health, and food production. Algae can produce toxic compounds, directly interfere with aquaculture species through (e.g.,) the production of foam or mucilage, as well as causing diseases and disorders in fish, and can result in hypoxic conditions when the bloom senesces. Application of US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) registered algaecides can be effective, scalable, and inexpensive, but there is growing interest in plant- or bacterial-derived compounds that do not require the use of chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide or copper. The algaecide C7X1 is a plant-based organic algaecide that proves effective against a wide variety of algae, including harmful algal species such as <i>Microcystis</i>, <i>Heterosigma</i>, and <i>Pseudo-nitzschia</i>. Performance is comparable to other USEPA-registered algaecides, with low to moderate extracellular toxin release and a potential lifetime of weeks in treated waters. The mode of action is inhibition of photosynthesis, suggesting that direct off-target impacts on zooplankton and other organisms would be minimal.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197718/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060267
Surangi H Thilakarathna, Brendon Parsons, Linda Chui
{"title":"The Effect of Mitomycin C on Induction of Shiga Toxin Production in Clinical STEC Isolates.","authors":"Surangi H Thilakarathna, Brendon Parsons, Linda Chui","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060267","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060267","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Early determination of the Shiga toxin type of Shiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> (STEC) is crucial for guiding STEC-infected patients for proper and timely treatment and patient care. Most diagnostic microbiology laboratories rely on PCR assays to detect the presence of <i>stx1</i> and/or <i>stx2</i> and enzymatic immunoassays (EIA) to detect the presence of the Shiga toxins 1 and/or 2 in STEC-positive stool samples. Occasionally, the stool samples test positive for STEC by PCR assays but test negative for the presence of Shiga toxins. Insufficient toxin production under laboratory conditions is the main culprit of this discordance. To test whether EIA-based STEC detection could be improved, various clinical STEC strains were treated with mitomycin C, which is a commonly used inducer of Shiga toxin production. A dose-dependent increase in Shiga toxin production, in response to mitomycin C doses of up to 500 ng/mL, was observed without any bactericidal effects. Depending on the serotype, 5-50 times more Shiga toxin 2 was produced than Shiga toxin 1. Shiga toxin production was not induced by the mitomycin C treatment in certain STEC serotypes carrying the toxin subtypes <i>stx1a</i>, <i>stx2a</i>, <i>2b</i>, <i>2f</i>, <i>or 2h</i>. This diversity in toxin production indicates that other factors may determine toxin expression in certain STEC strains, which warrant further exploration.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197360/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-24DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060265
Paulin Dettmann, Martin Skiba, Daniel Stern, Jasmin Weisemann, Hans Werner Mages, Nadja Krez, Martin B Dorner, Sara Schaarschmidt, Marc A Avondet, Marcus Fulde, Andreas Rummel, Birgit Strommenger, Sven Maurischat, Brigitte G Dorner
{"title":"Highly Sensitive Suspension Immunoassay for Multiplex Detection, Differentiation, and Quantification of Eight <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> Enterotoxins (SEA to SEI).","authors":"Paulin Dettmann, Martin Skiba, Daniel Stern, Jasmin Weisemann, Hans Werner Mages, Nadja Krez, Martin B Dorner, Sara Schaarschmidt, Marc A Avondet, Marcus Fulde, Andreas Rummel, Birgit Strommenger, Sven Maurischat, Brigitte G Dorner","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060265","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060265","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are major contributors to foodborne intoxications. Reliable detection methods for SEs are essential to maintain food safety and protect public health. Since the heat-stable toxins also exert their toxic effect in the absence of the bacterium, reliance on DNA detection alone can be misleading: it does not allow for determining which specific toxins encoded by a given strain are produced and epidemiologically linked with a given outbreak. Commercially available diagnostic assays for SE detection are so far limited in sensitivity and specificity as well as in the range of targeted toxins (SEA-SEE), thus non-targeted SEs linked to foodborne illness remain undetected at the protein level. This study aimed to develop a highly sensitive and specific multiplex suspension immunoassay (SIA) for SEA to SEI. To this end, high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the specific detection of the individual SEs were generated. When implemented in sandwich ELISAs and multiplex SIA, these mAbs demonstrated exceptional sensitivity with detection limits in the low picogram per millilitre range. When applied for the analysis of SE production in liquid cultures of a panel of 145 whole-genome sequenced strains of <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp. and <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i>, the novel multiplex SIA detected and differentiated the eight SEs with assay accuracies of 86.9-100%. Notably, the multiplex SIA covered one to four sequence variants for each of the individual SEs. Validation confirmed high recovery rates and reliable performance in three representative complex food matrices. The implementation of the novel mAbs in a multiplex SIA enabled, for the first time, simultaneous detection, differentiation, and quantification of multiple SEs from minimal sample volumes using Luminex<sup>®</sup> technology. As a result, the multiplex SIA will help strengthen food safety protocols and public health response capabilities.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197356/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-23DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060263
Yuting Wu, Feina Wu, Pan Zhao, Yan Gao, Mengyao Li, Mengjiao Luo, Qian Zhou, Siyuan Zhou, Xinhui Li, Yaling Hong, Yang Wu, Zhaorong Zhou, Yang Liu, Yandong Xia, Lijun Zou, Jia Yin
{"title":"Isolation and Mechanistic Investigation of the Efficient Zearalenone-Removing Strain <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> YJ25.","authors":"Yuting Wu, Feina Wu, Pan Zhao, Yan Gao, Mengyao Li, Mengjiao Luo, Qian Zhou, Siyuan Zhou, Xinhui Li, Yaling Hong, Yang Wu, Zhaorong Zhou, Yang Liu, Yandong Xia, Lijun Zou, Jia Yin","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060263","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Zearalenone (ZEN), a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin produced by <i>Fusarium graminearum</i> species, poses a significant threat to both human food safety and animal feed quality. In this study, we isolated a strain, designated as <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> YJ25, from a contaminated moldy corn sample, demonstrating substantial effectiveness in removing ZEN. Our findings revealed that YJ25's ZEN removal occurs primarily through cell wall adsorption, with enzymatic degradation representing a potential mechanism. In practical applications, enzymatic degradation may yield metabolites with heightened toxicity. However, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis revealed that ZEN was not converted into α-/β-zearalenol (α-/β-ZEL) or α-/β-zearalanol (α-/β-ZAL) by YJ25, substantiating the safety profile of YJ25 in the removal of ZEN. Our mechanistic investigations revealed that the cell wall components peptidoglycan and teichoic acid serve as the primary binding sites for ZEN adsorption. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis identified O-H, C-H, C=O, and C-O as the principal functional groups participating in the cell wall adsorption process. These investigations establish a scientific foundation for the prospective application of this strain as an efficient biological detoxification agent in food and feed safety management systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197482/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-23DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060264
María Ángeles García-Esparza, Eva María Mateo, José Antonio Robles, Michela Capoferri, Misericordia Jiménez, José Miguel Soria
{"title":"Unveiling the Neurotoxic Effects of Ochratoxin A and Its Impact on Neuroinflammation.","authors":"María Ángeles García-Esparza, Eva María Mateo, José Antonio Robles, Michela Capoferri, Misericordia Jiménez, José Miguel Soria","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060264","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060264","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ochratoxin A (OTA), a toxic compound generated by <i>Aspergillus</i> and <i>Penicillium</i> fungi, is a common contaminant in different food and animal feed sources, thereby posing possible dangers to human well-being. Although OTA is widely recognized for its kidney-damaging properties, new findings have also indicated its potential to harm the nervous system. Current research trends have increasingly examined the part played by environmental poisons, such as mycotoxins, in the development of diseases. This systematic review gathers and assesses the features of OTA along with the insights acquired from studies on its neurotoxicity. This work presents recent research that demonstrates some mechanisms by which OTA crosses the intestinal and blood-brain barriers, penetrating neural structures. In addition, it discusses the effect of OTA on several types of neural cells and its roles in apoptosis, neuroinflammation, and neurogenesis defects, while also determining the effects of antioxidant systems that neutralize the effects of OTA. This paper identifies crucial gaps in the research and highlights the necessity for further in-depth studies into how OTA affects the processes underlying neurodegeneration. Filling these knowledge gaps could provide valuable insights into the neurotoxic potential of OTA and its relevance to neurological disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197389/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ToxinsPub Date : 2025-05-22DOI: 10.3390/toxins17060260
Xesús Feás, Margarita Armisén, Sara López-Freire, Manuela Alonso-Sampedro, Carmen Vidal
{"title":"StingReady: A Novel Device for Controlled Insect Sting Challenge-From Field Capture to Clinical Application.","authors":"Xesús Feás, Margarita Armisén, Sara López-Freire, Manuela Alonso-Sampedro, Carmen Vidal","doi":"10.3390/toxins17060260","DOIUrl":"10.3390/toxins17060260","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reliable assessment of protection in venom immunotherapy (VIT) patients remains a clinical challenge, especially due to the limitations of conventional sting challenge tests (SCTs), which require complex insect handling and may compromise test accuracy. This study introduces StingReady, a novel, user-friendly device designed to streamline the SCT process by enabling safe, efficient, and minimally manipulative exposure to hymenopteran stings. For the first time, StingReady was applied to conduct SCTs with <i>Vespa velutina</i>, an invasive hornet species of increasing clinical relevance. The device was tested in a real-world setting at Belvís Park in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where hornets were successfully captured and transported to the hospital without anesthesia or limb removal. The design features adjustable mesh sizes, allowing compatibility with various hymenopteran taxa. Using StingReady, nine patients underwent SCTs with no need for direct insect handling during the hospital procedure. The process improved patient safety and comfort while preserving the insect's natural stinging behavior, thereby enhancing test reliability. This study demonstrates that StingReady significantly improves SCT methodology, offering a practical, reproducible, and ethically sound alternative for evaluating VIT efficacy across diverse hymenopteran species.</p>","PeriodicalId":23119,"journal":{"name":"Toxins","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12197535/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144485895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}