Hepatotoxicity of hornet's venom sac extract, after repeated in vivo and in vitro envenomation.

The activity of some enzymes involved in hepatic function was measured in rats, in vivo, after one week's repeated envenomation with Hornet's (Vespa orientalis) venom sac extract (VSE) and in vitro in monolayers of tissue culture of rat hepatocytes treated with VSE. The maximal serum enzymatic changes observed in vivo were significant: twenty fold rise of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), a 7-8 fold rise of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and a 4-5 fold rise in alanine aminotransferase (ALP) activity. Also 2-3x increases of both serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) were noted. The maximal in vitro changes were observed after six days of daily envenomation. There were five fold rises of the activity of AST in the medium, as well as of two-three fold rises of ALT, ALP and LDH. These changes suggest that Hornet's VSE induces enzymatic changes in the liver after prolonged, repeated exposures. They also exclude a general effect, like shock, that might possibly occur in the intact animal, as the cause of the demonstrated hepatic damage.