Discovery of Selective Nanobodies against α-elapitoxin Dpp2c from Black Mamba through Phage Display Screening

Feared for its highly neurotoxic venom and rapid attack technique, the Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is Africa’s largest venomous snake. The clinical manifestations of a bitefrom D. polylepis include flaccid paralysis leading to respiratory failure and death due to postsynaptic blockade of the neuromuscular junctions caused by α-neurotoxins. Since antivenoms suffer from a reactivity bias towards larger toxins due the fact that antivenoms areproduced by immunization of large mammals, current antivenoms could be reinforced by additionof monoclonal antitoxins directed towards the smaller α-neurotoxins. Here, we report the discovery of selective nanobodies targeting α-elapitoxin Dpp2c from D. polylepis through phage display screening.