Siddharth Bhatia

Dr. Siddharth Bhatia

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
Snake venom researcher

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 April 2023 in Toxins
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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ADArchana Deka
Archana Deka
SBSiddharth Bhatia
Siddharth Bhatia
VSVishal Santra
Vishal Santra
OBOmesh K. Bharti
Omesh K. Bharti
HLHmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga
Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga
Anita MalhotraAnita Malhotra
Anita Malhotra
Snake envenoming is caused by many biological species, rather than a single infectious agent, each with a multiplicity of toxins in their venom. Hence, developing effective treatments is challenging, especially in biodiverse and biogeographically complex countries such as India. The present study represents the first genus-wide proteomics analysis of venom composition across Naja species (N. naja, N. oxiana, and N. kaouthia) found in mainland India. Venom proteomes were consistent between individuals from the same localities in terms of the toxin families present, but not in the relative abundance of those in the venom. There appears to be more compositional variation among N. naja from different locations than among N. kaouthia. Immunoblotting and in vitro neutralization assays indicated cross-reactivity with Indian polyvalent antivenom, in which antibodies raised against N. naja are present. However, we observed ineffective neutralization of PLA2 activities of N. naja venoms from locations distant from the source of immunizing venoms. Antivenom immunoprofiling by antivenomics revealed differential antigenicity of venoms from N. kaouthia and N. oxiana, and poor reactivity towards 3FTxs and PLA2s. Moreover, there was considerable variation between antivenoms from different manufacturers. These data indicate that improvements to antivenom manufacturing in India are highly desirable.