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The hyaluronidase enzyme is generally known as a spreading factor in animal venoms. Although its activity has been demonstrated in several organisms, a deeper knowledge about hyaluronidase and the venom spreading process from the bite/sting site until its elimination from the victim's body is still in need.

We used technetium-99m radiolabeled Tityus serrulatus venom (^99mTc-TsV) to evaluate the venom distribution kinetics in mice. To understand the hyaluronidase’s role in the venom’s biodistribution, ^99mTc-TsV was immunoneutralized with specific anti-T.serrulatus hyaluronidase serum. Venom biodistribution was monitored by scintigraphic images of treated animals and by measuring radioactivity levels in tissues as heart, liver, lungs, spleen, thyroid, and kidneys. In general, results revealed that hyaluronidase inhibition delays venom components distribution, when compared to the non-neutralized ^99mTc-TsV control group. Scintigraphic images showed that the majority of the immunoneutralized venom is retained at the injection site, whereas non-treated venom is quickly biodistributed throughout the animal’s body. At the first 30 minutes, concentration peaks are observed in the heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and thyroid, which gradually decreases over time. On the other hand, immunoneutralized ^99mTc-TsV takes 240 minutes to reach high concentrations in the organs. A higher concentration of immunoneutralized ^99mTc-TsV was observed in the kidneys in comparison with the non-treated venom. Further, in situ neutralization of ^99mTc-TsV by anti-T.serrulatus hyaluronidase serum at zero, ten, and …