Scorpion Venom: Detriments and Benefits
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Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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Department of Biotechnology and Biosafety, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Eşkisehir Osmangazi University, TR-26040 Eşkisehir, Turkey
3
Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto—São Paulo 14040-903, Brazil
4
Medical School, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Roraima 69310-000, Brazil
5
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Letters, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, TR-26040 Eskisehir, Turkey
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Biomedicines 2020, 8(5), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8050118
Received: 2 April 2020
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Revised: 1 May 2020
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Accepted: 7 May 2020
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Published: 12 May 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Venoms–Curse or Cure?)
Scorpion venom may cause severe medical complications and untimely death if injected into the human body. Neurotoxins are the main components of scorpion venom that are known to be responsible for the pathological manifestations of envenoming. Besides neurotoxins, a wide range of other bioactive molecules can be found in scorpion venoms. Advances in separation, characterization, and biotechnological approaches have enabled not only the development of more effective treatments against scorpion envenomings, but have also led to the discovery of several scorpion venom peptides with interesting therapeutic properties. Thus, scorpion venom may not only be a medical threat to human health, but could prove to be a valuable source of bioactive molecules that may serve as leads for the development of new therapies against current and emerging diseases. This review presents both the detrimental and beneficial properties of scorpion venom toxins and discusses the newest advances within the development of novel therapies against scorpion envenoming and the therapeutic perspectives for scorpion toxins in drug discovery.
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Keywords:
scorpion venom; potassium channel toxins; calcins; scorpionism; fungicide; parasiticide; bradykinin potentiating peptide; analgesics; antivenom
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MDPI and ACS Style
Ahmadi, S.; Knerr, J.M.; Argemi, L.; Bordon, K.C.F.; Pucca, M.B.; Cerni, F.A.; Arantes, E.C.; Çalışkan, F.; Laustsen, A.H. Scorpion Venom: Detriments and Benefits. Biomedicines 2020, 8, 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8050118
AMA Style
Ahmadi S, Knerr JM, Argemi L, Bordon KCF, Pucca MB, Cerni FA, Arantes EC, Çalışkan F, Laustsen AH. Scorpion Venom: Detriments and Benefits. Biomedicines. 2020; 8(5):118. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8050118
Chicago/Turabian StyleAhmadi, Shirin, Julius M. Knerr, Lídia Argemi, Karla C.F. Bordon, Manuela B. Pucca, Felipe A. Cerni, Eliane C. Arantes, Figen Çalışkan, and Andreas H. Laustsen. 2020. "Scorpion Venom: Detriments and Benefits" Biomedicines 8, no. 5: 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8050118
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