Animal protein toxins: origins and therapeutic applications

Abstract

Venomous animals on the earth have been found to be valuable resources for the development of therapeutics. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins and peptides are the major components of animal venoms, many of which can target various ion channels, receptors, and membrane transporters. Compared to traditional small molecule drugs, natural proteins and peptides exhibit higher specificity and potency to their targets. In this review, we summarize the varieties and characteristics of toxins from a few representative venomous animals, and describe the components and applications of animal toxins as potential drug candidates in the treatment of human diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neuropathic pain, as well as autoimmune diseases. In the meantime, there are many obstacles to translate new toxin discovery to their clinical applications. The challenges, strategies, and perspectives in the development of the protein toxin-based drugs are discussed as well.

Snake Venoms in Drug Discovery: Valuable Therapeutic Tools for Life Saving

“…Studies in the past few decades have revealed that snake venoms are also rich in non-enzymatic proteins. In the opposite of the snake venoms enzymatic proteins, non-enzymatic proteins contribute generally to immobilization of prey [79]. In general, they act on specific membrane receptors, ion channels or plasma proteins, which cause disruption of the physiological processes of the prey by leading to neurotoxic and cardiotoxic effects [80].…”

Venoms As an Adjunctive Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease: Where are We Now and Where are We going?

“…Several disease-modifying candidates are currently under investigation. Venom-derived products [ 25 , 26 ], have offered a platform for development of novel medicines [ 27 , 28 ], some of which are already approved for clinical use [ 29 , 30 ]. Venoms from, for example, scorpions, snakes, spiders, bees, cone snails and sea anemones consist of a diverse range of proteins and peptides that target a broad spectrum of receptors in living organisms, for example, voltage-gated channels, ligand-gated channels, membrane transporters and enzymes [ 31 , 32 ].…”

Cnidarian toxins: recent evidences for potential therapeutic uses

“…They can interfere the sensitivity and accuracy of analysis assays which are performed at the whole animal, cell-based or molecular levels in classical phenotypic Recent evidences for Cnidarian toxins drug discovery as well as target-based drug discovery. Further, poor solubility, short serum half-life, poor oral bioavailability, low membrane permeability, instability during storage and transport and potential immunogenicity are some confronting difficulties in the path of therapeutic development (Chen et al 2018). However, the development and improvement of more advanced techniques, technologies, and computation applied to biology will foster productive medicinal products from largely unexplored areas in upcoming years.…”