Antiviral Effects of Animal Toxins: Is There a Way to Drugs?

Abstract

Viruses infect all types of organisms, causing viral diseases, which are very common in humans. Since viruses use the metabolic pathways of their host cells to replicate, they are difficult to eradicate without affecting the cells. The most effective measures against viral infections are vaccinations and antiviral drugs, which selectively inhibit the viral replication cycle. Both methods have disadvantages, which requires the development of new approaches to the treatment of viral diseases. In the study of animal venoms, it was found that, in addition to toxicity, venoms exhibit other types of biological activity, including an antiviral one, the first mention of which dates back to middle of the last century, but detailed studies of their antiviral activity have been conducted over the past 15 years. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced these studies and several compounds with antiviral activity have been identified in venoms. Some of them are very active and can be considered as the basis for antiviral drugs. This review discusses recent antiviral studies, the found compounds with high antiviral activity, and the possible mechanisms of their action. The prospects for using the animal venom components to create antiviral drugs, and the expected problems and possible solutions are also considered.

Functional Profiling of the A-Family of Venom Peptides from the Wolf Spider Lycosa shansia

“…Some linear venom peptides are capable of exerting antiviral activity, including activities against influenza viruses [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Given that the A-family peptides showed no toxicity toward MDCK II cells, we infected these cells with influenza viruses (H1N1, H3N2 or B-Malaysia (B-Mal)) and determined whether or not the A-family peptides possess antiviral activity.…”

Egyptian cobra (Naja haje haje) venom phospholipase A2: a promising antiviral agent with potent virucidal activity against simian rotavirus and bovine coronavirus

“…Several scientists have studied the antiviral activity of PLA2 from the venoms of different species of snakes against several human viruses, including Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), Influenza A (IAV), Coxsackie virus B3 (CVB3), HIV, Dengue virus (DENV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Japanese encephalitis (JEV), Mayaro virus (MAYV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS), SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as they illustrated the mechanisms of inhibition action against several viruses (Muller et al 2012 , 2014 ; Cecilio et al 2013 ; Russo et al 2014 ; Shimizu et al 2017 ; Rodrigues et al 2019 ; Brenes et al 2020 ; Teixeira et al 2020 ; Siniavin et al 2021 , 2022 ; Utkin et al 2022 ).…”

Harnessing the Power of Venomous Animal-Derived Toxins against COVID-19

“…Animal venoms are rich in active biological compounds [ 63 ] and several toxins from different venomous and poisonous animals, whether aquatic or terrestrial, have already had their antiviral potential determined against many types of viruses. For dengue virus, a PLA 2 from Bothrops leucurus snake venom was able to decrease amounts of viral RNA [ 64 ]; similarly, a PLA 2 from honey bee Apis mellifera also prevented intracellular release of the viral capsid protein of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV), among others, suggesting it blocks viral entry into cells [ 1 , 65 ]. In 2011, Li et al observed that the optimized toxin mucroporin from Lychas mucronatus scorpion venom, mucroporin-M1, was able to perform a potent antiviral activity against measles, influenza H5N1, and SARS-CoV viruses, demonstrating that toxins could be prototypes of new antiviral drugs [ 66 ].…”

“…A virus is a non-cellular agent with nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coating (some may also have a lipid envelope over the capsid) and which can only reproduce within host cells [ 1 ]. Virus-borne diseases affect millions of people every year, causing mild infections to severe complications and deaths, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV-AIDS) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) [ 2 , 3 ].…”