Evolution of alternative methodologies of scorpion antivenoms production

Implication of Tityus apiacas (Lourenco, 2002) in scorpion envenomations in the Southern Amazon border, Brazil

“…In the process of this antivenom production, horses are immunized by antigens from T. serrulatus venom, thus purifying specific antibodies from the hyperimmune plasma 11 . For the treatment of systemic scorpion envenomation, two types of antivenoms are available in Brazil and are equally distributed throughout the country: Tityus antivenom and Loxosceles, Phoneutria, and Tityus antivenom.…”

Biotechnological Trends in Spider and Scorpion Antivenom Development

“…Four spider families, namely Theraphosidae, Lycosidae, Sicariidae, and Ctenidae, are responsible for 1157 of the 1483 annotated spider toxins. The high density of annotated scorpion toxins deriving from venoms of the Buthidae family correlates with the fact that these scorpions are considered to be the most dangerous to human health among all scorpion families [2]. In contrast, the multitude of families from which annotated spider toxins originate may indicate that most studies on spider venoms have focused on finding novel toxins that may be used for drug discovery, and not on critical toxins in an envenoming case.…”

“…Scorpionism affects people in Northern Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, and to some extent India [2,3]. In comparison, spider bites mainly affect people in the Americas, Australia, and Africa [4], although bites are also known to occur in Europe [5].…”

“…Initially, focus will be directed towards the growing body of data on spider and scorpion toxins and proteomes, which may be harnessed for developing either recombinant or synthetic antivenoms. A comprehensive overview of the use of immunization strategies is beyond the scope of the paper, and can be found elsewhere [2]. However, the use of recombinant and synthetic toxins obtained through the use of biotechnological approaches is discussed, as well as the potential for including small molecules in future spider and scorpion antivenoms.…”

Generation of recombinant antibody fragments with toxin-neutralizing potential in loxoscelism

“…In this context, the cost of pharmaceutical development has dramatically decreased making possible to consider the rise of recombinant antibodies for the treatment of orphan and rare diseases [7]. In the mean time, a considered number of early preclinical studies have clearly demonstrated the potential of anti-toxins recombinant antibody fragments for a "targeted" therapy toward the treatment envenomings, with improved efficacy and safety [8][9][10].…”