Ctenus mediusandPhoneutria nigriventerSpiders Venoms Share Noxious Proinflammatory Activities

Abstract

Ctenus medius Keyserling, 1891 (Araneae: Ctenidae) co-occurs in various microhabitats of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and can be easily misidentified as the medically important spider Phoneutria nigriventer Keyserling, 1981 (Ctenidae). Despite being phylogenetically close to Phoneutria, no data are available about the toxic potential of Ctenus medius venom. Here we show that, although presenting different profile of protein composition, C. medius venom displays some of the toxic properties exhibited by P. nigriventer venom, including proteolytic, hyaluronidasic and phospholipasic activities, as well as the ability of causing hyperalgesia and edema. Moreover, C. medius venom interferes in the activation of the complement system in concentrations that P. nigriventer venom is inactive. Thus, these data show that venoms of spiders from Ctenidae family share important proinflammatory properties and suggest that the C. medius bite may have an important noxious effect in human accidents.

Envenomation by Wandering Spiders (Genus Phoneutria)

“…In agreement with the edema seen clinically, numerous experimental studies have shown that PNV causes edema in mice (Costa et al 2006;Gewehr et al 2013), rats (Antunes et al 1992;Palframan et al 1996;Costa et al 1997Costa et al , 2000Costa et al , 2001, and rabbits (Antunes et al 1992(Antunes et al , 1993bMarangoni et al 1993a). Edema is also observed with venom from the related Ctenus medius (Okamoto et al 2009). In rabbits, this edema is mediated essentially by activation of the tissue KKS, with bradykinin playing a major role in the responses (Marangoni et al 1993a;Antunes et al 1993b;Bento et al 1995); histamine is apparently not involved in the venom-induced edema in rabbits (Antunes et al 1992).…”

“…Phoneutria spp. venoms contain proteins (e.g., hyaluronidase, phospholipase, and serine proteases) (Richardson et al 2006;Okamoto et al 2009;Gewehr et al 2013), numerous peptides (ion channel activators and blockers and tachykinin-like peptides) (Pimenta et al 2005;Richardson et al 2006;Gomez et al 2002;De Lima et al 2016), and low molecular substances such as amines (histamine, serotonin) Pereira-Lima 1966, 1971;Pimenta et al 2005;Gewehr et al 2013). As with clinical investigations, the best characterized venom is that of P. nigriventer, although the venoms of other species of this genus (P. reidyi, P. keyserlingi) have been studied (Richardson et al 2006).…”

Mechanisms Involved in the Nociception Triggered by the Venom of the Armed Spider Phoneutria nigriventer

“…Accordingly, we observed that the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin did not reduce PNV-induced nociception. Of note, phospholipase A 2 , the enzyme responsible for arachidonic acid production, was detected in PNV [71]. Finally, we cannot exclude the possibility that PNV components could directly activate ASICs, as it was recently described that snake toxins isolated from Micrurus tener venom induce nociception through the direct stimulation of ASICs in sensory neurons [72].…”

Acidentes causados por aranhas e escorpiões no Estado do Ceará, Nordeste do Brasil: casos subnotificados e superestimados baseados na distribuição geográfica das espécies

“…É plausível acreditar que existem outras espécies que causem acidentes similares a Phoneutria, como os ctenídeos do gênero Ctenus Walckenaer, 1805. Ctenus medius Keyserling, 1891 é facilmente confundida com as Phoneutria spp., principalmente com os machos adultos devido ao seu padrão de coloração e tamanho (Almeida et al 2000), e propriedades toxicológicas similares, principalmente a dor intensa ou hiperalgesia (Okamoto et al 2009), cujo sintoma é o caráter que define o acidente causado por Phoneutria sp. (Camplesi et al 2014).…”