Heterologous expression of Ts8, a neurotoxin from Tityus serrulatus venom, evidences its antifungal activity

Antimicrobial Potential of Scorpion-Venom-Derived Peptides

The frequent and irrational use of antibiotics by humans has led to the escalating rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with a high rate of morbidity-mortality worldwide, which poses a challenge to the development of effective treatments. A large number of host defense peptides from different organisms have gained interest due to their broad antibacterial spectrum, rapid action, and low target resistance, implying that these natural sources might be a new alternative to antimicrobial drugs. As important effectors of prey capture, defense against other animal attacks, and competitor deterrence, scorpion venoms have been developed as important candidate sources for modern drug development. With the rapid progress of bioanalytical and high throughput sequencing techniques, more and more scorpion-venom-derived peptides, including disulfide-bridged peptides (DBPs) and non-disulfide-bridged peptides (NDBPs), have been recently identified as having massive pharmacological activities in channelopathies, pathogen infections, and cancer treatments. In this review, we summarize the molecular diversity and corresponding structural classification of scorpion venom peptides with antibacterial, antifungal, and/or antiparasitic activity. We also aim to improve the understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which scorpion-venom-derived peptides exert these antimicrobial functions, and finally highlight their key aspects and prospects for antimicrobial therapeutic or pharmaceutical application.

The complex repertoire of Tityus spp. venoms: Advances on their composition and pharmacological potential of their toxins

Animal venoms are a rich and complex source of components, including peptides (such as neurotoxins, anionic peptides and hypotensins), lipids, proteins (such as proteases, hyaluronidases and phospholipases) and inorganic compounds, which affect all biological systems of the envenoming victim. Their action may result in a wide range of clinical manifestations, including tachy/bradycardia, hyper/hypotension, disorders in blood coagulation, pain, edema, inflammation, fever, muscle paralysis, coma and even death. Scorpions are one of the most studied venomous animals in the world and interesting bioactive molecules have been isolated and identified from their venoms over the years. Tityus spp. are among the scorpions with high number of accidents reported in the Americas, especially in Brazil. Their venoms have demonstrated interesting results in the search for novel agents with antimicrobial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, hypotensive, immunomodulation, anti-insect, antitumor and/or antinociceptive activities. Furthermore, other recent activities still under investigation include drug delivery action, design of anti-epileptic drugs, investigation of sodium channel function, treatment of erectile disfunction and priapism, improvement of scorpion antivenom and chelating molecules activity. In this scenario, this paper focuses on reviewing advances on Tityus venom components mainly through the modern omics technologies as well as addressing potential therapeutic agents from their venoms and highlighting this abundant source of pharmacologically active molecules with biotechnological application.