Arachnids of medical importance in Brazil: main active compounds present in scorpion and spider venoms and tick saliva.

Francielle A. Cordeiro,Fernanda G. Amorim,Fernando A. P. Anjolette,Eliane C. Arantes

doi:10.1186/s40409-015-0028-5

Francielle A. Cordeiro, Fernanda G. Amorim + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40409-015-0028-5

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Abstract

Arachnida is the largest class among the arthropods, constituting over 60,000 described species (spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, palpigrades, pseudoscorpions, solpugids and harvestmen). Many accidents are caused by arachnids, especially spiders and scorpions, while some diseases can be transmitted by mites and ticks. These animals are widely dispersed in urban centers due to the large availability of shelter and food, increasing the incidence of accidents. Several protein and non-protein compounds present in the venom and saliva of these animals are responsible for symptoms observed in envenoming, exhibiting neurotoxic, dermonecrotic and hemorrhagic activities. The phylogenomic analysis from the complementary DNA of single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes shows that these animals share some common protein families known as neurotoxins, defensins, hyaluronidase, antimicrobial peptides, phospholipases and proteinases. This indicates that the venoms from these animals may present components with functional and structural similarities. Therefore, we described in this review the main components present in spider and scorpion venom as well as in tick saliva, since they have similar components. These three arachnids are responsible for many accidents of medical relevance in Brazil. Additionally, this study shows potential biotechnological applications of some components with important biological activities, which may motivate the conducting of further research studies on their action mechanisms.

Highlights

Envenomings are considered a neglected disease by the World Health Organization [1] and constitute a public health problem, especially in tropical countries
Among the most studied arthropod venoms are those from scorpions, spiders and ticks, belonging to the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, which correspond to the purpose of this review
The phylogenomic analysis of the nuclear protein-coding sequences from arthropod species suggests a common origin in the venom systems of scorpions, spiders and ticks [5, 6]

Summary

Introduction

Envenomings are considered a neglected disease by the World Health Organization [1] and constitute a public health problem, especially in tropical countries. Catabolite activator protein (CAP), defensins, hyaluronidase, Kunitz-like peptides (serine proteinase inhibitor), neurotoxins, lectins and phospholipase are examples of compounds shared by these animals (Fig. 1). The study of the structural similarity among these compounds/toxins identified in the venom/ saliva of these animals may contribute to a better understanding of the action mechanism involved in envenoming besides providing information about molecules with great biotechnological potential.

Results

Conclusion