Abstract
Caterpillar envenomation is a global health threat in the 21st century. Every direct or indirect contact with the urticating hairs of a caterpillar results in clinical manifestations ranging from local dermatitis symptoms to potentially life-threatening systemic effects. This is mainly due to the action of bioactive components in the venom that interfere with targets in the human body. The problem is that doctors are limited to relieve symptoms, since an effective treatment is still lacking. Only for Lonomia species an effective antivenom does exist. The health and economical damage are an underestimated problem and will be even more of a concern in the future. For some caterpillar species, the venom composition has been the subject of investigation, while for many others it remains unknown. Moreover, the targets involved in the pathophysiology are poorly understood. This review aims to give an overview of the knowledge we have today on the venom composition of different caterpillar species along with their pharmacological targets. Epidemiology, mode of action, clinical time course and treatments are also addressed. Finally, we briefly discuss the future perspectives that may open the doors for future research in the world of caterpillar toxins to find an adequate treatment.
Highlights
Envenomation by caterpillars constitutes an emerging public health issue of international concern.Caterpillars belong to the order Lepidoptera, the second largest order of insects in the phylumArthropoda
This review aims to give an overview of the knowledge we have today on the venom composition of different caterpillar species along with their pharmacological targets
The clinical profile after envenomation by some caterpillar species, e.g., Lonomia species, begins with burning pain, dermatitis, headache and nausea symptoms but evolves rapidly into a hemorrhagic syndrome accompanied by acute kidney injury (AKI) [10]
Summary
Envenomation by caterpillars constitutes an emerging public health issue of international concern. The most dangerous species are classified within the family Saturniidae and are responsible for severe and fatal accidents, occurring mainly in the tropical climate zones In these countries, caterpillar envenomation is relatively more common but still remains an underestimated problem with considerable health and economical damage. With recent advances in cutting-edge technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, the venom of caterpillar species can be explored in unprecedented detail In this way, a collection of diverse molecules involved in the pathology has been surmised. This review summarizes the main issues of caterpillar envenoming, including the epidemiology, mechanism of action and the diversity of molecules involved in the clinical manifestations In this way, the review aims to enhance our knowledge of the already identified bioactive component(s), their role on human body target(s) and combine this information into an integrated framework for future research. The diagnosis and current treatments are highlighted, together with the future perspectives to better understand and confront caterpillar envenomation with a true selective medicine
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