Abstract
Scorpion venom may cause severe medical complications and untimely death if injected into the human body. Neurotoxins are the main components of scorpion venom that are known to be responsible for the pathological manifestations of envenoming. Besides neurotoxins, a wide range of other bioactive molecules can be found in scorpion venoms. Advances in separation, characterization, and biotechnological approaches have enabled not only the development of more effective treatments against scorpion envenomings, but have also led to the discovery of several scorpion venom peptides with interesting therapeutic properties. Thus, scorpion venom may not only be a medical threat to human health, but could prove to be a valuable source of bioactive molecules that may serve as leads for the development of new therapies against current and emerging diseases. This review presents both the detrimental and beneficial properties of scorpion venom toxins and discusses the newest advances within the development of novel therapies against scorpion envenoming and the therapeutic perspectives for scorpion toxins in drug discovery.
Highlights
According to national public health data, about 1.5 million scorpion envenomings, resulting in 2000–3000 deaths, are recorded annually worldwide [1,2]
This discovery set the stage for studies on scorpion-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which have led to a large number of discoveries that may be of relevance for therapeutic applications
The large diversity of scorpion venom components has fueled a wide range of studies on these molecules, from toxicology to antivenom development and therapeutic applications
Summary
According to national public health data, about 1.5 million scorpion envenomings, resulting in 2000–3000 deaths, are recorded annually worldwide [1,2]. Hemisphere are not associated with severe scorpionism [3], more than two billion people living in northern Saharan Africa, African Sahel, South Africa, Near and Middle East, southern India, eastern. Depending on the scorpion species, the symptoms can progress to severe complications over the course of a few hours. Inducing a massive release of neurotransmitters, scorpion venom neurotoxins usually cause sweating, nausea, vomiting, hypersalivation, restlessness, and, in more severe cases, arrhythmia, unconsciousness, and heart failure, which may lead to death [10]. The potential therapeutic value of different scorpion venom compounds is being increasingly investigated, as these compounds may represent promising leads for the development of new pharmaceuticals. The latest reported results from the scientific literature focusing on the widespread potential applications of scorpion venom compounds are presented
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