Abstract
Animal venoms comprise a complex mixture of components that affect several biological systems. Based on the high selectivity for their molecular targets, these components are also a rich source of potential therapeutic agents. Among the main components of animal venoms are the secreted phospholipases A2 (sPLA2s). These PLA2 belong to distinct PLA2s groups. For example, snake venom sPLA2s from Elapidae and Viperidae families, the most important families when considering envenomation, belong, respectively, to the IA and IIA/IIB groups, whereas bee venom PLA2 belongs to group III of sPLA2s. It is well known that PLA2, due to its hydrolytic activity on phospholipids, takes part in many pathophysiological processes, including inflammation and pain. Therefore, secreted PLA2s obtained from animal venoms have been widely used as tools to (a) modulate inflammation and pain, uncovering molecular targets that are implicated in the control of inflammatory (including painful) and neurodegenerative diseases; (b) shed light on the pathophysiology of inflammation and pain observed in human envenomation by poisonous animals; and, (c) characterize molecular mechanisms involved in inflammatory diseases. The present review summarizes the knowledge on the nociceptive and antinociceptive actions of sPLA2s from animal venoms, particularly snake venoms.
Highlights
Animal venoms comprise a complex mixture of components that affect several biological systems.Based on the high selectivity for their molecular targets, these components are considered a rich source of potential therapeutic agents [1,2]
These authors demonstrated, using behavioral models of pain evaluation, that bradykinin is an important mediator of the pain enhancing effect that is induced by B. moojeni, and that the venom’s PLA2 activity contributes to this phenomenon
Subunit induces analgesia when complexed to the CA, while it causes hyperalgesia when injected independently of the complex. Based on their inflammatory and painful activities, these toxins have been widely used as tools for the understanding of the pathophysiology of inflammation and pain that is observed in human envenomation by poisonous animals, snakes
Summary
Animal venoms comprise a complex mixture of components that affect several biological systems. One of the main components of animal venoms are the secreted phospholipases A2 (PLA2 s-EC 3.1.1.4) that hydrolyze the acyl bond at the sn-2 acyl position of membrane phospholipids, releasing lysophospholipids and free fatty acids, such as arachidonic and oleic acids [3,4]. Arachidonic acid molecules, for example, can be converted to eicosanoids, including prostaglandins and leukotrienes, which participate in a wide range of physiological and pathological processes, such as sleep regulation, immune responses, inflammation, and pain [5]. The sPLA2 group is composed by small proteins (14–18 kDa), usually containing five to eight disulfide bonds. This group has sixteen subgroups, and includes the phospholipases. The present review summarizes the knowledge on the nociceptive and antinociceptive actions of sPLA2 s from animal venoms, from snake venoms
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