This comprehensive review explores the cutting-edge advancements in snake venom research, focusing on the integration of proteomics, genomics, transcriptomics, and bioinformatics. Highlighting the transformative impact of these technologies, the review delves into the genetic and ecological factors driving venom evolution, the complex molecular composition of venoms, and the regulatory mechanisms underlying toxin production. The application of synthetic biology and multi-omics approaches, collectively known as venomics, has revolutionized the field, providing deeper insights into venom function and its therapeutic potential. Despite significant progress, challenges such as the functional characterization of toxins and the development of cost-effective antivenoms remain. This review also discusses the future directions of venom research, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaborations and new technologies (mRNAs, cryo-electron microscopy for structural determinations of toxin complexes, synthetic biology, and other technologies) to fully harness the biomedical potential of venoms and toxins from snakes and other animals.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxins16110458 | DOI Listing |
Talanta
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, Alfaisal University, Al Zahrawi Street, Al Maather, Al Takhassusi Road, Riyadh, 11533, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address:
Envenomation accidents are usually diagnosed at the hospital through signs and symptoms assessment such as short breath, dizziness and vomiting, numbness, swilling, bruising, or bleeding around the affected site. However, this traditional method provides inaccurate diagnosis given the interface between snakebites and scorpion stings symptoms. Therefore, early determination of bites/stings source would help healthcare professionals select the suitable treatment for patients, thus improving envenomation management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Prog
January 2025
Grupo de Nutrición, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
Objective: The expansion of human activities in northern Colombia has increased human-snake encounters, particularly with venomous . Given the limited knowledge of systemic envenomation effects and previous studies focusing only on early murine symptoms, this investigation aimed to describe the time-course physiopathology of envenomation following intramuscular injection .
Methods: Venom was inoculated in the gastrocnemius muscles of Swiss Webster mice, and blood, urine, and tissue samples were taken at different times to evaluate lethality and biochemical markers of renal function and oxidative stress.
Arch Toxicol
January 2025
Department of Integrative Biology, School of Bioscience and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India.
Chem Sci
January 2025
LAQV/Requimte, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n 4169-007 Porto Portugal
Snake venom-secreted phospholipases A (svPLAs) are critical, highly toxic enzymes present in almost all snake venoms. Upon snakebite envenomation, svPLAs hydrolyze cell membrane phospholipids and induce pathological effects such as paralysis, myonecrosis, inflammation, or pain. Despite its central importance in envenomation, the chemical mechanism of svPLAs is poorly understood, with detrimental consequences for the design of small-molecule snakebite antidotes, which is highly undesirable given the gravity of the epidemiological data that ranks snakebite as the deadliest neglected tropical disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrop Med Health
January 2025
Medical Unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Background: Hump-nosed viper (Hypnale species) bites are an important cause of mortality and morbidity in southern India and Sri Lanka, accounting for 27 and 77% of venomous snake bites, respectively. Previously, we knew them to be moderately venomous snakes, primarily causing local envenomation. However, recent reports have indicated severe systemic envenomation incidents, which include hemostatic dysfunction, microangiopathic hemolysis, kidney injury, myocardial toxicity, and even death.
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