Ketoxan International

23/11/2021

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/15459/

The potential of scorpion venoms to combat the threat of new variants of coronavirus is being explored by scientists from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Suez Canal, Egypt.

04/09/2021

Peptide therapies:

More than 7,000 naturally occurring peptides have been identified, and they often have critical roles in the physiological nature of the human body, including actions such as hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, ion channel ligands, or anti-infectives.
Peptides are selective and potent signaling molecules that bind to specific cell surface receptors, such as protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) or ion channels, where they lead to intracellular effects. Due to their potent pharmacological properties, peptides represent an excellent starting point for designing new therapeutics and their specificity has been seen to translate into excellent safety, tolerability and efficacy features in humans. This aspect may also be the essential differentiating factor for peptides compared to conventional small molecules. Furthermore, peptide therapies are typically associated with lower production complexity compared to protein-based biopharmaceuticals, and therefore, production costs are also lower, generally approaching that of small molecules. And so on ,
Naturally occurring peptides are often not directly suitable for use as convenient therapies because they have intrinsic weaknesses, including poor chemical and physical stability, and short circulating plasma life. These aspects must be addressed to be used as medicines. Some of these weaknesses have been successfully resolved by what we call “traditional design” of therapeutic peptides along with the emergence of a range of peptide technologies that represent opportunities and future directions within the peptide

20/06/2021

Venomous animals on the earth have been found to be valuable resources for the development of therapeutics. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins and peptides are the major components of animal venoms, many of which can target various ion channels, receptors, and membrane transporters. Compared to traditional small molecule drugs, natural proteins and peptides exhibit higher specificity and potency to their targets. In this review, we summarize the varieties and characteristics of toxins from a few representative venomous animals, and describe the components and applications of animal toxins as potential drug candidates in the treatment of human diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neuropathic pain, as well as autoimmune diseases. In the meantime, there are many obstacles to translate new toxin discovery to their clinical applications. The challenges, strategies, and perspectives in the development of the protein toxin-based drugs are discussed as well.

23/05/2021

Biologics and Cancer

Biological therapy provides a targeted and individualized approach that has revolutionized oncology treatment.8 Cancer cells have ways to avoid destruction by the immune system, and immunotherapy through biologics stimulates the immune system to target and attack cancer cells.7 Put simply, it supports the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells.

Although not as common as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, biologic therapy has been shown in some types of cancer to target, destroy, and stop the spread of cancer cells, and possibly have fewer side effects than traditional cancer treatments. There are biologics that have been developed to slow down the growth of tumors. The introduction of biologic therapies has provided a course of treatment for some types of advanced or metastatic tumors, before which there was no effective treatment.

29/03/2021

Mediators Involved in Scorpion Envenomation

The inflammatory response is triggered by cascade that includes systems, cell elements, and release of mediators

After exposure to antigen vertebrates respond by antibodies production through a series of events involving multiple cellular interaction. Initially, antigen presenting cells is recognized by a T cell antigen receptor. At the end, B cells produce antibodies that are able to specifically recognize the antigen that provoked their formation. In between the two antigen-specific events T cells help B cells to make antibody by producing cytokines and/or cell-cell interaction. The two subpopulations of Th cells which are named as Th1 and Th2 that differ in the effectors functions that differ mainly in the repertoire of cytokine secreted in response to antigenic stimulation

17/03/2021

Scorpion venom consists of numerous peptides that may interfere with the activity of ion channels and modulate their functional properties. These peptides have different physiological and pharmacological activities. Various studies have been shown that scorpion toxins are used in insecticides, vaccines, cancer treatment, and protein engineering scaffolds.
Sodium Channels Toxins (NaTx)
Potassium Channels Toxins (KTx)
Calcium Channel Toxins Ca2+

06/03/2021

At least 51 species of snakes are present in the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding regions in the Middle East, as well as Northern and Southeastern Africa, nine of which are venomous including Naja haje arabicus and Walterinnesia aegyptia from the family Elapidae; Echis carinatus, Echis coloratus, Cerastes cerastes, and Bitis arietans of the family Viperidae; and Atractaspis microlepidota of the family Atractaspididae. Indeed, the latter alone, for example, contains 64 species in 12 genera

18/02/2021

Scorpion venom formation

The scorpion uses its venom to capture and defend prey. The toxin consists of mucopolysaccharides, hyaluronidase, phospholipase, serotonin, histamine, enzyme inhibitors, and proteins which are neurotoxic peptides.
Signs of scorpion poisoning are identified by the symptoms presented by victims of scorpion poisoning are usually complex in nature and can be primarily attributed to an overactivity of the autonomic nervous system.
The poison contains neurotoxic peptides, which are responsible for the symptoms that appear during poisoning by interacting with ion channels and have the ability to cause severe damage to the nervous system of both vertebrates and invertebrates.
Ion channels are walled pores whose gates can be intrinsic or regulated by binding or changes in the voltage gradient. This gradient is responsible for nerve and muscle stimulation, hormonal secretion, cell proliferation, sensory mobility, control of salt and water balance and regulation of blood pressure.
Scorpion venoms exhibit high specificity and affinity and have been used as pharmacological tools to characterize various receptor proteins involved in normal ion channel function, as an abnormal channel operating in disease states.

07/02/2021

The comparison of pharmacological characteristics with the different structures of scorpion toxins is important to understand and the mechanisms of action These toxins are responsible to overcome the defensive systems of the hosts such as proteases and/or significant local pH variations that may result from inflammation states induced by the animal bite itself Scorpion toxins are classified according to their structure, mode of action, and binding site on different channels or channel subtypes Each class consists of several peptides isolated from the venom of different species of scorpion and are based on their pharmacological action and also agrees well with the structural properties of this peptide family. The long-chain toxins affecting sodium channels have been subdivided primarily into two major subtypes, α- and β-toxins

03/02/2021

Poisonous animals on Earth have been found to be valuable resources for developing treatments. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins and peptides are the main components of animal toxins, many of which can target different ion channels, receptors, and membrane transporters. Compared to conventional small-molecule drugs, natural proteins and peptides show higher specificity and efficacy of their targets

23/01/2021

Cancer is considered one of the most predominant causes of morbidity and mortality all over the world and colorectal cancer is the most common fatal cancers, triggering the second cancer related death. Despite progress in understanding carcinogenesis and development in chemotherapeutics, there is an essential need to search for improved treatment. More than the half a century, cytotoxic and cytostatic agents have been examined as a potential treatment of cancer, among these agents; remarkable progresses have been reported by the use of the snake venom. Snake venoms are secreting materials of lethal snakes are store in venomous glands. Venoms are composite combinations of various protein, peptides, enzymes, toxins and non proteinaceous secretions.
Conclusion: Snake venom possesses immense valuable mixtures of proteins and enzymes. Venoms have potential to combat with the cancerous cells and produce positive effect. Besides the toxicological effects of venoms, several proteins of snake venom e.g. disintegrins, phospholipases A2, metalloproteinases, and L-amino acid oxidases and peptides e.g. bradykinin potentiators, natriuretic, and analgesic peptides have shown potential as pharmaceutical agents, including areas of diagnosis and cancer treatment. In this review we have discussed recent remarkable research that has involved the dynamic snake venoms compounds, having anticancer bustle especially in case of colorectal cancer.

27/12/2020

Simplified snake venoms divided them into three types according to their effects: haemotoxins that affect the cardiovascular system and blood functions, cytotoxins that target specific cellular sites, or muscle and neurotoxins that harm the nervous system and the body as a natural fate, the predatory snake needs to be immobilized Digesting its prey; Therefore, the toxin has a variety of requirements such as enzymes that can degrade proteins as well as membrane components and toxins that are able to paralyze prey.
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