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- Volume 10, Issue 5, 2011
Inflammation & Allergy-Drug Targets (Discontinued) - Volume 10, Issue 5, 2011
Volume 10, Issue 5, 2011
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Editorial from Editor-in-Chief (Wedding Bells: Animal Venoms and Therapeutic Drug Candidates)
More LessWe are happy to present in this issue of “Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets” under the guest editorship of Jean-Marc Sabatier a comprehensive series of outstanding articles - from molecules to clinics - of animal venoms with reference to allergic and immunological reactions and treatment options. We are fully aware that allergic or anaphylactic reactions to venoms in European latitudes mainly concerm wasps and bees and Read More
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Editorial from Guest Editor [Hot Topic:Animal Venoms: From Deadly Arsenals (Toxins) to Therapeutic Drug Candidates (Guest Editor: Jean-Marc Sabatier)]
More LessThe venoms from a variety of animal species (e.g. scorpions, snakes, spiders, sea anemones, marine cone snails, insects and worms) are rich sources of polypeptide toxins that often target -with high potency and variable specificity- different classes of ion channels. In recent years, a number of research teams have focused their efforts on studying the immunological responses to animal toxins. Apart from the vaccina Read More
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Analogs of the Sea Anemone Potassium Channel Blocker ShK for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases
Authors: Christine Beeton, Michael W. Pennington and Raymond S. NortonCCR7- effector memory T (TEM) lymphocytes are involved in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis. These cells express Kv1.3 potassium channels that play a major role in their activation. Blocking these channels preferentially inhibits the activation of CCR7- TEM cells, with little or no effects on CCR7+ naive and central memory T cells. Blockers of lymphocyte Kv Read More
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Therapeutic Potential of Peptide Toxins that Target Ion Channels
Authors: Evelyne Beraud and K. George ChandyTraditional healthcare systems in China, India, Greece and the Middle East have for centuries exploited venomous creatures as a resource for medicines. This review focuses on one class of pharmacologically active compounds from venom, namely peptide toxins that target ion channels. We highlight their therapeutic potential and the specific channels they target. The field of therapeutic application is vast, including pain, i Read More
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The Humoral Immune Response Induced by Snake Venom Toxins
Authors: Wilmar Dias da Silva and Denise V. TambourgiThis review summarizes the key contributions to our knowledge regarding the immune response induced by snake venom toxins, focusing particularly on the production of antibodies and their venom-neutralizing effects. We cover the past and present state of the art of anti-snake venom production, followed by an overview of the venomous snakes and their venoms. The toxic properties of relevant snake venom to Read More
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Immunological Aspects of Scorpion Toxins: Current Status and Perspectives
Significant progress has been made in immunological studies of scorpion toxins and several formats of antibodies directed against scorpion toxins have been reported. Some of these are commonly used in a specific treatment against envenoming; others are primarily used for immuno-biochemical characterizations. The preparation protocol of the antibody or its fragments can be substantially different from one laborat Read More
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Antivenoms for Snakebite Envenomings
Authors: Jose Maria Gutierrez, Guillermo Leon, Bruno Lomonte and Yamileth AnguloAnimal-derived antivenoms constitute the mainstay in the therapy of snakebite envenoming. Antivenoms are manufactured by immunizing animals, usually horses, with venoms from a single or several medically-relevant snake species. Antivenoms are constituted by either whole IgG molecules or the immunoglobulin fragments F(ab')2 and Fab, obtained by digestion with pepsin and papain, respectively. Differences in the pharma Read More
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Immune Response Towards Snake Venoms
The immune response involves a complex repertoire of innate and adaptive responses to foreign agents in the organism. The present review focuses on the immune response to snake venoms, including those occurring in snakebite accidental envenomation, experimental vaccination and animal hyperimmunization for snake antivenom production. The following aspects are considered: (a) the structural characteristics of sn Read More
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Venom Peptide Modulators of the Immune System
Authors: Marco C. Inserra and Richard J. LewisVenomous animals produce a diverse range of peptides and small molecules that are of both therapeutic and pharmacologic value. One such animal, the cone snail, produces peptides known as conotoxins, which may be of interest to those studying the mammalian immune system. Conotoxins are a family of venom peptides that display extraordinary diversity and often exquisite specificity for membrane protein targ Read More
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From the Stretcher to the Pharmacy's Shelf: Drug Leads from Medically Important Brazilian Venomous Arachnid Species
Accidents involving venomous animals have always caught the attention of mankind due to their lethality and other clinical implications. However, since the molecules obtained from animal venoms have been the product of millions of years of evolutionary process, toxins could be used to probe physiological mechanisms and could serve as leads for drug development. The present work reviews the state of the art pertainin Read More
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Hymenoptera Venom Proteins and Peptides for Diagnosis and Treatment of Venom Allergic Patients
More LessStings by insects of the order Hymenoptera cause systemic, sometimes life threatening allergic reactions in 1 - 5% of the population in Europe and North America. Responsible for these reactions is an IgE mediated sensitization to proteins of the venoms injected during the stings of social Hymenoptera species, mainly the honey bee (Apis mellifera), vespids like Vespula sp, Polistes sp. and ants, in southern US and central A Read More
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Interactions of Cnidarian Toxins with the Immune System
By Dusan SuputCnidarians comprise four classes of toxic marine animals: Anthozoa, Cubozoa, Scyphozoa and Hydrozoa. They are the largest and probably the oldest phylum of toxic marine animals. Any contact with a cnidarian, especially the box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), can be fatal, but most cnidarians do not possess sufficiently strong venomous apparatus to penetrate the human skin, whereas others rarely come into contact with hum Read More
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Immunological and Toxinological Responses to Jellyfish Stings
Authors: James Tibballs, Angel A. Yanagihara, Helen C. Turner and Ken WinkelJust over a century ago, animal responses to injections of jellyfish extracts unveiled the phenomenon of anaphylaxis. Yet, until very recently, understanding of jellyfish sting toxicity has remained limited. Upon contact, jellyfish stinging cells discharge complex venoms, through thousands of barbed tubules, into the skin resulting in painful and, potentially, lethal envenomations. This review examines the immunological and toxi Read More
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