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Animal toxins: Exploring novel bioactive compounds from toads, snakes and scorpions

Edited by Benedito Barraviera

Given its huge biodiversity, which includes a great amount of venomous and poisonous animal species, Brazil is well-known for its toxinological research. In this special collection published in Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases, we present a series of studies which have been carried out by a high-profile group of Brazilian researchers from the Research Support Center on Animal Toxins (NAP-TOXAN-USP) at University of São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, and have been funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp).

These studies describe new compounds from toad poison and snake and scorpion venoms using different approaches for their isolation and structural and functional characterization, aiming at the discovery of new candidate molecules. We are delighted to publish them as a special collection and believe it will be of interest for all involved not only with Toxinology but also with drug discovery and biotechnology development.

This collection of articles has not been sponsored and articles have undergone the journal’s standard peer-review process. The Editor declares no competing interests.

View all collections published in Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases.

  1. The yellow scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Ts) is responsible for the highest number of accidents and the most severe scorpion envenoming in Brazil. Although its venom has been studied since the 1950s, it presents a ...

    Authors: Priscila C. Lima, Karla C. F. Bordon, Manuela B. Pucca, Felipe A. Cerni, Karina F. Zoccal, Lucia H. Faccioli and Eliane C. Arantes
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:49
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. American visceral leishmaniasis is caused by the intracellular parasite Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi, and transmitted by the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis. Since treatment is based on classical chemotherapeu...

    Authors: Gustavo A. C. Barros, Andreia V. Pereira, Luciana C. Barros, Airton Lourenço Jr, Sueli A. Calvi, Lucilene D. Santos, Benedito Barraviera and Rui Seabra Ferreira Jr
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:48
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom (TsV) contains toxins that act on K+ and Na+ channels and account for the venom’s toxic effects. TsV can activate murine peritoneal macrophages, but it...

    Authors: Andrea Casella-Martins, Lorena R Ayres, Sandra M Burin, Fabiana R Morais, Juliana C Pereira, Lucia H Faccioli, Suely V Sampaio, Eliane C Arantes, Fabiola A Castro and Luciana S Pereira-Crott
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:46
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) are abundant components of snake venoms that have been extensively studied due to their pharmacological and pathophysiological effects on living organisms. This study aimed to assess the...

    Authors: Cássio Prinholato da Silva, Tássia R. Costa, Raquel M. Alves Paiva, Adélia C. O. Cintra, Danilo L. Menaldo, Lusânia M. Greggi Antunes and Suely V. Sampaio
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:44
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Snake venom galactoside-binding lectins (SVgalLs) comprise a class of toxins capable of recognizing and interacting with terminal galactoside residues of glycans. In the past 35 years, since the first report o...

    Authors: Marco A. Sartim and Suely V. Sampaio
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:35
    Content type: Review Published on:

  6. Toad secretions are a source of molecules with potential biotechnological application on a wide spectrum of diseases. Toads from the Rhinella family have two kinds of poisonous glands, namely granular and mucous ...

    Authors: Priscila Y T Shibao, Fernando A P Anjolette, Norberto P. Lopes and Eliane C. Arantes
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:30
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  7. Activation of the complement system plays an important role in the regulation of immune and inflammatory reactions, and contributes to inflammatory responses triggered by envenomation provoked by Bothrops snakes....

    Authors: Lorena Rocha Ayres, Alex dos Reis Récio, Sandra Mara Burin, Juliana Campos Pereira, Andrea Casella Martins, Suely Vilela Sampaio, Fabíola Attié de Castro and Luciana Simon Pereira-Crott
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:29
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Snake venoms are complex mixtures of inorganic and organic components, mainly proteins and peptides. Standardization of methods for isolating bioactive molecules from snake venoms is extremely difficult due to...

    Authors: Danilo L. Menaldo, Anna L. Jacob-Ferreira, Carolina P. Bernardes, Adélia C. O. Cintra and Suely V. Sampaio
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:28
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Crotalus durissus terrificus venom (CdtV) is one of the most studied snake venoms in Brazil. Despite presenting several well known proteins, its L-amino acid oxidase (LAAO) has not bee...

    Authors: Karla C. F. Bordon, Gisele A. Wiezel, Hamilton Cabral and Eliane C. Arantes
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:26
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. The skin secretions of toads of the family Bufonidae contain biogenic amines, alkaloids, steroids (bufotoxins), bufodienolides (bufogenin), peptides and proteins. The poison of Rhinella schneideri, formerly class...

    Authors: Fernando A. P. Anjolette, Flávia P. Leite, Karla C. F. Bordon, Ana Elisa C. S. Azzolini, Juliana C. Pereira, Luciana S. Pereira-Crott and Eliane C. Arantes
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:25
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Arachnida is the largest class among the arthropods, constituting over 60,000 described species (spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, palpigrades, pseudoscorpions, solpugids and harvestmen). Many accidents are ca...

    Authors: Francielle A. Cordeiro, Fernanda G. Amorim, Fernando A. P. Anjolette and Eliane C. Arantes
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015 21:24
    Content type: Review Published on: