TY - JOUR
T1 - From Fangs to Pharmacology: The Future of Snakebite Envenoming Therapy
AU - Laustsen, Andreas Hougaard
AU - Engmark, Mikael
AU - Milbo, Christina
AU - Johannesen, Jónas
AU - Lomonte, Bruno
AU - Gutiérrez, José María
AU - Lohse, Brian
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - The snake is the symbol of medicine due to its association with Asclepius, the Greek God of medicine, and so with good reasons. More than 725 species of venomous snakes have toxins specifically evolved to exert potent bioactivity in prey or victims, and snakebites constitute a public health hazard of high impact in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Oceania. Parenteral administration of antivenoms is the mainstay in snakebite envenoming therapy. However, despite well-demonstrated efficacy and safety of many antivenoms worldwide, they are still being produced by traditional animal immunization procedures, and therefore present a number of drawbacks. Technological advances within biopharmaceutical development and medicinal chemistry could pave the way for rational drug design approaches against snake toxins. This could minimize the use of animals and bring forward more effective therapies for snakebite envenomings. In this review, current state-of-the-art in biopharmaceutical antitoxin development is presented together with an overview of available bioinformatics and structural data on snake venom toxins. This growing body of scientific and technological tools could define the basis for introducing a rational drug design approach into the field of snakebite envenoming therapy.
AB - The snake is the symbol of medicine due to its association with Asclepius, the Greek God of medicine, and so with good reasons. More than 725 species of venomous snakes have toxins specifically evolved to exert potent bioactivity in prey or victims, and snakebites constitute a public health hazard of high impact in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Oceania. Parenteral administration of antivenoms is the mainstay in snakebite envenoming therapy. However, despite well-demonstrated efficacy and safety of many antivenoms worldwide, they are still being produced by traditional animal immunization procedures, and therefore present a number of drawbacks. Technological advances within biopharmaceutical development and medicinal chemistry could pave the way for rational drug design approaches against snake toxins. This could minimize the use of animals and bring forward more effective therapies for snakebite envenomings. In this review, current state-of-the-art in biopharmaceutical antitoxin development is presented together with an overview of available bioinformatics and structural data on snake venom toxins. This growing body of scientific and technological tools could define the basis for introducing a rational drug design approach into the field of snakebite envenoming therapy.
KW - Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
KW - Antivenom
KW - Antitoxin
KW - Snakebite Therapy
KW - Snake Venom
KW - Snake Toxins
KW - Antibodies
KW - Future Antivenom Design
U2 - 10.2174/1381612822666160623073438
DO - 10.2174/1381612822666160623073438
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1381-6128
VL - 22
SP - 5270
EP - 5293
JO - Current Pharmaceutical Design
JF - Current Pharmaceutical Design
IS - 34
ER -
