Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Mathematical modelling of vector-borne diseases and insecticide resistance evolution
Conclusion: The population genetics of vectors can affect epidemiological dynamics, and the presence of insecticide-resistant strains can increase the number of infected people. Based on the present results, the model is a basis for development of other models and for investigating population dynamics. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - February 8, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Jaburetox: update on a urease-derived peptide
Abstract Urease from Canavalia ensiformis seeds was the first enzyme ever to be crystallized, in 1926. These proteins, found in plants, bacteria and fungi, present different biological properties including catalytic hydrolysis of urea, and also enzyme-independent activities, such as induction of exocytosis, pro-inflammatory effects, neurotoxicity, antifungal and insecticidal properties. Urease is toxic to insects and fungi per se but part of this toxicity relies on an internal peptide (~11 kDa), which is released upon digestion of the protein by insect enzymes. A recombinant form of this peptide, called jaburetox (JBTX), w...
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - February 8, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Perinatal effects of scorpion venoms: maternal and offspring development
Abstract Scorpion envenomation is a public health problem, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Considering the high incidence of scorpionism in some areas, pregnant women and nursing mothers may be possible victims. Scorpion stings alter the release of neurotransmitters and some cytokines. These mediators act as organizers and programmers in the adequate formation of the nerves, and non-physiological concentrations of them during the brain organization originate disorders and diseases that can appear later in the life of the individual. Despite the importance of this subject, there are only a few studies show...
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - February 8, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Deinagkistrodon acutus envenomation: a report of three cases
Conclusion Severe coagulopathy and thrombocytopenia could occur as early as 2 to 3 h after D. acutus envenomation. The current recommendation for antivenom is 2 to 4 vials as the first dose and repeated every 6 – to 8 h if coagulopathy or thrombocytopenia persists. These cases studied may be helpful to first-line medical personnel in the early diagnosis and management of D. acutus envenomation among other crotaline snakebites in Taiwan. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - February 1, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Benznidazole affects expression of Th1, Th17 and Treg cytokines during acute experimental Trypanosoma cruzi infection
Conclusion Benznidazole can induce Th1 profile in the initial of the acute phase. The treatment decreased the parasite load in both organs, although the number of parasites in Y-strain-infected mice remained high. The data suggest that benznidazole may modulate cytokine expression in infection and can be dependent of the strain. However, treatment was not fully effective in the infection provoked by Y strain, probably due to the characteristics of the strain itself. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - February 1, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Crotalus durissus terrificus crotapotin naturally displays preferred positions for amino acid substitutions
Conclusion It was possible to observe that the Cdt crotapotin displays a preferred amino acid substitution pattern present in the α chain, at positions 31 and 40. Moreover, substitutions could also be observed in β and γ chains (one for each). The combinations of these four different peptides, with the already described chains, would produce ten different crotapotins, which is compatible to our previous observations for the Cdt venom. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - December 18, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Preliminary molecular characterization of a proinflammatory and nociceptive molecule from the Echinometra luc.er spines extracts
Conclusions One isolated molecule from the spine extract of E. luc.er is able to elicit inflammation and hypernociception in animal models, which is in agreement with the effects observed in sea urchin accidents. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - November 21, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

It is time for top-down venomics
Abstract The protein composition of animal venoms is usually determined by peptide-centric proteomics approaches (bottom-up proteomics). However, this technique cannot, in most cases, distinguish among toxin proteoforms, herein called toxiforms, because of the protein inference problem. Top-down proteomics (TDP) analyzes intact proteins without digestion and provides high quality data to identify and characterize toxiforms. Denaturing top-down proteomics is the most disseminated subarea of TDP, which performs qualitative and quantitative analyzes of proteoforms up to ~30 kDa in high-throughput and automated fashion. On the...
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - November 21, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

The modular nature of bradykinin-potentiating peptides isolated from snake venoms
Abstract Bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs) are molecules discovered by Sergio Ferreira – who found them in the venom of Bothrops jararaca in the 1960s – that literally potentiate the action of bradykinin in vivo by, allegedly, inhibiting the angiotensin-converting enzymes. After administration, the global physiological effect of BPP is the decrease of the blood pressure. Due to this interesting effect, one of these peptides was used by David Cushman and Miguel Ondetti to develop a hypotensive drug, the widely known captopril, vastly employed on hypertension treatment. From that time on, many studies on BPPs hav...
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - November 21, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

In silico analysis of binding interaction of conantokins with NMDA receptors for potential therapeutic use in Alzheimer’s disease
Conclusions In light of the present results, we suggest that these conantokins can act as antagonists of those receptors and play an important role in understanding the importance of inhibition of NMDA receptors for treatment of Alzheimer ’ s disease. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - October 23, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Zika virus congenital syndrome: experimental models and clinical aspects
Abstract Viral infections have long been the cause of severe diseases to humans, increasing morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, either in rich or poor countries. Yellow fever virus, H1N1 virus, HIV, dengue virus, hepatitis B and C are well known threats to human health, being responsible for many million deaths annually, associated to a huge economic and social cost. In this context, a recently introduced flavivirus in South America, called Zika virus (ZIKV), led the WHO to declare in February 1st 2016 a warning on Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). ZIKV is an arbovirus of the Flaviviridae famil...
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - October 23, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Snakebite envenomation turns again into a neglected tropical disease!
Abstract: On June 9th, 2017 WHO categorized snakebite envenomation into the Category A of the Neglected Tropical Diseases. This new situation will allow access to new funding, paving the way for wider and deeper researches. It should also expand the accessibility of antivenoms. Let us hope that it also leads to cooperation among stakeholders, aiming at improving the management of snakebites in developing countries. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - September 28, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Peptidomic analysis of the venom of the solitary bee Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans
Conclusions: LC-ESI-MS and MS/MS analysis of the crude venom extract from a solitary bee Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans revealed that the component profile of this venom mostly consisted of small peptides. The major peptide components, xylopin and xylopinin, were purified and characterized in a conventional manner. Their chemical and biological characteristics, belonging to linear cationic α -helical peptides, are similar to the known solitary bee venom peptides, melectin and osmin. Pore formation in artificial lipid bilayers was demonstrated for the first time with a solitary bee peptide. (Source: Journal of Venomou...
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - September 28, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Predictive determinants of scorpion stings in a tropical zone of south Iran: use of mixed seasonal autoregressive moving average model
Conclusions: Scorpion stings have a noticeable effect on tropical rural populations, mainly farmers. Two effective climate factors associated positively and negatively with scorpion sting cases are temperature and relative humidity, respectively. The results of time series and regression models to predict the trends and determinants of scorpion stings are almost the same. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - September 28, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research

Preparation of monoclonal antibodies against gamma-type phospholipase A2 inhibitors and immunodetection of these proteins in snake blood
Conclusions: The successful preparation of anti-PLI γ mAb is significant for further investigation on the relationship between the structure and function of PLI γ s, as well as the interaction between PLI γ s and PLA2s. (Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases)
Source: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases - September 28, 2017 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research