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1.
Cent Nerv Syst Agents Med Chem ; 16(3): 183-196, 2016.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26159581

ABSTRACT

The renewed interest in the study of genes of immunity in Cnidaria has led to additional information to the scenario of the first stages of immunity evolution revealing the cellular processes involved in symbiosis, in the regulation of homeostasis and in the fight against infections. The recent study with new molecular and functional approach on these organisms have therefore contributed with unexpected information on the knowledge of the stages of capturing activities and defense mechanisms strongly associated with toxin production. Cnidarians are diblastic aquatic animals with radial symmetry; they represent the ancestral state of Metazoa, they are the simplest multicellular organisms that have reached the level of tissue organization.The Cnidaria phylum has evolved using biotoxins as defense or predation mechanisms for ensure survival in hostile and competitive environments such as the seas and oceans. From benthic and pelagic species a large number of toxic compounds that have been determined can have an active role in the development of various antiviral, anticancer and antibacterial functions. Although the immune defense response of these animals is scarcely known, the tissues and the mucus produced by cnidarians are involved in immune defense and contain a large variety of peptides such as sodium and potassium channel neurotoxins, cytolysins, phospholipase A2 (PLA2), acid-sensing ion channel peptide toxins (ASICs) and other toxins, classified following biochemical and pharmacological studies on the basis of functional, molecular and structural parameters. These basal metazoan in fact, are far from "simple" in the range of methods at their disposal to deal with potential prey but also invading microbes and pathogens. They could also take advantage of the multi-functionality of some of their toxins, for example, some bioactive molecules have characteristics of toxicity associated with a potential antimicrobial activity. The interest in cnidarians was not only directed to the study of toxins and venom, but also to the fact these animals have been suggested as source of new molecules potentially relevant for biotechnology and pharmaceutical applications. Here, we review the cnidarian type of toxins regarding their multifunctional role and the future possibility of drawing important applications in fields ranging from biology to pharmacology.


Subject(s)
Cnidaria , Cnidarian Venoms/toxicity , Neurotoxins/toxicity , Peptides/toxicity , Animals , Anti-Infective Agents/immunology , Anti-Infective Agents/isolation & purification , Anti-Infective Agents/toxicity , Cnidarian Venoms/immunology , Cnidarian Venoms/isolation & purification , Humans , Neurotoxins/immunology , Neurotoxins/isolation & purification , Peptides/immunology , Peptides/isolation & purification , Sodium Channel Blockers/immunology , Sodium Channel Blockers/isolation & purification , Sodium Channel Blockers/toxicity
2.
Toxicon ; 54(4): 460-70, 2009 Sep 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-19486908

ABSTRACT

In this study, we have characterized the immunological and pharmacological properties of the three major alpha-type toxins from the scorpion Androctonus amoreuxi, AamH1, AamH2 and AamH3, which were previously described as putative toxins from cDNAs [Chen, T. et al., 2003. Regul. Pept. 115, 115-121]. The immunological tests (ELISA, RIA) have demonstrated that AamH1, AamH2 and AamH3 belong to the immunological groups 3 and 4 of alpha-type toxins. Analysis of the three toxin effects on currents through rat brain (rNav1.2), rat muscle (rNav1.4) and Drosophila (DmNav1) sodium channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes revealed that AamH1 and AamH2, but not AamH3, have anti-insect and anti-mammal activities and can be classified as alpha-like toxins. While AamH1 removes fast inactivation only in neuronal rNav1.2 channel and has no effect on muscular rNav1.4 channel, AamH2 affects both neuronal rNav1.2 and muscular rNav1.4 channels. AamH3 was lethal to mice by intracerebroventricular injection despite its lack of activity on the neuronal rNav1.2 channel. Finally, we have shown that the A. amoreuxi venom was better neutralized by the antiserum raised against the venom of Buthus occitanus tunetanus than by the antisera raised against scorpion venoms from the same genus Androctonus.


Subject(s)
Scorpion Venoms/immunology , Scorpions/chemistry , Sodium Channel Blockers/immunology , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Chemical Fractionation , Drosophila/genetics , Drosophila Proteins/metabolism , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Immune Sera/chemistry , Kinetics , Lethal Dose 50 , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Molecular Sequence Data , Patch-Clamp Techniques , Rats , Scorpion Venoms/chemistry , Scorpion Venoms/toxicity , Sequence Alignment , Sodium Channel Blockers/chemistry , Sodium Channel Blockers/toxicity , Sodium Channels/metabolism , Xenopus/genetics
3.
J Clin Neurosci ; 13(10): 1033-6, 2006 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16996272

ABSTRACT

The authors report a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who showed a lessening of deterioration in respiratory muscle strength during treatment with hyperimmune goat serum (HGS) (Aimspro). Respiratory function tests (RFTs) were measured by established protocols, and all measurements were expressed as a percentage of normal predicted values. The rate of decline was calculated by linear regression analysis. Respiratory muscle strength decline was less during 13 months of treatment with HGS (mean 1.3% per month, range 0.8-1.7%) compared to the preceding 13 months (mean 2.3% per month, range 1.2-3.1%), while a greater decline would be expected with disease progression. Comparison with similarly affected patients in the literature suggest that a decline of 4-5% per month of predicted values may be expected during the treatment phase.


Subject(s)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/drug therapy , Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/immunology , Antibodies/therapeutic use , Immunotherapy/methods , Serum/immunology , Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/physiopathology , Animals , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/immunology , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Antibodies/immunology , Antibodies/pharmacology , Disease Progression , Goats/immunology , Humans , Immunotherapy/trends , Male , Motor Neurons/drug effects , Motor Neurons/immunology , Motor Neurons/pathology , Neuroprotective Agents/therapeutic use , Respiratory Insufficiency/drug therapy , Respiratory Insufficiency/immunology , Respiratory Insufficiency/physiopathology , Respiratory Muscles/innervation , Respiratory Muscles/physiopathology , Respiratory Paralysis/drug therapy , Respiratory Paralysis/immunology , Respiratory Paralysis/physiopathology , Riluzole/therapeutic use , Sodium Channel Blockers/immunology , Sodium Channel Blockers/pharmacology , Sodium Channel Blockers/therapeutic use , Treatment Outcome
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