Venoms of Iranian Scorpions (Arachnida, Scorpiones) and Their Potential for Drug Discovery
Open Access
Abstract
Scorpions, a characteristic group of arthropods, are among the earliest diverging arachnids, dating back almost 440 million years. One of the many interesting aspects of scorpions is that they have venom arsenals for capturing prey and defending against predators, which may play a critical role in their evolutionary success. Unfortunately, however, scorpion envenomation represents a serious health problem in several countries, including Iran. Iran is acknowledged as an area with a high richness of scorpion species and families. The diversity of the scorpion fauna in Iran is the subject of this review, in which we report a total of 78 species and subspecies in 19 genera and four families. We also list some of the toxins or genes studied from five species, including Androctonus crassicauda, Hottentotta zagrosensis, Mesobuthus phillipsi, Odontobuthus doriae, and Hemiscorpius lepturus, in the Buthidae and Hemiscorpiidae families. Lastly, we review the diverse functions of typical toxins from the Iranian scorpion species, including their medical applications.Keywords
This publication has 163 references indexed in Scilit:
- Protease Inhibitors from Marine Venomous Animals and Their Counterparts in Terrestrial Venomous AnimalsMarine Drugs, 2013
- Multiple actions of φ-LITX-Lw1a on ryanodine receptors reveal a functional link between scorpion DDH and ICK toxinsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013
- Scorpion Toxins Specific for Potassium (K+) Channels: A Historical Overview of Peptide BioengineeringToxins, 2012
- Mapping the receptor site for α-scorpion toxins on a Na + channel voltage sensorProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011
- The crystal structure of a voltage-gated sodium channelNature, 2011
- Mining on scorpion venom biodiversityToxicon, 2010
- Electrophysiology and beyond: Multiple roles of Na+ channel β subunits in development and diseaseNeuroscience Letters, 2010
- Isolation and Characterization of a High Affinity Peptide Inhibitor of ClC-2 Chloride ChannelsJournal of Biological Chemistry, 2009
- K+Channel Modulators for the Treatment of Neurological Disorders and Autoimmune DiseasesChemical Reviews, 2008
- Hemicalcin, a new toxin from the Iranian scorpion Hemiscorpius lepturus which is active on ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ channelsBiochemical Journal, 2007