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

Y1 - 2016

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

VL - 22

SP - 5270

EP - 5293

JO - Current Pharmaceutical Design

JF - Current Pharmaceutical Design

SN - 1381-6128

IS - 34

ER -