Venoms of Iranian Scorpions (Arachnida, Scorpiones) and Their Potential for Drug Discovery

Molecules

Jean-Marc Sabatier¹  SeyedMahdi Kazemi² 

[1] Institute of NeuroPhysiopathology, UMR 7051, Faculté de Médecine Secteur Nord, 51, Boulevard Pierre Dramard-CS80011, 13344-Marseille Cedex 15, France;Zagros Herpetological Institute, No 12, Somayyeh 14 Avenue, 3715688415 Qom, Iran;

关键词: scorpion;    fauna;    venom;    toxin;    Iran;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules24142670

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown