Brazilian Theraphosidae: a toxicological point of view

Autor: Keven Wender Rodrigues Macedo, Lucas Jeferson de Lima Costa, Jéssica Oliveira de Souza, Isadora Alves de Vasconcelos, Jessica Schneider de Castro, Carlos José Correia de Santana, Ana Carolina Martins Magalhães, Mariana de Souza Castro, Osmindo Rodrigues Pires Júnior
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases, Vol 27 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1678-9199
DOI: 10.1590/1678-9199-jvatitd-2021-0004
Popis: Abstract The Theraphosidae family includes the largest number of species of the Mygalomorphae infraorder, with hundreds of species currently catalogued. However, there is a huge lack on physiologic and even ecologic information available, especially in Brazil, which is the most biodiverse country in the world. Over the years, spiders have been presented as a source of multiple biologically active compounds with basic roles, such as primary defense against pathogenic microorganisms or modulation of metabolic pathways and as specialized hunters. Spider venoms also evolved in order to enable the capture of prey by interaction with a diversity of molecular targets of interest, raising their pharmaceutical potential for the development of new drugs. Among the activities found in compounds isolated from venoms and hemocytes of Brazilian Theraphosidae there are antimicrobial, antifungal, antiparasitic and antitumoral, as well as properties related to proteinase action and neuromuscular blockage modulated by ionic voltage-gated channel interaction. These characteristics are present in different species from multiple genera, which is strong evidence of the important role in spider survival. The present review aims to compile the main results of studies from the last decades on Brazilian Theraphosidae with special focus on results obtained with the crude venom or compounds isolated from both venom and hemocytes, and their physiological and chemical characterization.
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