oa Editorial from Editor-in-Chief (Wedding Bells: Animal Venoms and Therapeutic Drug Candidates)

We are happy to present in this issue of “Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets” under the guest editorship of Jean-Marc Sabatier a comprehensive series of outstanding articles - from molecules to clinics - of animal venoms with reference to allergic and immunological reactions and treatment options. We are fully aware that allergic or anaphylactic reactions to venoms in European latitudes mainly concerm wasps and bees and present only a niche of clinical and immunological research. However, for the Pacific Northwest, Central and Middle America, Asia, and Australia animal/insect venoms have a major implication for transferable diseases. Venoms and the concommitant transfer of pathogenic bacteria and virus by animal/insect bites often cause chronic or even deadly diseases due to rapid hemolysis, fibrinolysis, necrosis or neuronal disorders. At a time when pharmaceutical companies are having trouble finding new drugs and when biologicals are becoming more common, animal venoms could constitute an underexploited source of novel drug candidates. Desintegrins, for example, are low molecular weight peptides found in animal venoms of many snakes and have been recently used to inhibit cancer cell growth, adhesion, migration, invasion and angiogenesis [1, 2]. Furthermore, subcutaneous immunotherapy is the only effective treatment for patients who experience severe hymenoptera sting-induced allergic reactions; the treatment improves healthrelated quality of life, too [3]. It is interesting to know that now clinical application of approved drugs currently exists for the majority of snake venom proteins acting on haemostasis. The molecular diversity and mechanisms underlying animal venoms are at the beginning to be understood. The enormous potential that this resource represents for pharmacological prospects is at the arising horizon. Biomedical researchers, pharmacologists, clinicians and specialized biologists in animal/insect toxins must combine their efforts to reveal the active principle of animal/insect venoms in the development of new drugs to treat different disease and disorders, such as cancer, chronic inflammation or pain. As Editor-In-Chief, I would like to thank the guest editor Jean-Marc Sabatier for his excellent work to bring eminent experts from around the world together and who made it possible to publish this synopsis. I would like to thank them for submitting the papers which are now published after rigorous peer-reviewing. We also know, that, among leading journals in immunological niches, there is a high competition for excellent research papers; so, I also appreciate the firm belief of the authors in the high scientific quality of “Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets”. Therefore, we are looking forward for the dissemination of these published knowledges, above in those areas in the world where animal/insect venoms concern.....