Protein and Peptide Letters - Volume 25, Issue 7, 2018

Background: Snake venom, a highly poisonous and active venomous snake's secretion, is a complex mixture of inorganic cations, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, peptides, toxins and hydrolytic enzymes of importance including Phosphodiesterases (PDEs). These snake venom hydrolytic enzymes interfere in different physiological processes. Snake venom PDEs have several roles to metabolize extracellular nucleotides and to regulate nucleotide based intercellular signalling mechanisms including platelet aggregation, which can lead to death and debilitation in cardiac arrest and strokes in patients having cerebro-vascular and cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and atherosclerosis which is the primary cause of life-threatening diseases such as, stroke and myocardial- infarction. Conclusion: PDEs are used to synthesize modified oligonucleotides, which are useful in potential therapeutic applications. Characterization of PDEs from different snake venoms has potential in identifying new anticoagulants that target specific active sites, which leads to the treatment of haemostatic disorders. Here, we review the snake venom PDEs potential therapeutic activity against platelet aggregation which could provide ideal platforms to design drugs for treatment or to fight against unwanted clots formation.

Background: For about 30 years Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been a significant social and health issue. It has been a perilous opponent in the human contest against HIV. At the end of 2015 there were 26.7 million people worldwide who were affected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and this number is expected to increase. Unfortunately, currently there are no vaccines available for prevention and control of HIV. The global burden of HIV articulates the need for anti-HIV therapeutic factors. Venom toxins are commonly prescribed for treatment of various medical disorders. Honey Bee venom has recently been proven to be safe and maybe therapeutic in a specified dose. This therapeutic effect is due to the uptake of melittin by HIV infected cells which leads to decreased HIV gene expression and replication. Similarly, Scorpion venom acts as a therapeutic agent against HIV. Snake venoms have antiviral activity against defense mechanisms of viruses. Conclusion: Antiretroviral therapy is promising in the fight against HIV because it limits viral replication. It has the potential to reduce the passage of HIV-1 and to limit the viral load in infected people. This review aims to shed light on an infectious potential of active constituents of bee, scorpion and snake venom articulated in many recent studies.

Background: Cancer is considered one of the most predominant causes of morbidity and mortality all over the world and colorectal cancer is the most common fatal cancers, triggering the second cancer related death. Despite progress in understanding carcinogenesis and development in chemotherapeutics, there is an essential need to search for improved treatment. More than the half a century, cytotoxic and cytostatic agents have been examined as a potential treatment of cancer, among these agents; remarkable progresses have been reported by the use of the snake venom. Snake venoms are secreting materials of lethal snakes are store in venomous glands. Venoms are composite combinations of various protein, peptides, enzymes, toxins and non proteinaceous secretions. Conclusion: Snake venom possesses immense valuable mixtures of proteins and enzymes. Venoms have potential to combat with the cancerous cells and produce positive effect. Besides the toxicological effects of venoms, several proteins of snake venom e.g. disintegrins, phospholipases A2, metalloproteinases, and L-amino acid oxidases and peptides e.g. bradykinin potentiators, natriuretic, and analgesic peptides have shown potential as pharmaceutical agents, including areas of diagnosis and cancer treatment. In this review we have discussed recent remarkable research that has involved the dynamic snake venoms compounds, having anticancer bustle especially in case of colorectal cancer.

Background: Hyaluronidase is the most important enzyme found in the interstitial matrix, effectively degrading the hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronidases are extensively found in the venom of various animals such as snake, scorpion, spider and others. Up till now five venom hyaluronidases are identified with a defined three-dimensional structure. These enzymes are involved in different biochemical, physiological and pathological conditions like degradation of hyaluronic acid, embryogenesis, transmembrane diffusion of drugs and toxins, inflammatory and allergic response to antigens, healing of wounds, bacterial meningitis, bacteremia and pneumonia. These enzymes are used as an adjuvant therapy in cancer and to expedite the dispersion and absorption of drugs as well as to reduce the tissue edema. and to reduce the progression of metastatic breast cancer as well as used in ophthalmological procedures in combination with local anesthetics, reduction of dermatological aging, regulation of hyaluronan, as a spreading factor and with numerous clinical applications. Conclusion: In this review an attempt was made to summarize the physiological, adjuvaent and therapeutic significance of hyaluronidase enzymes from different animal sources.

Background: Venoms, the secretions of venomous animals, are conventionally thought to be the source of toxic substances though the views about venoms in the recent era have been changed. Venoms are the proven source of many biologically and pharmacologically important useful molecules. Bioactive components present in different venoms are mainly proteins and peptides either enzymatic or non-enzymatic which have tremendous therapeutic potential and are being used for the treatment of variety of diseases including cancer. Many venom proteins and peptides have been reported as potential anticancer agents. Conclusion: Venom proteins kill cancer cells through a variety of mechanisms which induce apoptosis and ultimately lead to cell death. Therefore, the understanding regarding sources and classification of venoms, biological role of venomous proteins, their anticancer potential and mechanisms to suppress/kill cancer cells needs to be addressed. The present review is an attempt to highlight the reported work and develop strategies to answer the key questions regarding the use of venomous proteins as therapeutic agents.

Kazutoshi Iijima and Mineo Hashizume. Utilization of Proteins and Peptides to Create Organic-Hydroxyapatite Hybrids. Protein Pept. lett., 2018, 25(1), 25-33. The figures in this publication were inadvertently published with few minor errors. Below is the corrected version. The electronic version of the article has already been corrected.