Análise do transcriptoma das glândulas venenosas do escorpião Tityus stigmurus

In Brazil, accidents with scorpions are considered of medical importance, not only by the high incidence, but also for the potentiality of the venom from some species in determining severe clinical conditions. Tityus stigmurus is a widely distributed scorpion species in Northeastern Brazil and known to cause severe human envenomations, inducing pain, hyposthesia, edema, erythema, paresthesia, headaches and vomiting. The present study uses a transcriptomic approach to characterize the molecular repertoire from the non-stimulated venom gland of Tityus stigmurus scorpion. A cDNA library was constructed and 540 clones were sequenced and grouped into 37 clusters, with more than one EST (expressed sequence tag) and 116 singlets. Forty-one percent of ESTs belong to recognized toxin-coding sequences, with antimicrobial toxins (AMP-like) the most abundant transcripts, followed by alfa KTx- like, beta KTx-like, beta NaTx-like and alfa NaTx-like. Our analysis indicated that 34% include other possible venom molecules , whose transcripts correspond to anionic peptides, hypothetical secreted peptides, metalloproteinases, cystein-rich peptides and lectins. Fifteen percent of ESTs are similar to cellular transcripts. Sequences without good matches corresponded to 11%. This investigation provides the first global view of cDNAs from Tityus stigmurus. This approach enables characterization of a large number of venom gland component molecules, which belong either to known or atypical types of venom peptides and proteins from the Buthidae family

Aplicação de nanopartículas de quitosana com potencial de adjuvante na produção de soro contra o venneno do escorpião Tityus serrulatus

In Brazil, several species of scorpions are known to cause accidents which can lead to death, which are mainly belonging to the genus Tityus. The scorpion Tityus serrulatus is the main responsible for more severe cases. Anti-scorpion serums are routinely produced by various institutions, despite their effectiveness, quality and action depends on how quickly treatment is started. Studies have been developed in the search for appropriate technologies to encapsulate and release recombinant or natives proteins capable of inducing antibody production. In this context, chitosan copolymer which can be obtained from the partial deacetylation of chitin or in some microorganisms and it is biocompatible and biodegradable has been widely used for this purpose. This study aimed to search for a system release from chitosan nanoparticles for peptide / protein of the venom of the scorpion T. serrulatus, able to provide a new model of immunization in animals, in order to obtain a potential novel polyclonal serum, anti-venom T. serrulatus. The chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation with polyanion tripolyphosphate (TPP). After standardizing the concentrations of TPP and chitosan was evaluated the efficiency of incorporation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and scorpion venom, showed particle size compatible with the intended purpose. The particles showed adequate size around 200nm. The crosslinking was confirmed by absorption spectroscopy in the infrared. After verified the high encapsulation efficiency (EE) for acid bicinconínico method (BCA) protein assay and the particle size distribution, the success of the technique was proven and the potential for in vivo application of nanoparticles. The experimental animals were vaccinated and the antibodies measured by ELISA

Uma abordagem peptidômica do venedo do escorpião Tityus serrulatus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Síntese e caracterização de pequenos peptídeos lineares do veneno de Tityus serrulatus (Buthidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise do transcriptoma das glândulas venenosas do escorpião Tityus stigmurus

In Brazil, accidents with scorpions are considered of medical importance, not only by the high incidence, but also for the potentiality of the venom from some species in determining severe clinical conditions. Tityus stigmurus is a widely distributed scorpion species in Northeastern Brazil and known to cause severe human envenomations, inducing pain, hyposthesia, edema, erythema, paresthesia, headaches and vomiting. The present study uses a transcriptomic approach to characterize the molecular repertoire from the non-stimulated venom gland of Tityus stigmurus scorpion. A cDNA library was constructed and 540 clones were sequenced and grouped into 37 clusters, with more than one EST (expressed sequence tag) and 116 singlets. Forty-one percent of ESTs belong to recognized toxin-coding sequences, with antimicrobial toxins (AMP-like) the most abundant transcripts, followed by alfa KTx- like, beta KTx-like, beta NaTx-like and alfa NaTx-like. Our analysis indicated that 34% include other possible venom molecules , whose transcripts correspond to anionic peptides, hypothetical secreted peptides, metalloproteinases, cystein-rich peptides and lectins. Fifteen percent of ESTs are similar to cellular transcripts. Sequences without good matches corresponded to 11%. This investigation provides the first global view of cDNAs from Tityus stigmurus. This approach enables characterization of a large number of venom gland component molecules, which belong either to known or atypical types of venom peptides and proteins from the Buthidae family

Alterações clínicas e cardiopulmonares produzidas pelo envenenamento escorpiônico em cães

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FMVZ

Agressividade relacionada ao contexto alimentar em escorpião-amarelo Tityus Serrulatus (Lutz & Mello, 1922)(Scorpiones, Buthidae)

Scorpions are among the oldest living groups of animals, and are present in almost every continent. Although many studies are made about the toxins present in their venom, little is known about their behavior. The aim of this paper is to investigate the expression of agressiveness in the brazilian yellow scorpion Tityus serrulatus, specifically the relation between agressiveness, motor activity and feeding condition. The study was divided in two parts. First, we used 16 adult individuals, placed in two terrarium, to establish an ethogram. Each group was observed for 36h, and the behaviors displayed were described and categorized as agonistic or non-agonistic. In the second part of the experiment, we used 32 adult animals in three different nutritional states: Feeding (still ingesting food), Sated (1 to 4 days since last meal) and Deprived (14 to 25 days since last meal). The individuals were paired, each pair placed in a terrarium and observed for 30min. Behaviors displayed were timed in seconds. Our results show that only Feeding individuals displayed agonism towards others, and no relation was observed between motor activity and feeding conditions

Avaliação funcional e estrutural de um novo peptídeo antimicrobiano do escorpião Tityus stigmurus

In Brazil, there is a high incidence of venomous animals. Among them, scorpions are highlighted by their medical importance, and for being their venom a source of several molecules with biological and pharmacological activity not yet fully understood, including several bioactive peptides. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are components of the immune system in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, used in the first line of defense against microorganisms. In the present study, we characterized the first PAM previously identified through transcriptome of the venom gland of the scorpion Tityus stigmurus, named Stigmurin. The characteristics of Stigmurin were investigated by computational modeling and construction of dendrogram. In vitro tests investigated the antibacterial, antifungal, haemolytic and cytotoxic effects of crude venom and Stigmurin. In addition, the structural characteristics of Stigmurin were investigated by circular dochroism in water, 2, 2 , 2- trifluoethanol (TFE) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the models were refined by molecular dynamics simulations. The results showed that the selected sequence encodes a mature protein of 17 amino acid residues and the dendrogram reveals a case of convergent evolution. The crude venom showed no antimicrobial activity, however, Stigmurin exhibited a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 31.25 and 250 µg/mL for different strains, while the hemolytic activity at these concentrations was low. In cytotoxicity studies, the crude venom was unable to reduce cell viability in VERO E6 cells; in contrast, its activity in SiHa cells was significantly higher, corresponding to IC50 of 3.6 µg/mL. For Stigmurin the concentration sable to decrease cell viability of Vero E6 and SiHa cells in 50% were 275.67 µg/mL and 212.54 µg/mL, respectively. The dichroism spectra revealed the conformational flexibility, with predominating extended and β–sheet structures, as well as a remark able renaturation ability. The results suggest that Stigmurin could be considered as a potential antiinfective drug

Nanopartículas catiônicas de poli (ácido lático) para liberação modificada de peptídios da peçonha do escorpião Tityus serrulatus

Reported accidents involving the poisoning scorpions are still frequent in Brazil, mainly caused by Tityus serrulatus, known as yellow scorpion. Although antivenom sera are produced routinely by various government laboratories, the effectiveness of its use depends on how quickly treatment is initiated and efficiency in the production of antibodies by the immunized animals. In this study, the development of cationic polymeric nanoparticles of poly(lactic acid) aimed to create a modified delivery system for peptides and proteins of T. serrulatus venom, able to enhance the production of serum antibodies against the scorpion toxins. The cationic nanoparticles were obtained by a low energy nanoprecipitation, after study of the parameters’ variations effects over the physicochemical properties of the particles. The surface functionalization of the nanoparticles with the hyperbranched polyethyleneimine was proved by zeta potential analysis and enabled the adsorption by electrostatic interaction of different types of proteins. The protein loading efficiency of 40-80 % to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 100 % to scorpion venom peptides evaluated by spectrophotometry and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis confirmed the success of the selected parameters established for obtainment of nanoparticles, produced with size between 100 to 250 nm. The atomic force microscopy analysis and in vitro release showed that the spherical nanoparticles provided a sustained release profile of proteins by diffusion mechanism, demonstrating the potential for application of the nanoparticles in vivo.

Nanopartículas catiônicas de poli (ácido lático) para liberação modificada de peptídios da peçonha do escorpião Tityus serrulatus

Reported accidents involving the poisoning scorpions are still frequent in Brazil, mainly caused by Tityus serrulatus, known as yellow scorpion. Although antivenom sera are produced routinely by various government laboratories, the effectiveness of its use depends on how quickly treatment is initiated and efficiency in the production of antibodies by the immunized animals. In this study, the development of cationic polymeric nanoparticles of poly(lactic acid) aimed to create a modified delivery system for peptides and proteins of T. serrulatus venom, able to enhance the production of serum antibodies against the scorpion toxins. The cationic nanoparticles were obtained by a low energy nanoprecipitation, after study of the parameters’ variations effects over the physicochemical properties of the particles. The surface functionalization of the nanoparticles with the hyperbranched polyethyleneimine was proved by zeta potential analysis and enabled the adsorption by electrostatic interaction of different types of proteins. The protein loading efficiency of 40-80 % to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 100 % to scorpion venom peptides evaluated by spectrophotometry and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis confirmed the success of the selected parameters established for obtainment of nanoparticles, produced with size between 100 to 250 nm. The atomic force microscopy analysis and in vitro release showed that the spherical nanoparticles provided a sustained release profile of proteins by diffusion mechanism, demonstrating the potential for application of the nanoparticles in vivo.

El vendedor de veneno

UANL

El ver?? del teatre. 'El veneno del teatro'

Resumen del v??deo en catal??n

Caracterização molecular dos componentes do veneno de lonomia obliqua : genes expressos e princípios ativos envolvidos nos distúrbios da coagulação e da fibrinólise

A hemostasia é um processo multifuncional, complexo e finamente regulado que envolve diversos componentes celulares e moleculares, incluindo plaquetas, parede vascular, cascata da coagulação sangüínea e fibrinólise. O desequilíbrio desses componentes pode desencadear condições patológicas, tais como hemorragias, hipercoagulopatias e a conseqüente trombose vascular. O descobrimento de novos princípios ativos e o desenvolvimento de drogas como instrumentos de intervenção antitrombótica constituem estratégias de eleição para a prevenção e o tratamento do quadro trombo-embólico. Muitos desses princípios ativos são obtidos de fontes naturais, incluindo os conhecidos anti-hemostáticos presentes em venenos de serpentes e na saliva de artrópodos hematófagos. Por afetarem o sistema hemostático humano, essas moléculas são alvo de estudos para o desenvolvimento de anti-venenos, testes laboratoriais e novas drogas terapêuticas. As lagartas do gênero Lonomia são conhecidas por produzirem proteínas tóxicas que estão associadas a uma severa síndrome hemorrágica em humanos, cujo quadro clínico é caracterizado por distúrbios da coagulação, insuficiência renal aguda, hematúria, sangramentos, dentre outros sintomas. O veneno é constituído por diversos princípios ativos, incluindo atividades pró-coagulantes e fibrinolíticas Apesar da importância social e científica desses envenenamentos e do conhecimento sobre a natureza dessas toxinas, as informações sobre as características moleculares do veneno ainda são escassas, o que limita o melhor entendimento das bases moleculares da síndrome hemorrágica e o desenvolvimento de um diagnóstico e de um tratamento mais adequados para os pacientes. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo analisar as proteínas mais abundantes e os genes expressos em maior proporção na taturana L. obliqua durante a fase larval (fase em que ocorrem os acidentes), visando identificar moléculas potencialmente envolvidas no envenenamento. As etapas realizadas foram: análise dos princípios ativos presentes em tecidos utilizados para a construção de bibliotecas de cDNA, seqüenciamento em massa das bibliotecas e análise dos transcritos utilizando ferramentas de bioinformática. Mais de mil seqüências de cDNA foram obtidas e agrupadas gerando um catálogo com informações sobre os transcritos encontrados, incluindo seqüências completas de cDNAs que codificam para proteínas provavelmente envolvidas no envenenamento, além de novas seqüências de função biológica desconhecida O conteúdo protéico do veneno foi analisado por SDS-PAGE seguido por seqüenciamento da região N-terminal das proteínas mais abundantes, possibilitando a correlação entre o cDNA e a proteína por ele codificada. As seqüências completas de cDNA foram enviadas para o GenBank (NCBI/NIH, EUA) e os resultado estão disponíveis em um sítio eletrônico específico no NCBI: http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/projects/omes. O cDNA mais abundante da lagarta, que codifica para uma lipocalina, foi clonado e obteve-se a proteína recombinante. Demonstramos que essa lipocalina liga o grupamento heme e participa da oxidação acoplada desse ligante, levando à formação de biliverdina γ, sugerindo uma nova função para as proteínas ligadoras de bilina em insetos. Os resultados obtidos colaboram para o maior entendimento das bases moleculares do envenenamento por L. obliqua, além de apontarem moléculas candidatas para o desenvolvimento de kits de diagnóstico para o envenenamento com Lonomia e para a melhora na especificidade do soro anti-lonômico, bem como para estudos mais aprofundados dos processos hemostáticos.

Análise computacional dos determinantes de atividades meio- e neurotóxicas de fosfolipases A2 do veneno de serpentes

A superfamília das fosfolipases A2 (FLA2) é composta por proteínas dotadas de propriedades diferenciadas que as tornam capazes de apresentar distintas atividades biológicas, além de sua atividade catalítica. Esta diversidade funcional é intrigante devido à alta similaridade de seqüência primária e de estrutura entre essas proteínas. O principal objetivo deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia para a predição de atividades biológicas específicas em FLA2 de peçonha de serpentes a partir da análise de seqüências primárias. A metodologia desenvolvida compreende: a) seleção de seqüências anotadas quanto à função ou atividade biológica que desempenham; b) detecção e validação estatística de motivos de seqüência relacionados à atividade estudada; e c) construção de Modelos Ocultos de Markov (MOMs) representando cada motivo. MOM consiste em uma modelagem estatística que tem sido aplicada com sucesso em diversas áreas onde se faz necessária a detecção e representação de padrões de informação; por sua base matemática robusta e formal, pode ser utilizada na automação deste tipo de processo. A metodologia foi testada para duas atividades de FLA2 de peçonha de serpente: neurotoxicidade e miotoxicidade. Para as FLA2 neurotóxicas, foram detectados seis motivos conservados, dos quais três foram validados estatisticamente como sendo adequados na discriminação de seqüências neurotóxicas de não neurotóxicas. Para as FLA2 miotóxicas, foram detectados seis motivos conservados, dos quais quatro foram validados. Os MOMs dos motivos validados podem ser usados na predição de atividade neurotóxica e miotóxica. As relações entre seqüência, estrutura, função e evolução das FLA2s são discutidas. Os dados obtidos foram coerentes com a hipótese apresentada por Kini (2003), da existência de diferentes sítios farmacológicos na superfície das FLA2, interagindo independente ou cooperativamente com diferentes receptores, para gerar as diversas funções biológicas observadas. Por não haver, até o momento, qualquer ferramenta automatizada para a predição de função biológica de FLA2, os resultados deste trabalho foram a base para a construção de uma ferramenta (disponível em www.cbiot.ufrgs.br/bioinfo/phospholipase) para a identificação de miotoxicidade e neurotoxicidade em FLA2.

O algodão sem veneno do assentamento queimadas, na Paraíba: agentes sociais, alinhamento em rede, produção e comercialização

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior