Harnessing the Power of Venomous Animal-Derived Toxins against COVID-19

Isadora Oliveira; Isabela Ferreira; Beatriz Jacob; Kiara Cardenas; Felipe Cerni; Djane Baia-da-Silva; Eliane Arantes; Wuelton Monteiro; Manuela Pucca

doi:10.3390/toxins15020159

Harnessing the Power of Venomous Animal-Derived Toxins against COVID-19

Toxins (Basel). 2023 Feb 14;15(2):159. doi: 10.3390/toxins15020159.

Authors

Isadora Oliveira¹, Isabela Ferreira¹, Beatriz Jacob¹, Kiara Cardenas², Felipe Cerni³, Djane Baia-da-Silva^{4

5

6

7

8}, Eliane Arantes¹, Wuelton Monteiro^{4

5}, Manuela Pucca^{2

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-903, SP, Brazil.
² Medical School, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista 69310-000, RR, Brazil.
³ Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista 69310-000, RR, Brazil.
⁴ Institute of Clinical Research Carlos Borborema, Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado Tropical Medicine Foundation, Manaus 69850-000, AM, Brazil.
⁵ Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Amazonas State University, Manaus 69850-000, AM, Brazil.
⁶ Department of Collective Health, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus 69077-000, AM, Brazil.
⁷ Leônidas and Maria Deane Institute, Fiocruz Amazônia, Manaus 69057-070, AM, Brazil.
⁸ Faculty of Pharmacy, Nilton Lins University, Manaus 69058-040, AM, Brazil.

Abstract

Animal-derived venoms are complex mixtures of toxins triggering important biological effects during envenomings. Although venom-derived toxins are known for their potential of causing harm to victims, toxins can also act as pharmacological agents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was observed an increase in in-depth studies on antiviral agents, and since, to date, there has been no completely effective drug against the global disease. This review explores the crosstalk of animal toxins and COVID-19, aiming to map potential therapeutic agents derived from venoms (e.g., bees, snakes, scorpions, etc.) targeting COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV2; animal toxins; coronavirus; venoms.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
COVID-19*
Humans
Pandemics
Scorpions
Snakes
Venoms* / pharmacology

Substances

Venoms

Grants and funding

This research was funded Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, the São Paulo Research Foundation, scholarship to IO 2020/13176-3, and grants to EA 2019/10173-6 and 2021/11936-3), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Finance Code 001, scholarships to IF and BJ), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, scholarship to MP 307184/2020-0, WM 309207/2020-7, and EA 309399/2021-1). WM acknowledges funding support from Fundacão de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM, PAPAC 005/2019, PRO-ESTADO, and Posgrad calls). DCBS was funded by FAPEAM (National Visiting Research II Scholarship).