Exploring the biological activities and proteome of Brazilian scorpion Rhopalurus agamemnon venom

Ana Carolina Martins Magalhães*, Carlos José Correia de Santana, Rafael D. Melani, Gilberto B. Domont, Mariana S. Castro, Wagner Fontes, Peter Roepstorff, Osmindo Rodrigues Pires Júnior

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Scorpion venoms are formed by toxins harmful to various organisms, including humans. Several techniques have been developed to understand the role of proteins in animal venoms, including proteomics approach. Rhopalurus agamemnon (Koch, 1839) is the largest scorpion in the Buthidae family in the Brazilian Cerrado, measuring up to 110 mm in total length. The accident with R. agamemnon is painful and causes some systemic reactions, but the specie's venom remains uninvestigated. We explore the venom protein composition using a proteomic and a biological-directed approach identifying 230 protein compounds including enzymes like Hyaluronidase, metalloproteinase, L-amino acid oxidase and amylase, the last two are first reported for scorpion venoms. Some of those new reports are important to demonstrate how distant we are from a total comprehension of the diversity about venoms in general, due to their diversity in composition and function. Biological significance: In this study, we explored the composition of venom proteins from the scorpion Rhopalurus agamemnon. We identified 230 proteins from the venom including new enzyme reports. These data highlight the unique diversity of the venom proteins from the scorpion R. agamemnon, provide insights into new mechanisms of envenomation and enlarge the protein database of scorpion venoms. The discovery of new proteins provides a new scenario for the development of new drugs and suggests molecular targets to venom components.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number104119
JournalJournal of Proteomics
Volume237
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2021

Funding

This work was funded by National Council for Scientific and technological Development (CNPq) and The Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Assessment of Post-Graduate Education (CAPES) for granting the PhD scholarship. and the University of Brasilia for financial support Grant ID 1/2019 ans 1/2020 .

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Exploring the biological activities and proteome of Brazilian scorpion Rhopalurus agamemnon venom'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this