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

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

Isadora Oliveira  1 , Isabela Ferreira  1 , Beatriz Jacob  1 , Kiara Cardenas  2 , Felipe Cerni  3 , Djane Baia-da-Silva  4   5   6   7   8 , Eliane Arantes  1 , Wuelton Monteiro  4   5 , Manuela Pucca  2   3   5
Affiliations
Review

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

Isadora Oliveira et al. Toxins (Basel). .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cytokine storm. (1) Coronavirus infects lung cells. (2) The immune cells recognize the virus, are activated, and produce cytokines. (3) Cytokines attract more immune cells, which, in turn, produce more cytokines, creating a cycle of inflammation that damages the lung cells, resulting in (4) fibrin formation. (5) Fluid fills the lung cavities, leading to respiratory failure. Figure created with BioRender.com.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Targets of venom-derived toxins during SARS-CoV-2 infection. (A) Virus inactivation or absorption/binding inhibition. During SARS-CoV-2 infection, the enveloped virus binds its spike glycoprotein (red) to ACE2 receptor (blue) from host cells. (B) Inhibition of cytokine storm. Neutrophils (green), macrophages (red), and T cells (blue) are activated and release pro-inflammatory cytokines, triggering a cytokine storm. The animals (bee, snake, scorpion, and frog) are placed according to their possibly therapeutic action. Figure created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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