Two new arthropod toxins purified from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides nigrescens

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  Two new arthropod toxins purified from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides nigrescens Abstract The venom of the slender black scorpion Centruroides nigrescens , from the State of Guerrero México, was fractionated by Sephadex G–50 gel filtration, followed by carboxymethyl cellulose ion separation and high–performance liquid chromatography, permitting to obtain two new peptides toxic to arthropods. The estimate LD 50 of the soluble venom for the insect Acheta domesticus was 11.1 μg/g body weight, and for the arthropod Armadillidium vulgare was 61.1 μg body weight . The amino acid sequence of toxin Cnige1 (toxic to A. domesticus and A. vulgare ) contains 65 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 7273.37 mass units, whereas toxin Cnige2, toxic to A. domesticus , contains 68 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 7548.81 units. Both peptides are well packed, containing 8 cysteines, which in the native venoms are forming 4 disulfide bridges each. The amino acid sequences f...

Indolealkylamines in the venom of the scorpion Thorellius intrepidus

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Indolealkylamines in the venom of the scorpion Thorellius intrepidus


Abstract

Scorpions are a group of arthropods that strike fear in many people due to their severe medical symptoms, even death, caused by their venomous stings. Even so, not all scorpion species contain harmful venoms against humans but still have valuable bioactive molecules, which could be used in developing new pharmaceutical leads for treating important diseases. This work conducted a comprehensive analysis of the venom from the scorpion Thorellius intrepidus. The venom of T. intrepidus was separated by size exclusion chromatography, and four main fractions were obtained. Fraction IV (FIV) contained small molecules representing over 90% of the total absorbance at 280 nm. Analysis of fraction FIV by RP-HPLC indicated the presence of three main molecules (FIV.1, FIV.2, and FIV.3) with similar UV absorbance spectra profiles. The molecular masses of FIV.1, FIV.2, and FIV.3 were determined, resulting in 175.99, 190.1, and 218.2 Da, respectively. Further confirmation through 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR analyses revealed that these molecules were serotonin, N-methylserotonin, and bufotenidine. These intriguing compounds are speculated to play a pivotal role in self-defense and increasing venom toxicity and could also offer promising biotechnological applications as small bioactive molecules.


Rodrigo Ibarra-Vega, Juana María Jiménez-Vargas, Armando Pineda-Contreras, Francisco Javier Martínez-Martínez, Carlos Eduardo Barajas-Saucedo, Héctor García-Ortega, Nancy E. Magaña-Vergara, Gerardo Corzo, Mario Alberto Gaitan-Hinojosa, Oscar Fernando Vázquez-Vuelvas, Fernando Zamudio, Laura Leticia Valdez-Velazquez, Indolealkylamines in the venom of the scorpion Thorellius intrepidus, Toxicon, 2023, 07232, ISSN 0041-0101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107232 .

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010123002180)