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...

Scorpion Stings in Minas Gerais (Brazil): A Monocentric Retrospective Study Evaluating All Envenoming Cases of Local Scorpionism

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Scorpion Stings in Minas Gerais (Brazil): A Monocentric Retrospective Study Evaluating All Envenoming Cases of Local Scorpionism


Results

There were 3032 accidents, and the male-to-female ratio was 1.17:1 (male, 54%; females, 46%). Accidents occurred every month, but there was an increase in June, July, and October to January. In most cases, the time between the scorpion sting and medical care was between 1 and 3 h (n=1304; 43%). The most frequent clinical and systemic manifestations were pain at the bite site (94%) and vagal symptoms (7%). Cases were mild (n=2750, 91%), moderate (n=221, 7%), and severe (n=56, 2%). Children younger than 10 y constituted the most cases, 522 (17%). There was a significant difference between clinical severity and age (P<0.01). Ten patients developed acute pulmonary edema. Two 4-y-old children died. All severely envenomated patients as well as 74% and 2% of mild and moderately envenomated patients, respectively, received specific scorpion antivenoms.

Rachel C. Ornelas, Letícia D. Silva, Leandro R. de Macedo, Ione M. de Matos, Scorpion Stings in Minas Gerais (Brazil): A Monocentric Retrospective Study Evaluating All Envenoming Cases of Local Scorpionism, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2023,  ISSN 1080-6032,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2023.06.005.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1080603223001114)