Snake venom toxins in cancer therapy: advances in targeted delivery and peptide design

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  Snake venom toxins in cancer therapy: advances in targeted delivery and peptide design Abstract Snake venom represents a potent biological arsenal of cytotoxic compounds. Venom proteins and peptides, including disintegrins, venomous enzymes, three-finger toxins, and serine proteases, have garnered attention as effective anticancer agents. Despite their efficacy at nano- or micromolar concentrations, non-standardized mixtures often limit their therapeutic utilization, necessitating fractionation to minimize side effects. This review examines the antitumor potential of snake venom and its constituent proteins and peptides through a literature search in NCBI PubMed. We highlight the antitumor efficacies of venom polypeptides by correlating them with IC 50 values across various cell lines, demonstrating micromolar cytotoxic concentrations. The review encompasses several key areas: whole venom antitumor efficacy, mechanisms of action of individual proteins and peptides, fractionation...

An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iraq

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An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iraq

Abstract


An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders of Iraq, currently comprising 104 species in 75 genera and 29 families is presented, including six endemic and four subendemic species. Twenty-three records are considered misidentifications and therefore omitted from the checklist. Where possible, the misidentified records are attributed to other species based on their distribution and morphology; as a result of this, three species are recorded in Iraq for the first time: Dictis striatipes L. Koch, 1872 (Scytodidae), Hippasa deserticola Simon, 1889 (Lycosidae) and Latrodectus cinctus Blackwall, 1865 (Theridiidae). The history of studies and the geographical distribution of records are reviewed and discussed. The list is dominated by members of the families Gnaphosidae, Lycosidae, and Salticidae, comprising 15.4%, 13.5% and 10.6% of the total number of species, respectively.


Al-Khazali, Azhar & Kachel, Hamid & Zamani, Alireza & Hussen, Fenik. (2023). An updated and annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iraq. Zootaxa. 5339. 132-158. 10.11646/zootaxa.5339.2.2.