In Memoriam: Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) — A Life Devoted to the Study of Scorpions

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  Photo Credit: Le Parisien In Memoriam: Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) — A Life Devoted to the Study of Scorpions The passing of Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) is a deeply felt loss for those of us who share an interest in the study of scorpions and other arachnids. Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to documenting and preserving arachnological knowledge, contributing valuable work on scorpion taxonomy, distribution, and bibliography. His careful attention to the literature helped bring clarity and organization to a field whose history spans centuries and many languages. Gérard was also closely associated with the journal Arachnides , which became an important outlet for sharing research, faunistic records, and historical notes within the arachnological community. Through this work, he helped ensure that observations and studies—large and small—were preserved and made accessible to others with similar scientific interests. Beyond his scholarly contributions, Gérard was a humble and gen...

Scorpion Venom Antimicrobial Peptide Derivative BmKn2-T5 Inhibits Enterovirus 71 in the Early Stages of the Viral Life Cycle In Vitro

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Scorpion Venom Antimicrobial Peptide Derivative BmKn2-T5 Inhibits Enterovirus 71 in the Early Stages of the Viral Life Cycle In Vitro

Abstract

Enterovirus 71 (EV71), a typical representative of unenveloped RNA viruses, is the main pathogenic factor responsible for hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in infants. This disease seriously threatens the health and lives of humans worldwide, especially in the Asia–Pacific region. Numerous animal antimicrobial peptides have been found with protective functions against viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and other pathogens, but there are few studies on the use of scorpion-derived antimicrobial peptides against unenveloped viruses. Here, we investigated the antiviral activities of scorpion venom antimicrobial peptide BmKn2 and five derivatives, finding that BmKn2 and its derivative BmKn2-T5 exhibit a significant inhibitory effect on EV71. Although both peptides exhibit characteristics typical of amphiphilic α-helices in terms of their secondary structure, BmKn2-T5 displayed lower cellular cytotoxicity than BmKn2. BmKn2-T5 was further found to inhibit EV71 in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Moreover, time-of-drug-addition experiments showed that BmKn2-T5 mainly restricts EV71, but not its virion or replication, at the early stages of the viral cycle. Interestingly, BmKn2-T5 was also found to suppress the replication of the enveloped viruses DENV, ZIKV, and HSV-1 in the early stages of the viral cycle, which suggests they may share a common early infection step with EV71. Together, the results of our study identified that the scorpion-derived antimicrobial peptide BmKn2-T5 showed valuable antiviral properties against EV71 in vitro, but also against other enveloped viruses, making it a potential new candidate therapeutic molecule.

Xia, Zhiqiang, Huijuan Wang, Weilie Chen, Aili Wang, and Zhijian Cao. 2024. "Scorpion Venom Antimicrobial Peptide Derivative BmKn2-T5 Inhibits Enterovirus 71 in the Early Stages of the Viral Life Cycle In Vitro" Biomolecules 14, no. 5: 545. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14050545