Scorpion Venom Peptides: Novel Therapeutic Approaches for Inflammatory and Hepatic Disorders

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  Scorpion Venom Peptides: Novel Therapeutic Approaches for Inflammatory and Hepatic Disorders Abstract Chronic hepatic disorders, such as metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis (MASH), alcohol associated liver disease (ALD), and viral hepatitis (Hepatitis B Virus [HBV]/Hepatitis C Virus [HCV]), are primarily driven by persistent immune-mediated inflammation and hepatic stellate cell activation leading to fibrosis, yet conventional therapies lack tissue and molecular specificity. Scorpion venom peptides, refined through evolutionary selection, provide highly potent, target specific scaffolds capable of modulating intrahepatic inflammatory networks. Recent in vivo preclinical studies indicate that voltage gated potassium (Kv1.3) channel blocking peptides, such as BmKK2, significantly reduce macrophage activation and inhibit downstream cytokine production, effectively ameliorating diet-induced steatohepatitis and tissue scarring in murine models. Engineered hepatotropic ca...

A new species of ant-eating spider (Araneae: Zodariidae) from the Kyzylkum Desert of Uzbekistan, with colour variation possibly associated with substrate

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A new species of ant-eating spider (Araneae: Zodariidae) from the Kyzylkum Desert of Uzbekistan, with colour variation possibly associated with substrate

ABSTRACT

A new species of ant-eating spider, Zodariellum gromovi sp. n. (male, female; Zodariidae), is diagnosed, illustrated and described from the central part of the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. The new species, collected from three localities, exhibits considerable colour variation that appears to be correlated with the type of substrate it inhabits. The potential for these colour morphs to represent independent lineages is briefly discussed, and the distribution of Zodariellum species in Uzbekistan is mapped.

Fomichev, A. A., & Zamani, A. (2026). A new species of ant-eating spider (Araneae: Zodariidae) from the Kyzylkum Desert of Uzbekistan, with colour variation possibly associated with substrate. Journal of Natural History, 60(21–24), 1181–1191. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2026.2655399