Hunting ecology predicts eye arrangements in the modular visual system of spiders

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  Hunting ecology predicts eye arrangements in the modular visual system of spiders Summary Vision is one of the most important senses used by animals and contributes to fundamental behaviors, including foraging, navigation, and mate detection and selection. 1 Although much is known about how eye position and orientation correlate to ecology in the context of binocularity, 2 animals with multipartite visual systems (more than two eyes) remain comparatively neglected. Spiders are highly successful predators that occupy a range of ecological niches and usually possess eight eyes. Here, we use three-dimensional geometric morphometrics and evolutionary modeling to test whether eye positions, orientations, and interocular angles correlate with hunting strategies in 52 species across the spider phylogeny. We demonstrate that eye configurations diversified from an ancestral medial cluster, as seen in modern trapdoor spiders, to a halo-like configuration in orb-weavers, and to the fronta...

Venom-Derived Enzyme Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents: Structure–Activity Relationships, Molecular Targets and Mechanistic Insights

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Venom-Derived Enzyme Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents: Structure–Activity Relationships, Molecular Targets and Mechanistic Insights

Abstract

Animal venoms represent an extraordinary, yet largely untapped, biochemical reservoir for oncological drug discovery. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of venom-derived enzyme inhibitors as emerging anticancer agents, emphasizing their chemical diversity, structure–activity relationships (SAR), molecular targets, and mechanistic pathways. Venom-derived peptides and proteins exhibit exceptional binding affinity and structural rigidity, characteristics frequently enforced by conserved disulfide networks. This specific architecture allows them to selectively modulate critical cancer-associated enzymes, including matrix metalloproteinases, phospholipases A2, serine proteases, and kinases. Inhibiting these highly specific targets successfully disrupts tumour angiogenesis, extracellular matrix remodelling, and metastatic dissemination, while simultaneously inducing apoptosis through unique pathways such as reactive oxygen species generation. Modern computational approaches, encompassing deep learning algorithms, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations, are substantially accelerating and transforming the discovery pipeline by rapidly mapping intricate peptide–receptor interactions and guiding rational drug design. Translating these potent molecules into clinical therapeutics remains heavily challenged by pharmacokinetic instability, rapid proteolytic degradation, and systemic toxicity. The integration of computationally optimized scaffolds with advanced targeted delivery platforms, such as nanocarriers and liposomal encapsulation, offers a highly viable strategy to overcome these barriers, ultimately paving the way for next-generation, venom-inspired cancer therapies.

Ogundele, A. V., Nongthombam, G. S., Nwagu, A. D., Silva, H. H., & Fabiyi, O. A. (2026). Venom-Derived Enzyme Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents: Structure–Activity Relationships, Molecular Targets and Mechanistic Insights. Molecules, 31(13), 2398. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31132398