Molecular Recognition and Immunopharmacological Implications of Serratiopeptidase Targeting Snake Venom Bradykinin-Potentiating Peptides

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  Molecular Recognition and Immunopharmacological Implications of Serratiopeptidase Targeting Snake Venom Bradykinin-Potentiating Peptides Abstract Purpose Bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs), found in snake venom, are known to modulate cardiovascular functions, but their susceptibility to enzymatic degradation remains poorly understood. Methods Models were generated using AlphaFold-Colab for five small BPPs (< 9 amino acids) that did not have experimentally solved structures, and those BPPs which had reliable predictions of structure (pLDDT > 80) were used for docking studies. Protein-peptide docking experiments were done using HADDOCK for studying the interaction between wild-type (WT) and mutant serratiopeptidase with BPPs. After selecting the best complex, simulation of the complex was done using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 100 ns and binding energy determination using MM/PBSA analysis. For checking the mechanical stability of the protein-peptide complexes...

Unveiling Neotropical Hadrotarsinae (Araneae: Theridiidae): new species and new records of Dipoena from South America

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Unveiling Neotropical Hadrotarsinae (Araneae: Theridiidae): new species and new records of Dipoena from South America

Abstract

Hadrotarsinae comprises a morphologically distinctive lineage of ant-eating comb-footed spiders whose diversity and generic limits remain poorly understood, particularly in the Neotropical region. Based on the examination of museum specimens using light and scanning electron microscopy, we describe four new species of Dipoena from Brazil: Dipoena vulsella sp. nov. from Bahia, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo; Dipoena albaspinosa sp. nov. from Espírito Santo; Dipoena farciminis sp. nov. from Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais; and Dipoena cicer sp. nov. from Bahia. We also describe one new species from Ecuador, Dipoena unobi sp. nov., from Napo Province. In addition, we provide new distribution records from Brazil and Ecuador for Dipoena atlantica Chickering, 1943, D. bryantae Chickering, 1943, D. cordiformis Keyserling, 1886, D. duodecimpunctata Chickering, 1943, D. ericae Rodrigues, 2013, D. granulata (Keyserling, 1886), D. hortoni Chickering, 1943, D. ira Levi, 1963, D. isthmia Chickering, 1943, D. kuyuwini Levi, 1963, D. plaumanni Levi, 1963, D. pumicata (Keyserling, 1886), D. santacatarinae Levi, 1963, D. santaritadopassaquatrensis Rodrigues, 2013, and Dipoenata balboae (Chickering, 1943). A comparative discussion of hadrotarsine morphology supports the conservative placement of all five new species in Dipoena and highlights the need for a comprehensive revision of generic limits within Hadrotarsinae.

Cardinali, J.V., Faleiro, B.T. & Santos, A.J. (2026) Unveiling Neotropical Hadrotarsinae (Araneae: Theridiidae): new species and new records of Dipoena from South America. Zootaxa, 5875 (2), 101–143. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5875.2.1