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Venoms, venomics, antivenomics
Author(s) -
Calvete Juan J.,
Sanz Libia,
Angulo Yamileth,
Lomonte Bruno,
Gutiérrez José María
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2009.03.029
Subject(s) - venom , biology , proteome , antivenom , computational biology , ecology , bioinformatics
Venoms comprise mixtures of peptides and proteins tailored by Natural Selection to act on vital systems of the prey or victim. Here we review our proteomic protocols for uncoiling the composition, immunological profile, and evolution of snake venoms. Our long‐term goal is to gain a deep insight of all viperid venom proteomes. Knowledge of the inter‐ and intraspecies ontogenetic, individual, and geographic venom variability has applied importance for the design of immunization protocols aimed at producing more effective polyspecific antivenoms. A practical consequence of assessing the cross‐reactivity of heterologous antivenoms is the possibility of circumventing the restricted availability of species‐specific antivenoms in some regions. Further, the high degree of target specificity makes toxins valuable scaffolds for drug development.