The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 23656

Special Issue Editor

College of Korean Medicine, Dongshin University, Naju 58245, Republic of Korea
Interests: venom; drug discovery; pharmacology; herbal medicine; immune response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Toxins are dangerous or lethal to humans, but they can also alter physiological and pathological processes in the human body as medicines do. For this reason, toxins have been studied for drug discovery and development. A wide range of studies using toxins from bacteria, bees, fish, frogs, fungi, lizards, scorpions, snakes, and spiders is under way. Some toxins are currently used in clinics, but many unknown areas still remain. This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive view of toxins with therapeutic potential. It includes pharmacological issues, including mechanisms of functions, structure function, safety, and clinical potential. We hope that researchers will share their valuable research on toxins to open up unexplored areas.

Prof. Dr. Gihyun Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • toxin
  • venom
  • frontier
  • mechanism
  • structure
  • function
  • safety
  • pharmacology

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2984 KiB  
Article
Trichosanthis Semen Suppresses Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation by Regulating the NF-κB Signaling Pathway and HO-1 Expression in Microglia
by Seungmin Lee, In Gyoung Ju, Yujin Choi, Sangsu Park and Myung Sook Oh
Toxins 2021, 13(12), 898; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13120898 - 14 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2409
Abstract
Neuroinflammation, which is mediated by microglia that release various inflammatory cytokines, is a typical feature of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Hence, alleviating neuroinflammation by downregulating pro-inflammatory action, and upregulating anti-inflammatory action of microglia is an efficient therapeutic [...] Read more.
Neuroinflammation, which is mediated by microglia that release various inflammatory cytokines, is a typical feature of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Hence, alleviating neuroinflammation by downregulating pro-inflammatory action, and upregulating anti-inflammatory action of microglia is an efficient therapeutic target for NDDs. In this study, we evaluated whether trichosanthis semen (TS), a dried ripe seed of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz, reduces lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation by regulating microglial responses in vitro and in vivo. Our results presented that TS reduced the release of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO), inducible NO synthase, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 via inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway in LPS-treated BV2 microglial cells. Moreover, TS induced anti-inflammatory mediators, such as interleukin-10, found in inflammatory zone 1, and chitinase 3-like 3 by the upregulation of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). We further confirmed that TS administration suppressed microglial activation, but enhanced HO-1 expression in LPS-injected mice. These results suggest that TS has anti-neuroinflammatory effects via inhibition of NF-κB signaling through the activation of HO-1, and that TS may be a therapeutical candidate for NDDs treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology)
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20 pages, 2934 KiB  
Article
Modification Strategy of D-leucine Residue Addition on a Novel Peptide from Odorrana schmackeri, with Enhanced Bioactivity and In Vivo Efficacy
by Aifang Yao, Yingxue Ma, Xiaoling Chen, Mei Zhou, Xinping Xi, Chengbang Ma, Shen Ren, Tianbao Chen, Chris Shaw and Lei Wang
Toxins 2021, 13(9), 611; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13090611 - 31 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2890
Abstract
Brevinins are a well-characterised, frog-skin-derived, antimicrobial peptide (AMP) family, but their applications are limited by high cytotoxicity. In this study, a wild-type des-Leu2 brevinin peptide, named brevinin-1OS (B1OS), was identified from Odorrana schmackeri. To explore the significant role of the leucine residue [...] Read more.
Brevinins are a well-characterised, frog-skin-derived, antimicrobial peptide (AMP) family, but their applications are limited by high cytotoxicity. In this study, a wild-type des-Leu2 brevinin peptide, named brevinin-1OS (B1OS), was identified from Odorrana schmackeri. To explore the significant role of the leucine residue at the second position, two variants, B1OS-L and B1OS-D-L, were designed by adding L-leucine and D-leucine residues at this site, respectively. The antibacterial and anticancer activities of B1OS-L and B1OS-D-L were around ten times stronger than the parent peptide. The activity of B1OS against the growth of Gram-positive bacteria was markedly enhanced after modification. Moreover, the leucine-modified products exerted in vivo therapeutic potential in an methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected waxworm model. Notably, the single substitution of D-leucine significantly increased the killing speed on lung cancer cells, where no viable H838 cells survived after 2 h of treatment with B1OS-D-L at 10 μM with low cytotoxicity on normal cells. Overall, our study suggested that the conserved leucine residue at the second position from the N-terminus is vital for optimising the dual antibacterial and anticancer activities of B1OS and proposed B1OS-D-L as an appealing therapeutic candidate for development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology)
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20 pages, 7313 KiB  
Article
Study of Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Activity of Scorpion Toxins DKK-SP1/2 from Scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK)
by Yunxia Liu, Yan Li, Yuchen Zhu, Liping Zhang, Junyu Ji, Mingze Gui, Chunli Li and Yongbo Song
Toxins 2021, 13(7), 498; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13070498 - 17 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2801
Abstract
Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK), is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used for a long history for the treatment of many diseases, such as inflammation, pain and cancer. In this study, DKK-SP1/2/3 genes were screened and extracted from [...] Read more.
Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK), is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used for a long history for the treatment of many diseases, such as inflammation, pain and cancer. In this study, DKK-SP1/2/3 genes were screened and extracted from the cDNA library of BmK. The DKK-SP1/2/3 were expressed by using plasmid pSYPU-1b in E. coli BL21, and recombinant proteins were obtained by column chromatography. In the xylene-induced mouse ear swelling and carrageenan-induced rat paw swelling model, DKK-SP1 exerted a significant anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the expression of Nav1.8 channel. Meanwhile, the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (COX-2, IL-6) was decreased significantly and the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) were elevated significantly. Moreover, DKK-SP1 could significantly decrease the Nav1.8 current in acutely isolated rat DRG neurons. In the acetic acid-writhing and ION-CCI model, DKK-SP2 displayed significant analgesic activity by inhibiting the expression of the Nav1.7 channel. Moreover, DKK-SP2 could significantly inhibit the Nav1.7 current in the hNav1.7-CHO cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology)
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Review

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16 pages, 1157 KiB  
Review
Bee Venom Acupuncture for Neck Pain: A Review of the Korean Literature
by Soo-Hyun Sung, Hee-Jung Lee, Ji-Eun Han, Angela Dong-Min Sung, Minjung Park, Seungwon Shin, Hye In Jeong, Soobin Jang and Gihyun Lee
Toxins 2023, 15(2), 129; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins15020129 - 04 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2102
Abstract
Bee venom is a natural toxin that is effective in treating various types of pain. The purpose of this paper was to review all the features of clinical studies conducted on bee venom acupuncture (BVA) for the treatment of neck pain in Korean [...] Read more.
Bee venom is a natural toxin that is effective in treating various types of pain. The purpose of this paper was to review all the features of clinical studies conducted on bee venom acupuncture (BVA) for the treatment of neck pain in Korean publications. Six Korean databases and 16 Korean journals were searched in August 2022 for clinical studies on BVA for neck pain. We identified 24 trials that met our inclusion criteria, of which 316 patients with neck pain were treated with BVA. The most common diagnosis in the patients with neck pain was herniated intervertebral discs (HIVDs) of the cervical spine (C-spine) (29.2%), and the concentration and dosage per session were 0.05–0.5 mg/mL and 0.1–1.5 mL, respectively. The visual analog scale was most often measured for neck pain severity (62.5%), and all clinical research reported improvements in 16 outcome measures. This study shows that BVA could be recommended for the treatment of neck pain, especially HIVD of the C-spine; however, the adverse effects of BVA must be examined in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology)
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29 pages, 2168 KiB  
Review
Adverse Events Associated with the Clinical Use of Bee Venom: A Review
by Jaehee Yoo and Gihyun Lee
Toxins 2022, 14(8), 562; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins14080562 - 18 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2995
Abstract
Bee venom is used to treat various diseases but can cause a tickling sensation and anaphylaxis during clinical treatment. Adverse events (AEs) associated with bee venom may vary depending on the dosage, method, route of administration, and the country, region, and user. We [...] Read more.
Bee venom is used to treat various diseases but can cause a tickling sensation and anaphylaxis during clinical treatment. Adverse events (AEs) associated with bee venom may vary depending on the dosage, method, route of administration, and the country, region, and user. We summarized the AEs of bee venom used in various ways, such as by the injection of extracts, venom immunotherapy (VIT), live bee stings, or external preparations. We conducted a search in eight databases up to 28 February 2022. It took one month to set the topic and about 2 weeks to set the search terms and the search formula. We conducted a search in advance on 21 February to see if there were omissions in the search terms and whether the search formula was correct. There were no restrictions on the language or bee venom method used and diseases treated. However, natural stings that were not used for treatment were excluded. A total of 105 studies were selected, of which 67, 26, 8, and 4 were on the injection of extracts, VIT, live bee stings, and external preparation, respectively. Sixty-three studies accurately described AEs, while 42 did not report AEs. Thirty-five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were evaluated for the risk of bias, and most of the studies had low significance. A large-scale clinical RCT that evaluates results based on objective criteria is needed. Strict criteria are needed for the reporting of AEs associated with bee venom Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology)
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19 pages, 1781 KiB  
Review
Clinical Studies of Bee Venom Acupuncture for Lower Back Pain in the Korean Literature
by Soo-Hyun Sung, Ji-Eun Han, Hee-Jung Lee, Minjung Park, Ji-Yeon Lee, Soobin Jang, Jang-Kyung Park and Gihyun Lee
Toxins 2022, 14(8), 524; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins14080524 - 30 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2021
Abstract
This study aimed to identify all of the characteristics of bee venom acupuncture (BVA) for the treatment of lower back pain (LBP) that are described in the Korean literature, and to provide English-speaking researchers with bibliometrics. Six Korean electronic databases and sixteen Korean [...] Read more.
This study aimed to identify all of the characteristics of bee venom acupuncture (BVA) for the treatment of lower back pain (LBP) that are described in the Korean literature, and to provide English-speaking researchers with bibliometrics. Six Korean electronic databases and sixteen Korean journals on BVA treatment for back pain were searched up to February 2022. This report included and analyzed 64 clinical studies on BVA interventions for back pain and 1297 patients with LBP. The most common disease in patients with back pain was lumbar herniated intervertebral discs (HIVD) of the lumbar spine (L-spine). All studies used bee venom (BV) diluted with distilled water. The concentration of BVA for HIVD of L-spine patients with LBP ranged from 0.01 to 5.0 mg/mL; the dosage per treatment was 0.02–2.0 mL, and for a total session was 0.3–40.0 mL. The most used outcome measure was the visual analogue scale for back pain (n = 45, 70.3%), and most of the papers reported that each outcome measure had a positive effect. Korean clinical studies were typically omitted from the review research, resulting in potential language bias. This study provides clinical cases in Korea for future development and standardization of BVA treatment for back pain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology)
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11 pages, 718 KiB  
Review
Anticancer Activity of Bee Venom Components against Breast Cancer
by Na-Yoen Kwon, Soo-Hyun Sung, Hyun-Kyung Sung and Jang-Kyung Park
Toxins 2022, 14(7), 460; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins14070460 - 05 Jul 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6872
Abstract
While the survival rate has increased due to treatments for breast cancer, the quality of life has decreased because of the side effects of chemotherapy. Various toxins are being developed as alternative breast cancer treatments, and bee venom is drawing attention as one [...] Read more.
While the survival rate has increased due to treatments for breast cancer, the quality of life has decreased because of the side effects of chemotherapy. Various toxins are being developed as alternative breast cancer treatments, and bee venom is drawing attention as one of them. We analyzed the effect of bee venom and its components on breast cancer cells and reviewed the mechanism underlying the anticancer effects of bee venom. Data up to March 2022 were searched from PubMed, EMBASE, OASIS, KISS, and Science Direct online databases, and studies that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Among 612 studies, 11 were selected for this research. Diverse drugs were administered, including crude bee venom, melittin, phospholipase A2, and their complexes. All drugs reduced the number of breast cancer cells in proportion to the dose and time. The mechanisms of anticancer effects included cytotoxicity, apoptosis, cell targeting, gene expression regulation, and cell lysis. Summarily, bee venom and its components exert anticancer effects on human breast cancer cells. Depending on the mechanisms of anticancer effects, side effects are expected to be reduced by using various vehicles. Bee venom and its components have the potential to prevent and treat breast cancer in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Toxin in Pharmacology)
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