Mabunda Isac G, Zinyemba Nodji K, Pillay Shanelle, Offor Benedict C, Muller Beric, Piater Lizelle A
Department of Biochemistry, Corner of Kingsway and University Road, Auckland Park Campus, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, 2006, Gauteng, South Africa.
South Africa Venom Suppliers cc, 41 Louis, Trichardt 0920, South Africa.
Toxicol Res (Camb). 2024 Aug 4;13(4):tfae118. doi: 10.1093/toxres/tfae118. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Scorpions are predatory arachnids whose venomous sting primarily affects people in tropical and subtropical regions. Most scorpion stings can only cause localized pain without severe envenomation. Less than one-third of the stings cause systemic envenoming and possibly lead to death. About 350,000 scorpion stings in Northern Africa are recorded yearly, resulting in about 810 deaths. In Eastern/Southern Africa, there are about 79,000 stings recorded yearly, resulting in 245 deaths. Farmers and those living in poverty-stricken areas are among the most vulnerable to getting stung by scorpions. However, compared to adults, children are at greater risk of severe envenomation. Scorpion venom is made up of complex mixtures dominated by peptides and proteins that confer its potency and toxicity. These venom toxins have intra- and interspecies variations associated with the scorpion's habitat, sex, diet, and age. These variations alter the activity of antivenoms used to treat scorpion sting envenomation. Thus, the study of the proteome composition of medically important scorpion venoms needs to be scaled up along their geographical distribution and contributions to envenomation in Southern and Northern Africa. This will help the production of safer, more effective, and broad-spectrum antivenoms within these regions. Here, we review the clinical implications of scorpion sting envenomation in Southern and Northern Africa. We further highlight the compositions of scorpion venoms and tools used in scorpion venomics. We discuss current antivenoms used against scorpion sting envenomation and suggestions for future production of better antivenoms or alternatives. Finally, we discuss the therapeutic properties of scorpion venom.
蝎子是肉食性蛛形纲动物，其毒刺主要影响热带和亚热带地区的人群。大多数蝎子蜇伤只会引起局部疼痛，不会导致严重的中毒。不到三分之一的蜇伤会引起全身中毒，甚至可能导致死亡。北非每年记录约35万例蝎子蜇伤事件，导致约810人死亡。在东非/南非，每年记录约7.9万例蜇伤事件，导致245人死亡。农民和生活在贫困地区的人最容易被蝎子蜇伤。然而，与成年人相比，儿童遭受严重中毒的风险更大。蝎毒由以肽和蛋白质为主的复杂混合物组成，这些物质赋予了蝎毒的效力和毒性。这些毒液毒素存在种内和种间差异，与蝎子的栖息地、性别、饮食和年龄有关。这些差异会改变用于治疗蝎子蜇伤中毒的抗蛇毒血清的活性。因此，需要根据其在撒哈拉以南非洲和北非的地理分布及其对中毒的影响，扩大对具有医学重要性的蝎毒蛋白质组组成的研究。这将有助于在这些地区生产更安全、更有效和广谱的抗蛇毒血清。在这里，我们综述了撒哈拉以南非洲和北非蝎子蜇伤中毒的临床意义。我们进一步强调了蝎毒的成分以及蝎毒蛋白质组学中使用的工具。我们讨论了目前用于治疗蝎子蜇伤中毒的抗蛇毒血清以及未来生产更好的抗蛇毒血清或替代品的建议。最后，我们讨论了蝎毒的治疗特性。
