title: Antimicrobial peptides from scorpion venoms.
abstract: The need for new antimicrobial agents is becoming one of the most urgent requirements in modern medicine. The venoms of many different species are rich sources of biologically active components and various therapeutic agents have been characterized including antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Due to their potent activity, low resistance rates and unique mode of action, AMPs have recently received much attention. This review focuses on AMPs from the venoms of scorpions and examines all classes of AMPs found to date. It gives details of their biological activities with reference to peptide structure. The review examines the mechanism of action of AMPs and with this information, suggests possible mechanisms of action of less well characterised peptides. Finally, the review examines current and future trends of scorpion AMP research, by discussing recent successes obtained through proteomic and transcriptomic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Centre, Biosciences Division, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK.
authors.forename: Patrick L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Centre, Biosciences Division, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Abdel-Rahman
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Centre, Biosciences Division, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Centre, Biosciences Division, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK. Electronic address: p.strong@shu.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Peter N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Strong
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023082:Defensins / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D023082:Defensins; D012604:Scorpion Venoms; C407873:scorpine
keywords: Infection; Pore forming peptides; Scorpion venom; Therapeutics; Venomics