title: Animal venoms/toxins and the complement system.
abstract: Nature is a wealthy source of agents that have been shown to be beneficial to human health, but nature is also a rich source of potential dangerous health damaging compounds. This review will summarise and discuss the agents from the animal kingdom that have been shown to interact with the human complement (C) system. Most of these agents are toxins found in animal venoms and animal secretions. In addition to the mechanism of action of these toxins, their contribution to the field of complement, their role in human pathology and the potential benefit to the venomous animal itself will be discussed. Potential therapeutic applications will also be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Immunochemistry Laboratory, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denise V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Tambourgi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. Electronic address: vandenbergcw@cardiff.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Carmen W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: van den Berg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014688:Venoms / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014118:Toxins, Biological; D014688:Venoms; D003165:Complement System Proteins
keywords: Animal venoms; Complement system; Toxins