BioMed Research International Animal Toxins and Their Advantages in Biotechnology and Pharmacology Guest Editors: S. L. Da Silva, E. G. Rowan, F. Albericio, R. G. Stábeli, NeuralL. A. Calderon, Computation and A. M. Soares for Rehabilitation Animal Toxins and Their Advantages in Biotechnology and Pharmacology BioMed Research International Animal Toxins and Their Advantages in Biotechnology and Pharmacology Guest Editors: S. L. Da Silva, E. G. Rowan, F. Albericio, R. G. Stabeli,´ L. A. Calderon, and A. M. Soares Copyright © 2014 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. This is a special issue published in “BioMed Research International.” All articles are open access articles distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Contents Animal Toxins and Their Advantages in Biotechnology and Pharmacology,S.L.DaSilva,E.G.Rowan, F. Albericio, R. G. Stabeli,´ L. A. Calderon, and A. M. Soares Volume 2014, Article ID 951561, 2 pages Alkylation of Histidine Residues of Bothrops jararacussu Venom Proteins and Isolated Phospholipases A2: A Biotechnological Tool to Improve the Production of Antibodies,C.L.S.Guimaraes,˜ S. H. Andriao-Escarso,L.S.Moreira-Dill,B.M.A.Carvalho,D.P.Marchi-Salvador,N.A.Santos-Filho,˜ C. A. H. Fernandes, M. R. M. Fontes, J. R. Giglio, B. Barraviera, J. P. Zuliani, C. F. C. Fernandes, L. A. Calderon,´ R. G. Stabeli,´ F. Albericio, S. L. da Silva, and A. M. Soares Volume 2014, Article ID 981923, 12 pages Biochemical and Functional Characterization of Parawixia bistriata Spider Venom with Potential Proteolytic and Larvicidal Activities, Gizeli S. Gimenez, Antonio Coutinho-Neto, Anderson M. Kayano, Rodrigo Simoes-Silva,˜ Frances Trindade, Alexandre de Almeida e Silva, Silvana Marcussi, Saulo L. da Silva, Carla F. C. Fernandes, Juliana P. Zuliani, Leonardo A. Calderon, Andreimar M. Soares, and Rodrigo G. Stabeli´ Volume2014,ArticleID950538,13pages Snake Venom L-Amino Acid Oxidases: Trends in Pharmacology and Biochemistry, Luiz Fernando M. Izidoro, Juliana C. Sobrinho, Mirian M. Mendes, Tassia´ R. Costa, Amy N. Grabner, Veridiana M. Rodrigues, Saulo L. da Silva, Fernando B. Zanchi, Juliana P. Zuliani, Carla F. C. Fernandes, Leonardo A. Calderon, Rodrigo G. Stabeli,´ and Andreimar M. Soares Volume 2014, Article ID 196754, 19 pages Purification and Biochemical Characterization of Three Myotoxins from Bothrops mattogrossensis Snake Venom with Toxicity against Leishmania and Tumor Cells,Andrea´ A. de Moura, Anderson M. Kayano, George A. Oliveira, Sulamita S. Setubal,´ Joao˜ G. Ribeiro, Neuza B. Barros, Roberto Nicolete, Laura A. Moura, Andre L. Fuly, Auro Nomizo, Saulo L. da Silva, Carla F. C. Fernandes, Juliana P. Zuliani, Rodrigo G. Stabeli,´ Andreimar M. Soares, and Leonardo A. Calderon Volume2014,ArticleID195356,13pages Isolation and Biochemical Characterization of a New Thrombin-Like Serine Protease from Bothrops pirajai Snake Venom, Kayena D. Zaqueo, Anderson M. Kayano, Rodrigo Simoes-Silva,˜ Leandro S. Moreira-Dill, Carla F. C. Fernandes, AndreL.Fuly,Vin´ ´ıcius G. Maltarollo, Kathia M. Honorio,´ Saulo L. da Silva, Gerardo Acosta, Maria Antonia O. Caballol, Eliandre de Oliveira, Fernando Albericio, Leonardo A. Calderon, Andreimar M. Soares, and Rodrigo G. Stabeli´ Volume 2014, Article ID 595186, 13 pages A Novel Phospholipase A2 (D49) from the Venom of the Crotalus oreganus abyssus (North American Grand Canyon Rattlesnake),W.Martins,P.A.Baldasso,K.M.Honorio,V.G.Maltarollo,´ R. I. M. A. Ribeiro, B. M. A. Carvalho, A. M. Soares, L. A. Calderon, R. G. Stabeli,´ M. A. O. Caballol, G. Acosta, E. Oliveira, S. Marangoni, F. Albericio, and S. L. Da Silva Volume 2014, Article ID 654170, 15 pages Antitumoral Activity of Snake Venom Proteins: New Trends in Cancer Therapy,LeonardoA.Calderon, JulianaC.Sobrinho,KayenaD.Zaqueo,AndreaA.deMoura,AmyN.Grabner,Maur´ıcio V. Mazzi, Silvana Marcussi, Auro Nomizo, Carla F. C. Fernandes, Juliana P. Zuliani, Bruna M. A. Carvalho, Saulo L. da Silva, Rodrigo G. Stabeli,´ and Andreimar M. Soares Volume 2014, Article ID 203639, 19 pages Activation of J77A.1 Macrophages by Three Phospholipases2 A Isolated from Bothrops atrox Snake Venom, Juliana L. Furtado, George A. Oliveira, Adriana S. Pontes, Sulamita da S. Setubal,CarolineV.Xavier,´ Fabianne Lacouth-Silva, Beatriz F. Lima, Kayena D. Zaqueo, Anderson M. Kayano, Leonardo A. Calderon, Rodrigo G. Stabeli,´ Andreimar M. Soares, and Juliana P. Zuliani Volume2014,ArticleID683123,13pages Inhibitory Effect of Plant Manilkara subsericea against Biological Activities of Lachesis muta Snake Venom, Eduardo Coriolano De Oliveira, Caio Pinho Fernandes, Eladio Flores Sanchez, Leandro Rocha, and AndreLopesFuly´ Volume 2014, Article ID 408068, 7 pages Snake Venom PLA2s Inhibitors Isolated from Brazilian Plants: Synthetic and Natural Molecules, B.M.A.Carvalho,J.D.L.Santos,B.M.Xavier,J.R.Almeida,L.M.Resende,W.Martins, S.Marcussi,S.Marangoni,R.G.Stabeli,L.A.Calderon,A.M.Soares,S.L.DaSilva,´ and D. P. Marchi-Salvador Volume 2013, Article ID 153045, 8 pages Rapid Purification and Procoagulant and Platelet Aggregating Activities of Rhombeobin: A Thrombin-Like/Gyroxin-Like Enzyme from Lachesis muta rhombeata Snake Venom, Frank Denis Torres-Huaco, Claudio´ C. Werneck, Cristina Pontes Vicente, Talita Vassequi-Silva, Ana Claudia´ Coelho Nery-Diez, Camila B. Mendes, Edson Antunes, Sergio´ Marangoni, and Daniela C. S. Damico Volume 2013, Article ID 903292, 12 pages Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2014, Article ID 951561, 2 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/951561 Editorial Animal Toxins and Their Advantages in Biotechnology and Pharmacology S. L. Da Silva,1 E. G. Rowan,2 F. Albericio,3,4,5 R. G. Stábeli,6 L. A. Calderon,6 and A. M. Soares6 1 Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Bioprocess Engineering, Federal University of Sao˜ Joao˜ del-Rei, Campus Alto Paraopeba, 34420-000 Ouro Branco, MG, Brazil 2 Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NR, UK 3 Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Barcelona Science Park, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain 4 CIBER-BBN, Barcelona Science Park, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain 5 Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain 6 Center of Biomolecules Study Applied to Health, Fiocruz Rondonia,ˆ Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Medicine Department, Federal University of Rondonia,ˆ 76812-245 Porto Velho, RO, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to S. L. Da Silva; [email protected] Received 13 March 2014; Accepted 13 March 2014; Published 22 May 2014 Copyright © 2014 S. L. Da Silva et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Biodiversity provides a huge source of new chemical entities variation, feeding, and individual intrinsic characteristics that could be useful for the development of new therapies. An that produce intraspecific variations. example is venomous animals, which produce venoms that The study of toxins and their isoforms has allowed for sharecommonfeatures,suchascompositionscharacterized a better understanding of the toxic mechanisms of enveno- by a complex combination of bioactive proteins and peptides mation. The identification/characterization of different iso- with wide structural diversity. The biological activities of forms of venom toxins, along with the search for natural thesecompoundsareselectiveandspecificandarecurrently and synthetic inhibitors, such as monoclonal or polyclonal dependent on the synergic action of several components. antibodies, and molecules with different chemical properties, Thus, animal venoms are important tools for carrying out such as heparin, clotting factors, and plant extracts, has biochemical, physiological, and pathological studies, as well increased the possibility of using these agents as more asforthedevelopmentofnewbiotechnologicalandpharma- effective therapeutic alternatives. ceutical products. More recently, venomics has focused on better under- The modern approach used to characterize various com- standing of the clinical aspects of human envenomation, pounds from animal venoms, using advanced proteomic and the mechanism of action of venoms and their toxins, the genomic tools, has been denominated “venomics.” Modern prospection of toxins with biotechnological/pharmaceutical technologies currently available in several research laborato- potential, and the development of novel antivenom serum ries have allowed scientists to obtain the identification and and alternative therapies for envenomation. functional-structural characterization of hundreds of toxins Among venom toxic components, phospholipases A2,L- from snakes, scorpions, spiders, anurans, and marine inver- aminoacidoxidases,andproteolyticenzymes,whichare tebrates, presenting a high diversity of pharmacological activ- classified as metalloproteases and serine proteases, are able ities. Venomics delineates a scientific area of high complexity to disrupt the human haemostatic system through different that is increased by the diversity of venom proteins and the mechanisms. Nonenzymatic proteins, such as disintegrins influence imposed by age, geographic location, ontogenetic and bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs), and other 2 BioMed Research