Production of recombinant scorpion antivenoms in E. coli: current state and perspectives - INRAE - Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement Access content directly
Journal Articles (Review Article) Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Year : 2023

Production of recombinant scorpion antivenoms in E. coli: current state and perspectives

Hazar Kraïem-Ghezal
Balkiss Bouhaouala-Zahar
Carine Bideaux
Luc Fillaudeau

Abstract

Scorpion envenomation is a serious health problem in tropical and subtropical zones. The access to scorpion antivenom is sometimes limited in availability and specificity. The classical production process is cumbersome, from the hyper-immunization of the horses to the IgG digestion and purification of the F(ab)'(2) antibody fragments. The production of recombinant antibody fragments in Escherichia coli is a popular trend due to the ability of this microbial host to produce correctly folded proteins. Small recombinant antibody fragments, such as single-chain variable fragments (scFv) and nanobodies (VHH), have been constructed to recognize and neutralize the neurotoxins responsible for the envenomation symptoms in humans. They are the focus of interest of the most recent studies and are proposed as potentially new generation of pharmaceuticals for their use in immunotherapy against scorpion stings of the Buthidae family. This literature review comprises the current status on the scorpion antivenom market and the analyses of cross-reactivity of commercial scorpion anti-serum against non-specific scorpion venoms. Recent studies on the production of new recombinant scFv and nanobodies will be presented, with a focus on the Androctonus and Centruroides scorpion species. Protein engineering-based technology could be the key to obtaining the next generation of therapeutics capable of neutralizing and cross-reacting against several types of scorpion venoms.
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Dates and versions

hal-04125282 , version 1 (12-06-2023)

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Susana María Alonso Villela, Hazar Kraïem-Ghezal, Balkiss Bouhaouala-Zahar, Carine Bideaux, César Arturo Aceves Lara, et al.. Production of recombinant scorpion antivenoms in E. coli: current state and perspectives. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, In press, ⟨10.1007/s00253-023-12578-1⟩. ⟨hal-04125282⟩
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