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REVIEW article

Front. Chem.
Sec. Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1465459

Venom-derived peptides for breaking through the glass ceiling of drug development

Provisionally accepted
Lou Freuville Lou Freuville 1Chloé Matthys Chloé Matthys 2Loïc Quinton Loïc Quinton 1*Jean-Pierre Gillet Jean-Pierre Gillet 2*
  • 1 Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry, MolSys Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Lièege, Belgium
  • 2 Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Biology, NARILIS, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium, Namur, Belgium

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Venoms are complex mixtures produced by animals and consist of hundreds of components including small molecules, peptides, and enzymes selected for effectiveness and efficacy over millions of years of evolution. With the development of venomics, which combines genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to study animal venoms and their effects deeply, researchers have identified molecules that selectively and effectively act against membrane targets, such as ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors. Due to their remarkable physico-chemical properties, these molecules represent a credible source of new lead compounds. Today, not less than 11 approved venom-derived drugs are on the market. In this review, we aimed to highlight the advances in the use of venom peptides in the treatment of diseases such as neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or cancer. We report on the origin and activity of the peptides already approved and provide a comprehensive overview of those still in development.

    Keywords: Venomics, Venom peptides, Biologically active molecules, Drug Development, therapy, Cancer

    Received: 16 Jul 2024; Accepted: 04 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Freuville, Matthys, Quinton and Gillet. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Loïc Quinton, Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry, MolSys Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Lièege, Belgium
    Jean-Pierre Gillet, Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Biology, NARILIS, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium, Namur, Belgium

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.