The underlying mechanism of scorpion venom peptide BmK AS in reducing epilepsy seizures: mediated through dual modulation of Nav1.6 and the inflammasome pathway

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  The underlying mechanism of scorpion venom peptide BmK AS in reducing epilepsy seizures: mediated through dual modulation of Nav1.6 and the inflammasome pathway Abstract Introduction:  Voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) dysregulation, particularly of the Nav1.6 subtype, is a core mechanism underlying epileptogenesis and its associated neuropsychiatric comorbidities. The scorpion venom peptide BmK AS has demonstrated anticonvulsant potential, but its efficacy in chronic epilepsy and the precise mechanisms of action remain undefined. Methods:  Here, we show that BmK AS exerts robust anti-epileptic and neuroprotective effects through converging mechanisms. In a kainic acid-induced mouse model, BmK AS treatment reduced mortality and seizure parameters. Electrophysiological studies assessed BmK AS modulation of VGSC subtypes. The functional relevance of Nav1.6 targeting was confirmed by the loss of BmK AS’s anti-seizure efficacy upon its pharmacological blockade in a PTZ-in...

Record of the cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) feeding on the scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Lutz & Mello 1922) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in urban area of Brazil

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Record of the cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) feeding on the scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Lutz & Mello 1922) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in urban area of Brazil


The cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) is a species that probably has tropical South American origin (Levi, 1967) but currently has a cosmopolitan distribution and is highly synanthropic (Oda & Akiyama-Oda, 2020). Parasteatoda tepidariorum is a generalist and opportunistic predator that weaves a patternless and tangled web, where it waits for and attacks prey that fall into it (Blasco-Ar6steguii & Calatayud­ Mascarell, 2023). Their diet is mainly based on insects (Nentwig, 1987), although there are also records this spider predating other arachnids and even small vertebrates. 

Special thanks to Glauco Cássio de Sousa Oliveira for providing me this full-text article. The article appears in the Newsletter of the British Arachnological Society, No. 159, Spring 2024 - Via ResearchGate

Sousa Oliveira, Glauco & Lara, Jéssica & OIiveira, Sabrina & Souza, Marcos. (2024). Record of the cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) feeding on the scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Lutz & Mello 1922) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in urban area of Brazil. 159. 5-7.