, 2012). The Tityus spp. venoms tested in this study exhibit variations in composition, number and intensity of protein bands, with the majority of components exhibiting a Mr between 26 and 50 kDa. In contrast, by using proteomic tools, Rodríguez de la Vega et al. (2010) have shown a high concentration of small proteins/peptides

presenting Mr between 3–9 kDa in Tityus spp. venoms. The anti-scorpionic and the anti-arachnidic antivenoms used for human therapy and produced by the Butantan Institute are obtained through the immunisation of horses with a pool of venoms either from T. serrulatus and T. bahiensis or from ICG-001 supplier T. serrulatus, Phoneutria nigriventer and Loxosceles gaucho for the first or second antivenoms, respectively. Both, ELISA and Western blot, analyses revealed that the antigens present in homologous and heterologous venoms are recognised by both antivenoms, although the anti-arachnidic antivenom exhibited a weaker ability to recognise the venoms’ components. The presence of group III phospholipases A2 has been found in scorpion venoms (Valentin

and Lambeau, 2000). These enzymes act by catalysing the glycerophospholipid hydrolysis, which produces fatty acids. These fatty acids are involved in the generation of arachidonic acid and prostaglandins during pulmonary oedema formation, as well as in the tissue destruction attributed to the lysis of lipid membranes during the diffusion of the venom (Kanoo and Deshpande, 2008). Despite the description of phospholipases in scorpion venom, no activity was detected in the T. serrulatus, T. bahiensis find more and T. stigmurus venoms used in this study. Similar results were also reported by Almeida et al. (2012), who also failed to find the presence of phospholipases in Tityus spp. venoms using transcriptomic analysis. Hyaluronidase is present in the venoms of many snakes, as well as in the venoms of bees, spiders

and scorpions. Its activity potentiates the venom toxicity by promoting a loss of extracellular PIK-5 matrix integrity in the soft connective tissues surrounding blood vessels, thereby increasing the systemic diffusion of toxins (Girish and Kemparaju, 2007). A 44.8-kDa component exhibiting hyaluronidase activity was found in the venoms from T. stigmurus, Tityus pachynurus and Tityus costatus ( Batista et al., 2007). In T. serrulatus venom, a 51-kDa molecule exhibiting activity on toxin spreading was also purified ( Pessini et al., 2001). Here, we have confirmed the presence of hyaluronidases in the venoms from T. stigmurus and T. serrulatus and have identified, for the first time, this activity in T. bahiensis venom. Nonetheless, the hyaluronidase activity of the T. stigmurus venom was significantly lower than that exhibited by T. serrulatus and T. bahiensis. Interestingly, the T. serrulatus and T. bahiensis hyaluronidase activity was similar to those determined for some snake venoms from Bothrops genus ( Queiroz et al., 2008). Proteases are important venom components.