为了适应环境,很多动物在长期的进化过程中演化出了丰富的毒素及相关分泌物。这些物质中包含了高活性、作用专一的蛋白和多肽。由于它们作用的特异性和专一性,成为蛋白质多肽结构与功能研究的良好模型,也成为研究人类自身生理病理机制的工具和线索,同时也是开发临床诊断试剂和治疗药物的天然宝库。该文综述了中国科学院昆明动物研究所30多年来立足于我国丰富的有毒动物资源,对陆生有毒动物,包括蛇毒、两栖类皮肤分泌物及节肢动物唾液腺分泌物等的主要研究工作,总结了从单一成分到组学研究、从理化性质到人类疾病机理、从粗毒利用到理性药物设计等的发展历程,并对今后的研究提出一些建议。
Many animals produced a diversity of venoms and secretions to adapt the changes of environments through the long history of evolution. The components including a large quantity of specific and highly active peptides and proteins have become good research models for protein structure-function and also served as tools and novel clues for illustration of human disease mechanisms. At the same time, they are rich natural resources for new drug development. Through the valuable venomous animal resources of China, researchers at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, CAS have carried out animal toxin research over 30 years. This paper reviews the main work conducted on snake venoms, amphibian and insect secretions, and the development from single component to venomics, from biochemical characterization to human disease mechanisms, from crude venom to rational drug design along with a short perspective on future studies.