General structure of scorpion venom and its influence on morphological parameters of the mammalian liver

Aim: To determine the general patterns of the structure of scorpion venom and its influence on the morphological parameters of the mammalian liver.

Materials and Methods: A thorough literature analysis was conducted on the basis of PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. When searching for information of the general patterns of the structure of scorpion venom and its influence on the morphological parameters of the mammalian liver, we used the following combinations of keywords: "scorpions", "toxins", "liver", "hepatotoxicity", "hepatocytes". When processing the search results, we chose the newest publications up to 5 years old or the most thorough publications that vividly described the essence of our topic. After conducting a detailed review of the abstracts of the articles and getting acquainted with their full content, 32 sources were selected that fully corresponded to the results of the request.

Conclusions: Scorpion venom causes the development of local, cardiotoxic, neurotoxic effects and effects of autonomic nervous system. Depending on the predominance of a particular component in the venom, a wide range of clinical signs and symptoms can be observed from local reactions (hyperemia, pain, edema) to serious consequences, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiac or neurological complications. The influence of toxic components on the structural and functional parameters of the mammalian liver is currently at the stage of comprehensive and thorough study. It has been established that under the conditions of administration of scorpion venom to experimental animals, hydropic degeneration and karyorrhexis of hepatocytes, fibrinoid necrosis, blood stasis in the vessels, an increase in the level of enzymes - ALT, AST, LDH were noted.