De novo designed proteins neutralize lethal snake venom toxins.

ABSTRACT: Snakebite envenoming remains a devastating and neglected tropical disease, claiming over 100,000 lives annually and causing severe complications and long-lasting disabilities for many more^1,2. Three-finger toxins (3FTx) are highly toxic components of elapid snake venoms that can cause diverse pathologies, including severe tissue damage³ and inhibition of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, resulting in life-threatening neurotoxicity⁴. At present, the only available treatments for snakebites consist of polyclonal antibodies derived from the plasma of immunized animals, which have high cost and limited efficacy against 3FTxs^5-7. Here we used deep learning methods to de novo design proteins to bind short-chain and long-chain α-neurotoxins and cytotox

SUBMITTER: Vazquez Torres S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11882462 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature