Nephrotoxic effects of Cnidaria toxins.

There are many species of animals in the marine environment which are potentially dangerous to humans. Cnidarians that are responsible for burns are mainly found in tropical waters, but there are several species with cosmopolitan distribution. In some cases, contact with toxins from Cnidarians can cause symptoms of acute kidney damage. Because of an enormous diversity of the toxins produced by individual species of cnidaria, the mechanisms of renal damage are different in different cases. Currently, there is only one antitoxin available to treat burns by Cnidarians, this antitoxin can neutralize the toxin produced by Chironex fleckeri. However, recent studies on animal models give hope for the introduction of a universal biological agent that would be capable of inhibiting the activity of toxins produced by a variety of Cnidaria species.