Deadly marine creature could lead to new medications
June 30, 2023 8:31 PM Subscribe
Deadly marine creature could hold the secret to development of new medications. Deadly cone snails reared from eggs in a laboratory aquarium uncover a potential treasure trove of new venoms for medication development.
"Professor Lewis said his team discovered juvenile cone snails used a different 'cocktail of venoms' to adults, presenting an unexplored group of molecules that are being examined as potential leads for new pharmaceuticals.
'We found calcium channel blockers and blockers of transporters for noradrenaline, which is analgesic in the spinal cord,' he said. 'It's challenging to get an intrathecal drug, but these peptides were very effective, particularly the transporter inhibitor. That's the sort of potential and we're obviously looking for this in novel pharmacology all the time.'
The UQ researchers also found the venomous peptides expressed by the juvenile cone snails blocked nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, potentially leading to new quit-smoking medications.
'That's one of the exciting areas we're pursuing to see whether we can get new probes and potential therapeutics from blockers of basically the receptor that nicotine targets,' Professor Lewis said."
"Professor Lewis said his team discovered juvenile cone snails used a different 'cocktail of venoms' to adults, presenting an unexplored group of molecules that are being examined as potential leads for new pharmaceuticals.
'We found calcium channel blockers and blockers of transporters for noradrenaline, which is analgesic in the spinal cord,' he said. 'It's challenging to get an intrathecal drug, but these peptides were very effective, particularly the transporter inhibitor. That's the sort of potential and we're obviously looking for this in novel pharmacology all the time.'
The UQ researchers also found the venomous peptides expressed by the juvenile cone snails blocked nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, potentially leading to new quit-smoking medications.
'That's one of the exciting areas we're pursuing to see whether we can get new probes and potential therapeutics from blockers of basically the receptor that nicotine targets,' Professor Lewis said."
Deadly cone snails
I saw them open for Anthrax back in the day.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:43 PM on June 30, 2023 [13 favorites]
I saw them open for Anthrax back in the day.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:43 PM on June 30, 2023 [13 favorites]
venomous peptides expressed by the juvenile cone snails blocked nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, potentially leading to new quit-smoking medications
Isn't that what Curare does to paralyze your heart and lungs and kill you? That will get you to quit smoking, but it seems like an extreme measure.
posted by Avelwood at 10:15 PM on June 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
Isn't that what Curare does to paralyze your heart and lungs and kill you? That will get you to quit smoking, but it seems like an extreme measure.
posted by Avelwood at 10:15 PM on June 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
But could you use it to make a cellular peptide cake with mint frosting?
I hear it's delicious.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 10:30 PM on June 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
I hear it's delicious.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 10:30 PM on June 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
Isn't that what Curare does to paralyze your heart and lungs and kill you?
It’s also what the curonium neuromuscular blockers do to paralyze you during surgery (hopefully while something else is keeping you alive). There are centrally acting nicotinic antagonists used for smoking cessation (like Wellbutrin) but that wouldn’t have been my first thought hearing “medical use of cone snail venom,” either.
posted by atoxyl at 11:35 PM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
It’s also what the curonium neuromuscular blockers do to paralyze you during surgery (hopefully while something else is keeping you alive). There are centrally acting nicotinic antagonists used for smoking cessation (like Wellbutrin) but that wouldn’t have been my first thought hearing “medical use of cone snail venom,” either.
posted by atoxyl at 11:35 PM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
Cone snail venoms are thought to be so potent because they are used by snails to prey on fast swimming fish
You're a snail and you wanna eat a fish before another predator gets to it. Solution: have a poison loaded dart you can shoot that causes paralysis and death within a second or two.
Cone snails: literal evolutionary overkill.
posted by lalochezia at 1:05 AM on July 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
You're a snail and you wanna eat a fish before another predator gets to it. Solution: have a poison loaded dart you can shoot that causes paralysis and death within a second or two.
Cone snails: literal evolutionary overkill.
posted by lalochezia at 1:05 AM on July 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
Deadly marine creature ?
Closes eyes , guesses... Australian?
Reads article . . Great Barrier Reef!
Ziconotide, sold under the brand name Prialt, is an atypical analgesic agent for the amelioration of severe and chronic pain. Derived from Conus magus, a cone snail,
It is 1,000 times as powerful as morphine.
Ziconotide was discovered in the early 1980s by University of Utah research scientist Michael McIntosh,
In December 2004 the Food and Drug Administration approved ziconotide
posted by yyz at 5:33 AM on July 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
Closes eyes , guesses... Australian?
Reads article . . Great Barrier Reef!
Ziconotide, sold under the brand name Prialt, is an atypical analgesic agent for the amelioration of severe and chronic pain. Derived from Conus magus, a cone snail,
It is 1,000 times as powerful as morphine.
Ziconotide was discovered in the early 1980s by University of Utah research scientist Michael McIntosh,
In December 2004 the Food and Drug Administration approved ziconotide
posted by yyz at 5:33 AM on July 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was waiting for "Deadly cone snails reared from eggs in a laboratory aquarium..." HAVE ESCAPED INTO THE WILD. Gawd, I'm so predictable.
posted by tspae at 7:45 AM on July 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by tspae at 7:45 AM on July 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
Just a little bit impatient maybe. Give it time. Let the plot...breathe.
posted by Ashenmote at 8:27 AM on July 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Ashenmote at 8:27 AM on July 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
Why do deadly cone snails reared from eggs in a laboratory aquarium keep evolving into crabs?
posted by Foosnark at 8:28 AM on July 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Foosnark at 8:28 AM on July 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
And cone snails are beautiful. Conotoxins are no joke - don't be picking up consus geographus !
posted by lalochezia at 8:53 AM on July 1, 2023
posted by lalochezia at 8:53 AM on July 1, 2023
Why do deadly cone snails reared from eggs in a laboratory aquarium keep evolving into crabs?
I dunno. Ask.me
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 9:50 AM on July 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
I dunno. Ask.me
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 9:50 AM on July 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
Dosis sola facit venenum.
Researching stupidly potent venoms and natural hallucinogenic drugs when I was in 4th grade is what cured me of Catholic intelligent design indoctrination and made me a damned to hell evolutionist.
Eponywhatever I know.
Cone snail hunting videos are awesome in the original sense. Shooting a harpoon at speeds the eye can’t see and almost instantly paralyzing a fast moving fish to eat at their gastropodic leisure.
In 2018 I caught as many queen ants as I could to try to identify and breed. One of them turned out to be some Pogonomyrmex species. This genus has the most potent venom ever described in an insect. The ants are tiny, and a dozen stings are enough to kill a 4 pound rat.
By my own clumsiness I managed to get stung all over my hand and forearm. I was familiar with the stings, they hurt like hell and the pain keeps increasing and spreading for a couple hours and can last a day, but nothing really bad happens. I put my arm in ice cold water up to my elbow to numb the pain and sat down to listen to some music.
After a while I noticed that I was feeling like I was on a low dose mescaline trip. I attributed it to the pain itself and kind of ignored it, but the feeling got stronger and lasted until I went to sleep. It is not super rare for me to feel like I am tripping just due to my innately weird brain (or all the drugs I did in y youth, opinions vary).
Recently I learned that a not very well known aspect of native cultures of California was the eating of very large amounts of Pogonomyrmex ants to enter a catatonic hallucinogenic state. I have no idea if the venom is painful when ingested, but I don’t want to imagine how it feels if it is.
For me hallucinogens had a life saving therapeutic effect, so what I am saying is please more research into therapeutic use of natural venoms.
posted by Dr. Curare at 1:47 PM on July 1, 2023 [8 favorites]
Researching stupidly potent venoms and natural hallucinogenic drugs when I was in 4th grade is what cured me of Catholic intelligent design indoctrination and made me a damned to hell evolutionist.
Eponywhatever I know.
Cone snail hunting videos are awesome in the original sense. Shooting a harpoon at speeds the eye can’t see and almost instantly paralyzing a fast moving fish to eat at their gastropodic leisure.
In 2018 I caught as many queen ants as I could to try to identify and breed. One of them turned out to be some Pogonomyrmex species. This genus has the most potent venom ever described in an insect. The ants are tiny, and a dozen stings are enough to kill a 4 pound rat.
By my own clumsiness I managed to get stung all over my hand and forearm. I was familiar with the stings, they hurt like hell and the pain keeps increasing and spreading for a couple hours and can last a day, but nothing really bad happens. I put my arm in ice cold water up to my elbow to numb the pain and sat down to listen to some music.
After a while I noticed that I was feeling like I was on a low dose mescaline trip. I attributed it to the pain itself and kind of ignored it, but the feeling got stronger and lasted until I went to sleep. It is not super rare for me to feel like I am tripping just due to my innately weird brain (or all the drugs I did in y youth, opinions vary).
Recently I learned that a not very well known aspect of native cultures of California was the eating of very large amounts of Pogonomyrmex ants to enter a catatonic hallucinogenic state. I have no idea if the venom is painful when ingested, but I don’t want to imagine how it feels if it is.
For me hallucinogens had a life saving therapeutic effect, so what I am saying is please more research into therapeutic use of natural venoms.
posted by Dr. Curare at 1:47 PM on July 1, 2023 [8 favorites]
I’m hope they can clone and express these peptides in cell lines thighs quick so little Cone Snails can live their lives out as happy little killers in the wild.
posted by waving at 12:53 PM on July 2, 2023
posted by waving at 12:53 PM on July 2, 2023
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"Hey, watch out for that thing. It'll kill you."
"Okay, sure. But... what if we used it to save lives?"
posted by davidwitteveen at 9:18 PM on June 30, 2023