Spider venom analysis reveals seven compounds with potential to relieve chronic pain
Seven compounds in spider venom have been found to block a key step in the body’s ability to pass pain signals to the brain, says research in the British Journal of Pharmacology. The findings could lead to a new class of potent painkillers, according to the team involved.
The hunt for new medicines to help people with chronic pain has turned to the world’s 45,000 species of spiders, many of which kill their prey with venoms that contain thousands of protein molecules. Some of these molecules block nerve activity.
“A conservative estimate indicates that there are nine million spider-venom peptides, and only 0.01% of this vast pharmacological landscape has been explored so far,” explains researcher Dr Julie Kaae Klint.
The team has built a system that rapidly analyses the compounds in spider venoms and used it to screen venoms from 206 species of spider.
Of seven promising compounds identified, one seems to be particularly potent. And it has a structure that suggests it may have high levels of chemical, thermal and biological stability, which are essential for administering a new medicine. Together these properties make it particularly exciting as a potential painkiller.
“Previous research shows indifference to pain among people who lack Nav1.7 channels due to a naturally-occurring genetic mutation, so blocking these channels has the potential of turning off pain in people with normal pain pathways,” says team leader Prof Glenn King.
“Untapping this natural source of new medicines brings a distinct hope of accelerating the development of a new class of painkillers that can help people who suffer from chronic pain that cannot be treated with current treatment options.”
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