Queensland cone snail venom could hold the next painkiller, cancer drug

Pain treatment researchers from the University of Queensland have conducted a new study in which they have discovered new toxins in the venom in a particular type of cone snail called Conus episcopatus.

It may come as a surprise for most of us: the cone snail venom is lethal, but might be oddly beneficial in the future. Some may, too, be harboring incredibly powerful venom.

Enquiries performed greater than several decades ago steered that this funnel snail poison was at effective enough that very few microliters of them could eradicate 10 people in general. For those who don’t know: Conus episcopatus is found along the east coast of Australia.

He went on to add that despite this, cone snail venom has been known to host these valuable toxins for a really long time. The venom could also pave way for the development of new drugs that can treat pain, addiction and cancer.

Researchers claim that with this new study they have discovered the toxins that exist in the venom of a single cone snail.

Frank Mari, of Florida Atlantic University, said that the snail’s venom used to paralyze prey contains an “extraordinary cocktail of compounds with medicinal properties”. What he and his colleagues have done with their study was to simply offer the first ever snapshot portraying the toxins that reside in the venom of just one cone snail.

“We expect these newly discovered frameworks will also lead to new medications, which can be used to treat pain, cancer and a range of other diseases”, Alewood said of the findings published in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

During the study, they used their new method, which involved accurately measuring and analyzing the structure, activity and composition of the diverse range of proteins lurking within the poisonous venom.

Additionally, Alewood says, “

We also discovered six original “frameworks” – 3D-shaped molecules suitable as drug leads – which we expect will support drug development in the near future.”

Through this, researchers discovered the highest number of peptides-otherwise known as mini-proteins-produced in a single cone snail.

The University stated in a press release that so far they have discovered 25 frameworks in the last 25 years.

The new method could help scientists to look for disease patterns and lead to the discovery of new drugs.