Spiders may make many people's skin crawl, but a new study suggests their venom could be a promising new tool for relieving chronic pain.
Scientists discovered seven compounds present in spider venom could block a major step in the body's ability to send pain signals to the brain, WILEY reported. Medicines derived from these arachnid compounds could lead to an entire new class of ultra-strong painkillers. Pain occurs when nerves from an affected area send signals to the brain through what is referred to as the "pain pathway."
"A compound that blocks Nav1.7 channels is of particular interest for us. 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," said research team leader Professor Glenn King from The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience in Australia.
The study looked at 45,000 spider species, many of which use protein molecule-rich venom to kill their prey. Many of these abundant protein molecules have the ability to block nerve activity. Researchers have estimated that there are nine million spider-venom peptides, and only about 0.01 percent of them have been analyzed. The new study aimed to sort through these peptides in order to pinpoint ones that might be useful.
In order to accomplish this, the researchers developed a system that could quickly analyze the spider venom compounds. They used this method to screen venoms from 206 spider species; the findings revealed a whopping 40 percent of the venoms contained at least one compound that blocked human Nav1.7 channels. Out of the seven pain-blocking protein identified, the researchers discovered one was particularly potent and biologically stable, making it an excellent candidate for drug development.
"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," said researcher Julie Kaae Klint.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the British Journal of Pharmacology.
