SPIDER

Spider venom could be used in impotence treatment

A trove of potential drugs for conditions as diverse as impotence and arthritis could emerge from a study of venom from a potentially deadly spider.

Venom already has provided leads for therapeutics to treat arthritis and erectile dysfunction, and compounds found in venom are being studied to create organic, earth-friendly pesticides.

Now scientists have analysed the components of the venom of more than 70 species of spiders, including the brown recluse, whose bites are known to cause painful, gangrenous lesions. Sometimes a limb is lost, even a life.

Prof Frank Schroeder and Prof Jerrold Meinwald of Cornell University, Ithaca, as reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used a clever way to take a molecular snapshot of venom, without having to process it in any way.

They used a method called nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which studies the structure of molecules in the venom, and combined it with a method called mass spectrometry, which in effect weighs molecules.

"We show how using NMR spectroscopy for the analysis of a complex mixtures such as spider venom one can find new and entirely unexpected chemistry," said Prof Schroeder.

"Our research shows that brown recluse venom contains important, previously undetected components that have been overlooked."

The venom contains a blend of very big and small molecules. One of the latter was an entirely new structural class that had been missed by earlier studies.

These compounds, called sulphated nucleosides, are based on one of the building blocks of RNA, the genetic material, with one small but important structural modification: a phosphate group is replaced by a sulphate.

"Because we just recently identified these new nucleoside derivatives, we don't know much about their biological activity yet. It seems likely that they contribute to the toxic properties of the venom, but we can't yet say anything about their mode of action."

The venom also contained messenger chemicals that work in the brain and on nerves.

In addition, the venom has been shown to contain several different proteins, including enzymes such as hyaluronidase, deoxyribonuclease, ribonuclease, alkaline phosphatase, and lipase, which help to break down tissue, among other things.

Among these enzymes, sphingomyelinase D is thought to be the protein component responsible for most of the tissue destruction caused by brown recluse spider bites.

It seems likely that using new technology for chemical analysis will reveal many more such surprises, not only in spiders, but also in many other life forms, including vertebrates and mammals."

RESOURCE:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3351887/Spider-venom-could-be-used-in-impotence-treatment.html

QUESTIONS:

Multiple Choice

           

Directions: Select the correct answer and write the letter on the space provided before each number.

___1) How many species of spider have been analyzed by the scientist for their venoms?

            a. 50

            b. 60

            c. 70

___2) What does NMR stand for?

            a. nuclear magnetic  resonance

            b. nuclear mass resonance

            c. nucleus mass resonance

___3) What kind of enzymes are responsible for tissue destruction?

            a. hyaluronidase

            b. sulphate nucleosides

            c. sphingomyelinase D

___4) The spider venom contained messenger chemical that work in the______?

            a. Spinal Cord

            b. Pituitary Gland

            c. Brain

___5) Which does NOT belong to the group of helpful enzymes?

            a. Alkaline phosphatase, lipase, ribonuclease

            b. deoxyribonuclease, lipase, ribonuclease

            c. deoxyribonuclease, lipase, sphingomyelinase D

SCORPION

SCORPION VENOM RESEARCH

The process of Scorpion venom research has been taking place for decades. There are studies that show the venom from these arachnids could help to increase the chances of heart transplants being successful instead of failing. This type of treatment could be given as an injection to prevent cells from growing that would create complications around the heart.

A type of chemical has been created using Scorpion venom to assist with the immune system. Many believe that it is possible that at some point Lupus and even Rheumatoid Arthritis could be cured. The benefit of such a chemical allows the body to stop attacking itself. At this point there doesn’t seem to be any known side effects caused by such treatment. However, further research about the long term benefits or problems has to be looked into.

There are some studies that include looking at the use of Scorpion venom as a means of preventing cancer cells from passing. However, this is still in the very early stages. Being able to collect enough venom from Scorpions can be a very time consuming process. It can also be dangerous for the scientists due to the nature of these living creatures.

Pain killer medications are necessary for an array of things in our society. Some forms of research include the use of Scorpion venom for that type of medication. Plus, there doesn’t seem to be any risk of the patient becoming addicted to the medications this way. However, there is still plenty that has to be done in this type of research. The fact that only enough venom to compare to a drop of water would have to be used is also very encouraging.

Pesticides can be very harmful to the environment. Yet we have to find the balance about where the different types of venoms are and how to use them to offer something powerful but less damaging. There is plenty of evidence though to believe this type of pesticide could help to protect agricultural products from an array of insects.

Those insects do millions of dollars of damage annually to the foods that are being grown. There is no indication that any environmentally problems from the use of Scorpion venom is going to harm humans or the positive insects out there. It is a game of identifying the right venom though and isolating when and where it will be used.

Of course Scorpion venom research has also been in place to help determine successful anti venom for the different species. The goal is to make sure patients can get the correct treatment for their given environment. Many facilities continue to have a stock of such anti venom for the known species of Scorpions that are found to live in their area.

One of the problems with Scorpion venom research is getting the green light to move forward with it. The funding can be very difficult to obtain as many programs see better alternatives for the money they have to donate.

The other problem is that legally you really can’t be testing the results of Scorpion venom research on humans. For the most part mice are used to determine how the effects are going to take place. However, there are limits to the types of informant that can be achieved without real human subjects as part of the equation.

Perhaps the various positive elements though that could stem from the use of Scorpion venom could help people to appreciate them more and more. These arachnids have a very poor accepted rate in society. That could all change though by showing just how much they may be able to help society as a whole.

RESOURCE:

http://www.scorpionworlds.com/scorpion-venom-research.html

QUESTIONS:

1. What do you mean by arachnids?

2. Explain how could scorpion venom increases the success of heart transplant.

3. Relate the statement with the issue of funding the said research: “The problem with scorpion venom is getting the green light to move forward the light with it”

4. Cite the benefits and problems in using the venom if scorpions.

5. What positive adjectives can you associate to the word scorpion? Why?

6. After reading it, do you think the rate of acceptance to these arachnids will increase? Why?

CONE SNAILS

SNAIL VENOM INSPIRES POWERFUL PAIN RELIEVER

Snail venom in a pill could offer powerful relief for people who suffer from severe and chronic pain.

It may seem an unlikely source of pharmaceutical inspiration, but the chemicals that some snails produce have potent effects on the human nervous system. This makes them promising sources of drugs that could dull the pain of cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, car accidents and other conditions.

In the latest advance, researchers have designed a venom-inspired medication that can be taken orally -- a leap forward from previous forms that needed to be injected directly into the spinal cord.

In rodent studies, the drug appears to work better than existing drugs, including morphine, at lower doses and without risks of addiction.

"Since we started getting some publicity, I've received dozens of e-mails from people all over the world asking me if they can get into clinical trials," said David Craik, a chemist at the University of Queensland in Australia, adding that he's still seeking funding and government approval before trials can begin.

"I've really been overwhelmed with some of the sad stories people have e-mailed," he said. "There's a great need for new treatments."

The new work involves cone snails, ocean-dwelling carnivorous predators that live in tropical waters around the world. A hungry cone snail uses a long, flexible proboscis as a lure and then as a harpoon.

Like a hypodermic needle, the proboscis injects fish, worms and other snails with venom that instantly paralyzes the prey. The venom's power comes from hundreds of thousands of short proteins, called peptides.

Since the 1990s, scientists have studied a few hundred of those peptides, called conotoxins, with the hope of tapping into their powers. So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved one synthetic conotoxin, called Prialt, for the treatment of severe and chronic pain. Others are currently in clinical trials.

While these treatments work well, their biggest limitation is that they need to be injected directly into the spinal cord, often through a surgically implanted pump. That's because the body quickly breaks down swallowed conotoxins before they can reach the receptors they need to reach.

To develop a snail-inspired painkiller stable enough to be taken orally, Craik and colleagues drew inspiration from an African plant that's long been used by witchdoctors as a tea to speed up labor and childbirth. Chemical analyses showed that the active ingredient in the plant was a peptide with the unusual shape: a circle. That shape, it turned out, made it more stable than most peptides.

Based on those findings, Craik's team engineered a synthetic conotoxin. Then, they added a few extra amino acids in order to turn the peptide into a circle.

"The advance is an elegant example of taking two lessons from nature, combining them, and making something that's even better," said Michael McIntosh, a professor of biology and psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City.

When swallowed by rats with injured legs, the scientists reported in the journalAngewandte Chemie, the molecule relieved pain for more than four hours at doses more than 100 times smaller than typical doses of gabapentin, the main drug used to treat nervous system pain. Gabapentin works for just 30 to 60 percent of patients, Craik added, and it has unpleasant side effects. The new drug was also 100 times more powerful than morphine.

Because the new molecule works so well in such small concentrations, it would probably cause fewer side effects. People with pain would be less likely to need increasingly large doses of it to keep getting relief. That, and the receptors it acts on reduce the likelihood of addiction.

Scientists have only begun to explore the pharmaceutical possibilities of a tiny fraction of compounds in cone snail venom, Craik said, let alone in all of nature. There are probably many more yet to be found.

"This points out that nature has a lot to teach us," McIntosh said. "It's essential that we preserve the sources of these natural compounds to enable further similar discoveries."

RESOURCE:

http://news.discovery.com/human/snail-venom-painkiller.html

TRUE OR FALSE

Directions: Put a check mark [ü] if you think the statement is true and put a wrong mark                                 [x] if you think the statement is false.

___1. Cone snails are carnivorous predators that dwell in tropical waters around the world.

___2. The power of cone snail’s venom is coming from few proteins called peptides.

___3. Snail Venom in a pill could cure people suffering from severe and chronic pain.

___4. In order to turn a synthetic conotoxin into a circle, Craik’s team supplement it a few amino acids.

___5. Researcher found-out that a venom-inspired medication which can be taken orally is more addictive than
          morpheme.