Toxins in tarantula bites could lead to new drugs for everything from IBS toAlzheimer's
The bite from a spider the size of your hand is usually something you might prefer to avoid.
But new research is suggesting the venom carried by tarantulas could help to treat a range of diseases.
The toxins carried by the Togo starburst tarantula, which is found in West Africa, cause an excruciating and piercing pain in bite victims.
But scientists have found these toxins also target a previously unknown biochemical pathway in the nerves that sense pain.
The venom carried by the Togo starburst tarantula (pictured), also known as Heteroscodra maculata, contains toxics that appear to activate a unique pain pathway in nerve cells. This could lead to new treatments to combat chronic pain conditions and even diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, epilepsy and autism
WHAT ARE A-DELTA NERVE FIBRES
A-delta fibres are a rare class of sensory nerves that are responsible for the sharp immediate pain that comes from a burn or a cut.
Signals travel within the nerves at around 4-67 miles per hour.
They are thought to play a role in many chronic pain conditions and illnesses like shingles, where even light touches can cause excruciating discomfort.
Recent research has also found they are implicated in the development of epilespy, autism and Alzheimer's disease.
They are also thought to play a role in the hypersensitivity that occurs in irritable bowel syndrome.
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/sciencetech/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->AdvertisementThis, they say, could lead to a new drugs to treat chronic pain along with other conditions such as epilepsy, IBS, autism and even Alzheimer's disease.
Dr Jeremiah Osteen, a physiologist at the Univesrity of California San Francisco who led the research, said: 'These spiders had millions of years of evolution to come up with these potent and specific toxins.
'They're tools one might be hard pressed to design as well in the lab.'
The researchers found the newly discovered toxins cause pain by triggering a channel that allows sodium to enter the cell in a rare class of nerve called A-delta fibres.
The researchers were able to identify two small protein molecules – or peptides – in the spiders' venom that powerfully activated these nerves in the laboratory.
It is generally thought that A-delta fibres convey the sharp, immediate shock of a burn or a cut. Slower C fibres produce the burning throb that follows.
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Share 78 sharesThe researchers were able to isolate A-delta fibres in mice using the toxins and showed that they also appear to play a role in touch hypersensitivity.
This is where light touches can cause discomfort – a common problem in diseases like shingles and chronic pain syndromes.
Experiments also showed that heightened touch sensitivity of a subtype of A-delta fibres, known as Nav1.1-expressing, may play a role in irritable bowel syndrome.
The researchers have been screening the venom of many different spiders, scorpions and centipedes. The Togo starburst tarantula was found to have two toxins in its venom that trigger a rare type of nerve cell
TARANTULA VENOM PAINKILLERS
The Togo starburst tarantula is not the only member of the giant spider family to have been found to have useful venom.
The Thrixopelma pruriens is commonly known as the Peruvian Green Velvet Tarantula.
It is a species of tarantula found in South America classed as a medium-sized tarantula.
An adult can grow to around 4-inches long (10cm).
A peptide known as ProTx-II found in its venom binds to the pain receptor on the membrane of a neuronal cell.
This could also form the basis for painkillers.
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/sciencetech/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_2 - ->AdvertisementThe Nav1.1 subtype of nerves have also been implicated in the development of epilepsy, autism and Alzheimer's disease.
Dr David Julius, chair of physiology at the University of California San Francisco who also took part in the work, said: 'These channels are incredibly hard to identify drugs for because the different subtypes are closely related, making it difficult to identify drugs or other agents that act on one subtype and not another.
'These toxins provide unique tools to start understanding exactly what this particular subtype, Nav1.1, does in terms of pain sensation.'
The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Nature, hope they may be able to identify other pain mechanisms by studying the venoms of other creatures.
They are screening hundreds of toxins from poisonous spiders, scorpions and centipedes.
Dr Julius added: 'There are dozens to hundreds of different active peptides in each animal's venom.
'The deeper you look, the more toxins there seems to be.'
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