In a scientific paper marking multiple breakthroughs, scientists from Sydney and Liverpool have identified a commonly available blood-thinning substance that also acts as an antidote to cobra venom.
The study used CRISPR gene modification technology to identify cells that are immune to snake venom and used them as a case study to determine the best mechanism for preventing necrosis during a snake bite.
The authors described snakebite as “the most deadly and neglected tropical disease” in general, reporting that it kills around 140,000 people each year and leaves a further 400,000 with permanent injuries.
Snake venom comes in many forms: Cobra venom attacks cells directly, causing necrosis, but it can also attack the nervous system, affecting the heart and brain.
Antivenom is typically about seven times more expensive than the average daily wage in countries where cobra bites are most common, and many pharmaceutical companies simply stop producing the product for this reason.
By examining the effects of cobra venom, which study author Professor Greg Healy calls “three-finger venom”, on human cells, Professor Healy and his team discovered a cellular pathway conserved in all known animal species that produces the related molecules heparan and heparin, which are used as blood anticoagulants.
“Heparin is cheap, ubiquitous and listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization. If human trials are successful, it could become a cheap, safe and effective drug for treating cobra bites relatively quickly.” To tell PhD student and lead author Tian Du, who, like Neely, is at the University of Sydney, also conducts functional genomics research.
Both heparin and heparan are targets of cobra venom, heparan is present on cell surfaces and heparin is released during immune responses. Due to their similar structure, the venom can bind to both, leading to the formation of the “heparan/heparin sulfate biosynthetic pathway.” often This is the component that the venom primarily targets as a means of entering the cell, with 7 of 11 components in the pathway being attacked by the venom of the red spotted cobra and 8 of 11 components being attacked by the venom of the black-necked cobra.
Using this knowledge, the team was able to turn the heparin drug into an antidote that blocks necrosis in human cells and mice by flooding the bite site with decoy molecules: the venom rapidly attacks exogenous heparin, leaving endogenous heparin and the cells that contain it intact.
Other similarly neglected medical conditions: FDA Approves Drug to Treat Frostbite, a Permanent Disease that Could Save Fingers, Toes from Amputation
Cobra Elapidae A family of snakes that includes sea snakes, mambas, and coral snakes. In parts of Asia and Africa, cobras cause more deaths and amputations from bites than any other group.
As an intriguing secondary finding, the team hypothesized how this technique could be used to find other applications for antivenom. Video commentary, Neely said there aren’t that many different venoms in the animal kingdom, and finding a way to crack the code for one could make it possible to develop antivenoms more quickly.
Other breakthrough medicines: Scientists have discovered a universal antivenom that could treat snakebites from everything from kraits to king cobras.
The three-finger toxin found in cobra venom is also found in the highly venomous Australian blue jellyfish, and the team say that this will be the next subject of anti-venom research.
When CRISPR first came to the public’s attention, the assumption was that wealthy, developed countries would monopolize it, developing mass quantities of beauty products and treatments for beauty and life extension. It’s inspiring to see CRISPR being used directly to benefit the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
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