![]() ![]() The design and working mechanisms of snake-venom-derived drugs are illustrated, and the strategies by which toxins are transformed into therapeutics are analysed. The mixture of toxins that constitute snake venom is examined, focusing on the molecular structure, chemical reactivity and target recognition of the most bioactive toxins, from which bioactive drugs might be developed. This Review focuses on the chemistry of snake venom and the potential for venom to be exploited for medicinal purposes in the development of drugs. Today, there is renewed interest in pursuing snake-venom-based therapies. The curative capacity of venom has been known since antiquity, also making the snake a symbol of pharmacy and medicine. However, snakes did not always have such negative connotations. Owing to their lethality, snakes have often been associated with images of perfidy, treachery and death. "These findings have the potential to inform diabetes treatment, one of our greatest health challenges, although exactly how we can convert this finding into a treatment will need to be the subject of future research.The fascination and fear of snakes dates back to time immemorial, with the first scientific treatise on snakebite envenoming, the Brooklyn Medical Papyrus, dating from ancient Egypt. "This is an amazing example of how millions of years of evolution can shape molecules and optimise their function," co-lead author Frank Gutzner of the University of Adelaide said in a statement. The authors say this uber-compound is the result of a "tug of war" between GLP-1’s two uses in the gut and in venom. They found something entirely new: a tougher, more resilient GLP-1, one that breaks down differently-and more slowly-than the compounds in gila monster spit. The researchers used chemical and genetic analysis to identify the chemical compounds in the guts and spurs of platypuses and in the guts of their cousins, the echidnas. ![]() ![]() The real question was how these two compounds interacted within a platypus’s body. They knew that platypuses, like people, made GLP-1 in their guts, and that platypuses, like gila monsters, make venom. With this issue in mind, Australian researchers turned their attention to our duck-billed friends. It’s a good strategy with one flaw: GLP-1 and compounds like it break down and stop working very quickly, and people who have trouble making insulin really need their drug to keep working. The fact that the lizard has both venom and insulin-making genes is not a coincidence many animal venoms, including the gila monster’s, induce low blood sugar in their prey in order to immobilize them. Exenatide works by mimicking the behavior of an insulin-producing natural compound called Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Many people with diabetes are already familiar with one of them the drug exenatide was originally found in the spit of the venomous gila monster. But it is an interesting one, especially to researchers.Īnimal venoms are incredible compounds with remarkable properties-and many of them make excellent medicine. Male platypuses competing for female attention wrestle their opponents to the ground and kick-stab them with the venom-tipped, talon-like spurs on their back legs. The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus) may look placid and, frankly, kind of goofy, but come mating season, the weaponry comes out. The team published their results in the journal Scientific Reports. Australian researchers have found a compound in platypus venom (yes, venom) that balances blood sugar. The future of diabetes medicine may be duck-billed and web-footed. ![]()
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