[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6765\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESea anemone sting cells could inspire new drug-delivery systems\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s part of a field of work that looks at how venom and the way it\u2019s produced in animals could be used to create life-saving treatments for humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Kartik Sunagar, at the Centre for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, is investigating the origin of venom-delivery systems. He says that even though science is starting to grasp which genes encode the production of deadly toxins, little is known about how venomous creatures evolved the arsenal needed to discharge venom into their prey.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost species rely on fangs, beaks or stingers, but some of the oldest venomous species on Earth today still deliver their payload through a long-established alternative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than 600\u0026nbsp;million years ago, ancient species like jellyfish, corals and sea anemones, known as cnidarians, evolved a bio-mechanical method of poisoning their prey. Their cells lock venom inside failsafe molecular capsules, accelerating them into their target with a force of 40 000G (acceleration of Earth\u0027s gravity), making it one of the fastest biomechanical processes observable in nature.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Cnidarians are the only animals that use stinging cells to inject venom,\u2019 said Dr Sunagar. He is genetically engineering sea anemones to produce fluorescent stinging cells. The colour marker makes it possible to screen any proteins involved in venom delivery, offering unprecedented insight into how sea anemones manufacture their stinging cells, and how they function.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor two years, Dr Sunagar has studied the genetic development of venom-injecting cells in sea anemones as an EU-funded researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He found that stem cells in these creatures follow directions from specific sets of genes to specialise as stinging cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When the cells are young, they express certain sets of genes that are important to develop the venom capsule and synthesise toxins,\u2019 said Dr Sunagar. \u2018However, once the stinging cells have fully formed the capsule, the synthesis of toxins and structural proteins diminishes.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe knowledge could make it possible to eventually manipulate stinging cells as clean and efficient micro-drug delivery systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Cnidarians - which include jellyfish and sea anemones - are the only animals that use sting cells to inject venom.\u0022 height=\u0022880\u0022 src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/StingCell_4.gif\u0022 title=\u0022Cnidarians - which include jellyfish and sea anemones - are the only animals that use sting cells to inject venom.\u0022 width=\u0022983\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003ECnidarians - which include jellyfish and sea anemones - are the only animals that use sting cells to inject venom.\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EApplications\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut it\u2019s not just the delivery system that could have healthcare applications. Scientists are also looking at whether the properties of venom itself could be used to treat health conditions including gastrointestinal disorders, cancer and chronic pain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Venom is among nature\u2019s most complex cocktails,\u2019 said Dr Sunagar. \u2018You don\u2019t see this level of intricacy in any other physiological protein.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToxins released by anemones, snails and other venomous creatures have evolved over millions of years to paralyse prey and fend off predators.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Venom is among nature\u2019s most complex cocktails.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Kartik Sunagar, Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause evolution has been fine-tuning biological processes for so long, venoms tend to be very potent and highly selective. They bind with exceptional efficiency to specific cell receptors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis pickiness leads to fewer side-effects in venom-derived medicine. It can also open new avenues to reach elusive receptors that could help tackle currently incurable diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Markus Muttenthaler at the University of Vienna in Austria is investigating how chemical compounds found in venoms could help cells repair the outer lining of damaged intestines. He says that one in 10 Westerners suffer from chronic gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith support from the EU\u2019s European Research Council, he has started exploring how to target cell receptors involved in healing gut wounds. If drugs can be tailored to trigger these receptors, they could support the protection or reconstruction of gut tissue when the body fails to do so itself.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt present, no drugs are up to the task. But venomous creatures like sea snails, spiders or scorpions may be a good place to start looking. Dr Muttenthaler says a single species can present up to 1\u0026nbsp;000 unique bioactive compounds in the venom it secretes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of his research, Dr Muttenthaler has travelled to exotic ecosystems like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Amazonian jungle to collect venomous species. Back in the lab, his team extracts the venom and tests it on live cells against a panel of receptors that have been associated with medical conditions such as pain, cancer or inflammation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If we find compounds that accelerate the gastrointestinal healing process then we have a new therapeutic lead,\u2019 said Dr Muttenthaler. These compounds are then optimised so that they remain stable in the human body and manage to reach their target organs. In principle, some could help other tissues heal faster, broadening applications \u2018to many other wounds in the body\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 alt width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOmics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVenom research has picked up pace in the last decade thanks to an approach known as omics, which studies how biological molecules of a certain type function together as a collective system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In the last 10 years, omic technologies have completely revolutionised research on venom,\u2019 said Dr Maria Vittoria Modica from Montpellier University in France. These technologies, which crunch huge volumes of data, allow researchers to chart out all the molecules produced in a cell and help decipher the role of each biological compound produced. Some compounds can then be adapted for applications in healthcare.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Modica has launched the EU-funded VIPS project to analyse the venoms produced by two marine invertebrate organisms and get an idea of their potential for applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far she has collected tissue samples from the feeding glands of millimetre-wide snails in the Mediterranean. She also retrieved toxin-secreting cells from the corals that the snails prey on.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrevious instruments could not have analysed such minute drops of venom. But transcriptomics and proteomics \u2013 using big data tools to log the complete set of instructions produced by genomes \u2013 have helped her to sequence many of the molecules at work in venom glands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the time her research project ends in 2019, Dr Modica expects to have identified the molecules involved in predator-prey relationships in snails and corals, revealing potentially useful bioactive compounds that remain as yet unknown to science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Modica says that venoms are such a promising source of active ingredients not least because nature has been optimising them since primeval times. \u2018They are the result of a chemical arms race between predators and prey,\u2019 she said. \u2018One species evolves increasingly potent toxins and the other ever stronger defences.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-4endjlj4nnis6ghokcwiayl6jt-zrey26-sc69rybwc\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-4enDJLj4NNIS6gHOKCwiayL6JT-zreY26-Sc69RYBwc\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]