Tarantula toxins may provide potent and effective painkillers

Written by Courtney Johnson

Findings of a new study, carried out at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia and presented recently at the Biophysical Society's 60th Annual Meeting (Los Angeles, CA, USA, 27 February-2 March 2016), have demonstrated that the peptide toxin ProTx-II found in the venom of the Peruvian green velvet tarantula, Thrixopelma pruriens, serves as a potent and selective inhibitor of pain receptors in the brain. The results suggest that the development of novel peptides with a simulated mechanism of action may provide effective therapy for the treatment of pain. Peptide toxins derived from the venom of spiders, snakes or cone...

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