BiotechMashup

Researchers seeking to learn more about stroke by studying how the body responds to toxins in snake venom are this week releasing new findings that they hope will aid in the development of therapies for heart disease and, surprisingly, cancer.

by Sakthivel Vaiyapuri, Simon C. Wagstaff, Robert A. Harrison, Jonathan M. Gibbins, E. Gail Hutchinson
Background Serine proteases are major components of viper venom and target various stages of the blood coagulation system in victims and prey. A better understanding of the diversity of serine proteases and other enzymes present in snake venom will help to understand how the complexity of snake venom has evolved and will aid the development of novel therapeutics for treating snake bites.

(American Museum of Natural History) Research published recently in PLoS One delivers new insight about rapid toxin evolution in venomous snakes. New molecular research on snake-eating opossums by scientists affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History suggests that predators factor into the rapid evolution of snake venom.

Research delivers new insight about rapid toxin evolution in venomous snakes. New molecular research on snake-eating opossums suggests that predators factor into the rapid evolution of snake venom.

(American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Researchers at Albany Medical College are releasing results of a study this week that they say will help refocus the search for new drug targets aimed at preventing or reversing the devastating tissue inflammation that results after heart attack and stroke.

The king cobra continues to weave its charm with researchers identifying a protein in its venom with the potential for new drug discovery and to advance understanding of disease mechanisms.

(American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Cancer has a mighty big bag of tricks that it uses to evade the body's natural defense mechanisms and proliferate. Among those tricks is one that allows tumor cells to turn the intricate and extensive system of lymphatic vessels into something of a highway to metastasis. Yet research unveiled this week may aid in the development of therapeutics that will put the brakes on such cancer spread, and the researchers who completed the study say the findings may extend to other lymphatic disorders.

(American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) After many years of study, a team of researchers is releasing data today that it hopes will lead to new drug therapies that will kill the family of parasites that causes a deadly trio of insect-borne diseases and has afflicted inhabitants of underdeveloped and developing nations for centuries.

(Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) The next time you are stung by a bee, here's some consolation: a toxic protein in bee venom, when altered, significantly improves the effectiveness liposome-encapsulated drugs or dyes, such as those already used to treat or diagnose cancer. This research, described in the August 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal, shows how modified melittin may revolutionize treatments for cancer and perhaps other conditions, such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and serious infections.