If you come across a king baboon spider, keep your distance because it can cause a lot of pain and can last for days.
The scientists think they have figured out why the spider's venom is so potent. Their findings could help in the development of treatments for spider bites, as well as help understand why humans feel chronic pain, and what we can do about it.
The venom was broken down into its individual parts by the research team. They found apeptide called Pm1a, which is known to manage responses in a group of sensory neurons.
Pm1a plays a role in the brain feeling pain through the central nervous system, and in this case it seems to be causing pain neurons to keep on firing again and again, leading to the intense reaction from a spider bite.
The results of tests on mice with a synthesized version of Pm1a confirmed that it produced hyperexcitability in nerve cells through three channels.
In summary, we show here that a single venom peptide can modify three major factors of excitability.
The coordinated modulation of excitatory and inhibitory ion channels involved in pain propagation may be an economical and effective defense strategy.
The researchers found that the presence of Pm1a increased the sensitivity of the mice to pain through the repeated firing of their nerve cells.
This hyperexcitability shown in the mice is a close match for the hyperexcitability seen in some people with chronic pain issues, which means this could be a promising avenue to explore when it comes to treating nerve damage.
We now know a lot more about how P1ma interacts with other mechanisms and chemicals in the body, as well as what makes the king baboon spider bite so painful.
The researchers told Inverse that the studies directed to determine the specific interactions of Pm1a with its many targets may inform the development of pharmacological analogs that could decrease excitability.
The research has been published.
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