Rattlesnake blood could reinvent the fight against deadly venoms
Researchers have identified specific proteins in rattlesnake blood that act as 'toxin sponges' to neutralize venom. This discovery has led to the development of a synthetic treatment that is significantly more potent than current commercial antivenoms in mice.
Why it matters
This breakthrough could revolutionize the treatment of snakebites, potentially saving thousands of lives by providing a more effective and accessible medical intervention.
Herpetologists first discovered in 1933 that rattlesnakes are immune to their own venom . Native to the Americas, rattlesnakes are pit vipers, a family of vipers with a heat-sensing pit organ between each nostril and eye.
Venom resistance in snakes comes in two forms: either the targets in their bodies have evolved such that the venom doesn’t attack them, like in cobras, or they possess specific molecules in their bloodstream that serve as “toxin sponges”, like in vipers, Sean B. Carroll, chair of biology at the University of Maryland, U.S., said.
In 1972, Japanese researchers discovered the first example of a so-called toxin sponge — a serum protein dubbed Fetuin-A — from Okinawa habu ( Protobothrops flavoviridis ), a pit viper endemic to the Ryukyu Islands. Fetuin-A could inhibit metalloproteinases, a class of venom toxins that could cause haemorrhage, damage tissue, and disrupt the coagulation system.
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