A peptide isolated from centipede venom is as potent as morphine at treating pain in mice.

Credit: SHILONG YANG

Glenn King of the University of Queensland in St Lucia, Australia, and his colleagues purified a molecule made of 46 amino acids from the venom of the Chinese red-headed centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans, pictured). When tested in rat neurons in vitro, the peptide strongly inhibited a pain-associated sodium ion channel. It had little effect on related channels. The researchers also injected the molecule into mice that were then exposed to noxious chemicals or heat: the higher the dose, the less the animals reacted to painful stimuli. They showed no obvious side effects. The researchers suggest that this molecule, and perhaps others from centipede venoms, could yield powerful pain treatments.

Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA http://doi.org/n35 (2013)