A Cell-Penetrating Scorpion Toxin Enables Mode-Specific Modulation of TRPA1 and Pain.
- Journal:
- Cell
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.cell.2019.07.014
- Affiliations:
- 5
- Authors:
- 7
Research Highlight
Scorpion toxin targets ‘wasabi receptor’
© DigiPub/Getty
The discovery of a scorpion toxin that elicits pain in a similar — but distinct — fashion to wasabi and other pungent foods could help scientists discover novel pain-relieving medicines.
A team that included researchers from the University of Queensland isolated a small peptide from the venom of the Australian black rock scorpion. They named the molecule wasabi receptor toxin, or WaTx, since it triggers the same chemical-sensing protein as the horseradish plant. However, unlike other activators of this receptor, WaTx binds to its target in a way that does not produce inflammatory signals.
WaTx now offers an experimental tool for studying acute-pain responses without the confounding effects of inflammation.
The findings also highlight how distantly related life forms — in this case, plants and animals — can evolve defensive strategies that target the same receptor, albeit through different mechanisms.
References
- Cell 178, 1362–1374 (2019). doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.07.014
Institutions | Authors | Share |
---|---|---|
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), United States of America (USA) | 0.71 | |
The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia | 0.29 |