World’s deadliest spider venom: a potential lifesaver

Photo credit: ABC News

University of Queensland Professor Glenn King was awarded the Prime Minister’s prize for Innovation on Tuesday. King’s ground-breaking research on Funnel-web spider venom led him to spin off two companies aimed at saving bees and treating stroke victims.

The Funnel-web spider is a deadly Australian species that can kill a human in just 15 minutes. Its fangs, capable of piercing a toenail, warrant the innate sense of fear they invoke.

Since elucidating the insecticidal effects of one of the venom’s neurotoxins in 1997, King discovered this deadly Venom contains more than 3000 substances.

He described it as: “probably the most complex chemical arsenal in the natural world”

King demonstrated that the spider venom contained some very potent insecticides that aren’t harmful to other animals.

Bees, for example, are often victims of crop pesticide poisoning.

 In 2005, King took a stand against this problem by co-founding Vestaron Corporation, a biological pesticide company offering animal-friendly insecticides.

Venom research in humans

But King’s research efforts did not stop at insecticides. He found that some compounds in the spider venom, in very small doses, can be beneficial for humans!

In 2021, King spun off a second company that focuses on treating strokes with spider venom. During a stroke, a cascade of neuron death is triggered by the activation of a specific ion channel, known as acid-sensing ion channel 1a.

There are currently no drugs available to protect the brain from this type oof injury.

 King’s team discovered a peptide in the spider’s venom that binds to this channel, preventing its activation during a stroke.

This is a significant breakthrough given that strokes claim six million lives worldwide each year and leave five million survivors with permanent disabilities. While the team is excited about the discovery, they acknowledge the challenge of finding the most effective method to deliver this drug to the brain.

In addition to strokes, King’s research has also shed light on the treatment of other diseases with venom. For instance, his team discovered another spider-venom peptide that alleviates gut pain.

The chemical activates neurons through a different sodium channel previously not associated with pain. However, the channel now appears to play a significant role in abdominal pain related to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

This particular line of research is closer to clinical trials as it does not require the drug to cross the blood-brain barrier.

While challenges remain, particularly in drug delivery methods, the progress made so far from such an unlikely source demonstrates the potential natural products continue to offer.

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