Navigation Links
Tarantula venom and chili peppers target same pain sensor

Venom from a West Indian tarantula has been shown to cause pain by exciting the same nerve cells in mice that sense high temperatures and the hot, spicy ingredient in chili peppers, UCSF scientists have discovered.

The findings demonstrate that some plants and animals have evolved the same molecular strategy to deter predators -- triggering pain by activating a specific receptor on sensory nerves. The research provides new tools to understand how these pain- and heat-sensing neurons work, and to help develop drugs that ease persistent pain, the scientists report. Their finding, based on studies of mice cells in culture and live mice, is published in the November 9 issue of the journal Nature. The senior author is David Julius, professor and chair of physiology at UCSF.

The tarantula venom targets the heat sensor on nerve cells known as the capsaicin receptor, first cloned in 1997 in the Julius laboratory. In the last 10 years, Julius and his colleagues have demonstrated that this and related receptors trigger nerves to fire pain signals when exposed to Death Valley-like heat or the fiery properties of peppery food, mustard oil and other compounds. Human pain-sensing neurons also have these receptors on their surface, and some pain treatments have been developed that target them.

The capsaicin receptor acts as a channel on the nerve surface. When certain compounds bind to it, the receptor channel opens, allowing a stream of charged sodium and calcium molecules to rush into the nerve cell. This generates an electrical signal that travels to the brain to produce pain.

The researchers examined venoms from 22 spider and scorpion species whose bites are known to cause pain. Venom from the tarantula Psalmopoeus cambridgei activated the capsaicin receptor, also called TRPV1, and the researchers identified three protein subunits or peptides in the venom that targeted the receptor to cause pain. They also showed that venom from a second spi
'"/>

Source:University of California - San Francisco


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Tarantulas produce silk from their feet
2. Researchers find first evidence of venom system in extinct mammal
3. Evolution mystery: Spider venom and bacteria share same toxin
4. Taipan venom no snake oil
5. Stanford snake venom study shows that certain cells may eliminate poison
6. Radioactive scorpion venom for fighting cancer
7. Nonvenomous Asian snakes borrow defensive poison from toxic toads
8. New binding target for oncogenic viral protein
9. Ancient olfaction protein is shared by many bugs, offering new pest control target
10. A bacterial genome reveals new targets to combat infectious disease
11. Muscle-targeted gene therapy reverses rare muscular dystrophy in mice
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Tarantula venom and chili peppers target same pain sensor

(Date:5/20/2013)... USA New Geology articles posted ... 2013 cover a wide swath of geoscience subdisciplines, ... geophysics, and paleobotany. Locations studied include Siberia; the ... Alpi Apuane, Italy; Ukraine; Mars; and the Southeastern ... 1. Rubies, jadeite, and plate tectonics;, 2. The ...
(Date:5/19/2013)... strain of electricity-producing bacteria that can grow using hydrogen ... as its sole source of carbon. Researchers at ... the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for ... production solely on hydrogen," says Amit Kumar, a researcher ... part of the Lovley Lab Group at the university. ...
(Date:5/18/2013)... The AGA Research Foundation is honored to announce ... in Digestive Cancer, which will support Andrew D. Rhim, ... University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, as he furthers his research ... and cancer progression. , "The AGA Research Foundation is ... distinguished clinicians and AGA Legacy Society members," said Nicholas ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 2New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 3New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 4New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 5New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 6New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 7New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 8New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 9New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 10New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 11AGA Research Foundation grant furthers digestive cancer research 2
... Dec. 2, 2008 Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, ... why do some people lose their hearing as they get ... The answer may be in a study ... Advance access is available online at http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/papbyrecent.dtl . ...
... Mercury levels in fish are prompting widespread consumption advisories ... to eat. Now researchers at North Carolina State University ... regulators around the country predict which areas are likely ... breakthrough that should help officials address public uncertainty by ...
... University,s Woods Institute for the Environment, The Nature ... a two-year, $1.97 million grant from the Gordon ... program for mapping and evaluating the economic benefits ... InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs), ...
Cached Biology News:House Ear Institute, TGen and Belgian researchers identify gene in age-related hearing loss 2New model predicts hot spots for mercury in fish 2Natural Capital Project to develop conservation software 2
(Date:5/21/2013)... Glendale, CA (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 ... researchers at the University of California, San Diego for ... of load bearing Gravitic™ MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) with ... is renowned for its continued pursuit of improved healthcare ... , Spinal MRI is an extremely valuable tool for ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... Sunnyvale, CA (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 ... is an 8-week training program starting on June ... to help clinical trial professionals reach the next step ... at Dentons Offices in Palo Alto, and streamed online. ... author of award-winning papers, Clinovo's new “CDISC Standards: Theory ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... ANGELES , May 20, 2013 Today, ... San Francisco , James McGough ... Clinical Psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and ... of Medicine at the University of California Los ... both Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology and ADHD at UCLA, ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... , Md. and BALTIMORE , ... (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on ... early-stage funding in Central Maryland ... Ph.D., M.B.A., as the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for ... National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Vital Imaging Makes Greater Commitment into MRI Research 2Vital Imaging Makes Greater Commitment into MRI Research 3Clinovo Launches TechTrainings on CDISC Standards 2Positive Results Reported for Phase I Clinical Trial at UCLA for the Treatment of ADHD in Children Using External Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) 2Positive Results Reported for Phase I Clinical Trial at UCLA for the Treatment of ADHD in Children Using External Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) 3Positive Results Reported for Phase I Clinical Trial at UCLA for the Treatment of ADHD in Children Using External Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) 4Positive Results Reported for Phase I Clinical Trial at UCLA for the Treatment of ADHD in Children Using External Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) 5BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 2BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 3BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 4
... Sept. 13Researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a new technique ... biological tissue at multiple points simultaneously, a method that could ... grow and change shape. UV lasers are a ... make incisions by vaporizing one point at a time in ...
... FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 13, 2011 Healthpoint Biotherapeutics ... Operating Officer, and Robert Bancroft, Executive Vice President, Strategic ... Company, its commercial products and its R&D pipeline at ... is scheduled for the opening day of the conference, ...
... 2011 Microban recently conducted in vitro ... growth on High Consistency Rubber (HCR) silicone, which ... catheters.  Urinary infections are a costly source of ... had limited success in reducing infection rates. The ...
Cached Biology Technology:Healthpoint Biotherapeutics to Present at UBS Global Life Sciences Conference 2Microban Medical Silver Antimicrobial Technologies for HCR Silicone Achieve 5 Log Reductions in Bacteria Growth and Prevent Biofilm Formation 2
... IgG FITC is used as the ... on tissues or culture cells where ... rabbits. It is highly recommended that ... the primary antibody, be included in ...
1000X solution used for inducing CopyControl™ based vectors to high copy numbers...
Request Info...
HAS1 (C-14)...
Biology Products: