Spider venom may protect against brain damage after stroke
A protein found in the venom of deadly Australian funnel web spiders could have the potential to protect a patient’s brain from damage or injury after a stroke, researchers from the University of Queensland and Monash University said.
The scientists found that a single dose of the protein Hi1a worked on lab rats, showing “great promise as a future stroke treatment”. However, it has not yet been tested on humans.
The researchers often travel to Fraser Island in Australia to hunt for and capture three potentially deadly Australian funnel web spiders. “We regularly collect spiders from Fraser Island off the south coast of Queensland,” explained lead researcher Professor Glenn King.
“The reason for this is that funnel-web spiders dig burrows that can be as deep as 20-30 cm. Thus, digging them up from hard clay soils is very difficult. Fraser Island is a sand island which makes it easy for us to extract the spiders from their burrows.”
The team then took the spiders back to their laboratory “for milking”. This involved coaxing the spider to release its venom, which could then be sucked up using pipettes.
Next the scientists dissected the venom gland of the spiders and honed in on a protein in the venom to recreate a version of it in their lab. They then injected this Hi1a into the lab rats.
They found that the protein blocked acid-sensing ion channels in the brain – something the researchers say are key drivers of brain damage after stroke.
King said the protein showed “great promise as a future stroke treatment”.”We believe that we have, for the first time, found a way to minimize the effects of brain damage after a stroke.”
Hi1a even provides some protection to the core brain region that is most affected by oxygen deprivation, which is generally considered unrecoverable due to the rapid cell death caused by stroke, he added.
Dr. Kate Holmes, deputy director for Research at the Stroke Association, said that although it is still unknown if this could be a successful treatment option for humans, they welcome any treatment that has the potential to reduce the damage caused by stroke, particularly if this can benefit people who are unable to arrive at hospital quickly.
“We urge for stroke to be treated as an emergency – the sooner a person can get to hospital after a stroke, the sooner the right treatment can be received, which can improve survival and help recovery,” Dr. Holmes added.
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