Re: Winter 2015 | Page 21

Can wasp venom be good for you? Wasps get their fair share of bad press. They have a painful sting and they are not as useful (or cute) to us as bees. However, their time to step in to the spotlight may be just around the corner. It has been revealed that a variety of wasp native to Brazil has venom that could fight cancer. Scientists at the University of Brazil claim that the experimental therapy latches on to tumour cells and makes them leak vital molecules. The trial was carried out on mice and more studies are required to check that the method would work safely in humans. Ancient texts show doctors have used venom to treat ailments for years. In 14 BC, the Greek writer Pliny the Elder described the use of bee venom as a cure for baldness. Doctors used beestings to treat the Emperor Charlemagne’s gout in the 700s. Traditional Chinese medicine has used frog venom to fight liver, lung, colon and pancreatic cancers. Alternative doctors in Cuba have used scorpion venom to fight brain tumours. The general problem with injecting someone with venom is that there can be harmful side effects which outweigh the potential benefits. Bee stings, for example, hurt and become inflamed because melittin, the main toxin in a bee’s venom, destroys cell membranes. It can also cause blood to clot, damage the heart muscle and hurt healthy nerve cells. The species of wasp used in the study is called the Polybia Paulist. It is an aggressive social wasp found in southeast Brazil. The wasp’s venom contains an important toxin called MP1 which the insect uses to attack prey or defend itself. The antimicrobial peptide also showed promise for protecting humans from cancer as it can inhibit the growth of prostate and bladder cancer cells, as well as multi-drug resistant leukaemic cells. However, until now, it was not clear how MP1 selectively destroys cancer cells without harming normal cells. The researchers at Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, suspected that the reason might have something to do with the unique properties of cancer cell membranes. MP1 interacts with fat molecules that are abnormally distributed on the surface of cancer cells, creating gaping holes that allow molecules crucial for cell function to leak out. Formed in only seconds, these large pores are big enough to allow critical molecules such as RNA and proteins to easily escape cells and when that happens, the cell dies. In healthy cells the same molecules are hidden on the inside of the cells. In theory, this means that healthy cells should avoid an attack by MP1. Co-researcher Dr Paul Beales, from University of Leeds, said “This could be useful in developing new combination therapies, where multiple drugs are used simultaneously to treat a cancer by attacking different parts of the cancer cells at the same time”. In a similar study scientists in Queensland, Australia have been analysing deadly box jellyfish venom for the first time. Dr Mulvenna said the detailed chemical analysis of the box jellyfish venom, undertaken over about 12 months, found it was made up of about 200 proteins. A box jellyfish toxins act rapidly. Major stings are capable of causing a person’s heart to stop within a few minutes. Most of the venom is found in the tentacles of the jellyfish, which can be up to 3m long. The Queensland researchers discovered a new family of toxins in the venom of the world’s largest and deadliest box jellyfish, the Chironex Fleckeri, found in the Australian tropics. Biochemist Jason Mulvenna, of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, said the analysis would lead to more studies into whether any of the toxins could be developed into new cancer drugs. “We’ve got a lot of cancer cell lines that we test various toxins against to see if they can be used as anti-cancer agents,” Dr Mulvenna said. With an estimated 1000 people a day being diagnosed with cancer in the UK by the end of 2016 news of this potential new treatment is very encouraging. By Annika Mason 19