Curing Chronic Pain With Scorpion Toxin – New Science Behind It
The ability to feel pain is a blessing and a curse for humans. The blessing is that experiencing pain can help us identify the cause of the pain and aid us toward such instances off. The flipside, of course, is the pain itself! Pain also indicates that your brain is properly sending signals to parts of the body that need protection.
A specific type of response to triggers such as cutting onions or eating hot peppers -which are also identified as pains by scientists- is the flowing of the nose, flood of tears and the numbness of the tongue. This sinus attack is caused when the chemical-sensing protein, the “Wasabi Receptor” is targeted by a sulfur chemical compound found in onions called syn-Propanethial S-oxide and in peppers, this compound is Capsaicinoids.
Researchers at the University of California and the University of Queensland have identified a toxin found in the poison of the Australian Black Rock scorpion that triggers the “Wasabi Receptor”, also known as TRPA 1, through a mechanism that was previously unidentified. They expanded on this pain trigger mechanism; which they claim can be used to scrutinize the grassroots levels of the workings of pain in the human body. Researchers also claim that the pathway this toxin activates can be mirrored through scientific procedures to bring about the treatment of chronic pain in patients. This discovery will also help scientists come up with non-opioid drugs – basically non-addictive drugs – to help people suffering from various chronic pains.
What Is Wasabi Receptor TRPA 1?
The TRPA 1 runs as a ‘receptor-operated’ channel that is directly affected by inflammatory agents and is generally found in the sensory nerve endings and/or throughout the bodies of nearly all kinds of living beings. The scorpion toxin, also known as the “Wasabi Receptor Toxin” (WaTx) can activate only the TRPA 1 found in mammals which causes pain in the area of the body where it hits. However, it was then observed that this is done to ward off the class because scorpions do not feed on mammals.
The way that WaTx works, although similar in some ways, is profoundly discreet from the way normal triggers work on the human body. Take the process of cigarette smoke for instance. When a human being is exposed to smoke, active elements called ‘reactive electrophiles’ enter into the body through breathing orifices such as the nose and the mouth. This triggers the TRPA 1 that is found in the lining cells of the airway tract of the body activating reflex coughs and the inflammation of the airway. The same is the response of the human body when exposed to items like onions, ginger, garlic, and wasabi.
How Does It Work?
According to John Lin King, head of the study and student at the University of California, TRPA 1 plays the role of [restrict]a ‘fire alarm’ in the body which reacts against chemical elements in the environment.
The receptor maintains its role of the ‘fire alarm’ when it comes in contact with WaTx in that it notifies the body of being around harm, however, the internal bodily reaction differs largely.
To make a distinction between the processes activated in the body, scientists injected into the paws of mice an irritant known to set in motion the wasabi receptor. This common stimulus showed precedented results; acute pain and hypersensitivity to temperature, touch, and other sensory cues and inflammation seen through swelling – symptoms quintessential to chronic pain. When injected with WaTx, the observations were all similar except for signs of inflammation.
When in contact with the body, the WaTx gets inside the cell and takes control of what substances are allowed in and out of the cell. In common situations, compounds, molecules, ions, and other substances are absorbed into the cell through a mechanism called ‘endocytosis’. However, with the case of WaTx, it was observed that because the toxin contains an atypical chain of amino acids that give it the superior ability to cross through the cell membrane and take charge. It attaches itself to a specific side of the TRPA 1 much like the previously mentioned environmental irritants. This particular side is called the ‘allosteric nexus’ and is present inside of the cell. This is where the alteration of the generic functions of the cell occurs.
During this process, common compounds cause the TRPA 1 channel to hastily open and shut. This movement causes the inflow of calcium and sodium ions into the cell which leads to the induction of pain. There also exists a biasedness for the accumulation of calcium ions into the cell which results in inflammation. On the contrary, however, when the WaTx gets attached to the allosteric nexus, it forces the channel through which compounds enter into the cell open. It also shows no discrimination for either of the ions, calcium or sodium, to enter. This causes sharp chronic pain to be induced in the individual without the sign of any inflammation.
How it could help
Given its chain of amino acids, John Lin says it is not expected of peptide toxins to be able to break into cell membranes and selectively chose what chemicals to let in. But given the unusual sequence of WaTx, it has shown significant ability to do so opening up opportunities for scientists to create drugs that will directly target problematic areas in individuals. Because the receptor TRPA 1 is triggered one-on-one in the presence of inflammatory substances, it is believed to be a vital spot when treating instances such as neurogenic inflammatory syndromes, chronic pain, itch et cetera.
Other synthetic compounds used for the treatment of chronic cases are menthol, delta 9 – tetrahydrocannabinol (a compound found in cannabis) that recruit a different mechanism to work and that do not target the TRPA 1. These have proven to be less effective and much less potent than those compounds that employ the TRPA 1 route.
Usually, peptide and protein-based compounds are taken into the cell membrane via selective channels. However, the distinguishing property of the WaTx, the wasabi toxin, is that its unusual amino acid sequence allows direct passage into the cell membrane. Very few proteins like the one used in the treatment of HIV can achieve this phenomenon however, the structures of the two largely differ.
Lin King said in a press release that by identifying the way in which the toxin penetrates the cell membrane, their team will be able to mirror the mechanism to allow the medication to reach target cells by crossing through the membrane which is something they have not been able to do so far.
Given the situation with the addiction to opioids, researchers have been trying to find non-opioid pain killers. Scorpion poison has resulted in the expansion of different fields of study. Various institutions are looking into fluorescent molecules obtained from a certain scorpion that shed light on cancer cells making them easier to identify by surgeons and, hence, remove tumors.
Some experts have also said that scorpion venom could also serve as an alternative to Morphine. A group of researchers at Tel Aviv University are trying to alter the way the sodium channel carries messages of bodily pain to the brain. They claim that bringing about a change in that channel can lead to less painful human lives. Furthermore, the group of experts also claims that because scorpions have been around for a couple of million years, their toxins have evolved to drive up the level of pain when they sting. However, here also lies the juicy truth that because their venom is all-natural, the compounds it consists can be tailored to have little to no side effects such as addiction and other uninvited effects such as those of Morphine.
Professor Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland says that Australian scorpion stings are not as fatal as those of scorpions in other parts of the world. Hence, this makes their poison a resource to work on to develop drugs to help with the pain. This belief has led them to examine a variety of scorpion species and has allowed them to understand how their venoms have evolved.
On an ending note
Expert teams are confident that TRPA 1 is a useful target for the effectiveness of future pain drugs. They expect that more research will help them shed light on the relationship between pain and inflammation. They also hope to take advantage of their differences in order that they may invent non-opioid pain medication.[/restrict]
