Tarantula venom points scientists to a new way to cause—and maybe cure—pain

(credit: Lucas Foglia)

Generally, spidey senses hint at brewing trouble. But if those spidey senses come from a certain African species of tarantula, they may hint at a whole new way of brewing pain.

Two venom toxins from the tarantula species Heteroscodra maculate cause piercing pain sensations by targeting an ion channel in neurons not previously linked to pain, researchers report in Nature. In further experiments in mice, researchers found that these specific ion channels may underlie chronic abdominal pain in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.

The finding—if validated in human studies—may help scientists unravel the complexity of pain perceptions and point to new ways to block the debilitating sensation. More specifically, the data suggests that finding a drug that could block this ion channel “represents a novel therapeutic strategy for diminishing the chronic pain in IBS and perhaps other pain conditions associated with mechanical sensitization, including migraine headache,” the authors conclude.

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