Let's do without mice
A New Way to Test Natural Poison without Animal Tests
Scientists from the University of Queensland (Australia) have proposed a new method for assessing deadly neurotoxins that does not require euthanasia of laboratory animals. Researchers use synthetic peptides as "test subjects", the press service of the university reports (Scientists invent animal-free testing of lethal neurotoxins). The results of the work are described in the journal Toxins (Zdenek et al., A Taxon-Specific and High-Throughput Method for Measuring Ligand Binding to Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors).
Neurotoxins are poisons that specifically act on nerve cells. Some affect nerve tissue, others – neuromuscular synapses. Testing of paralytic neurotoxins is necessary not only for the study of antidotes, but also for the development of drugs – for example, painkillers – and for the treatment of many diseases.
Neurotoxins found in the venom of many snake species cause paralysis by attaching to nerve receptors in our muscles, preventing the normal chemical process that naturally occurs in our body when we want to move, the authors of the new method note. This is what stops the mouse running away from the snake after the rodent has been bitten.
The new technology is based on the development of synthetic peptides (substances whose molecules consist of amino acid residues) corresponding to nerve receptors that cause our muscles to contract. Scientists add that poisons bind to synthetic peptides faster than with human nerves, so they can be used much more effectively as "baits" in the laboratory.
The new method uses optical sensors immersed in a solution containing poisons. Using these sensors – by analyzing changes in reflected light – researchers measure how well poisons bind to synthetic peptides.
The scientists tested their method on the venom of the temple kufia (Tropidolaemus wagleri), a snake from the viper family.
With its help, they found that the poison very quickly attaches to the human alpha-5 receptor, a "target" that is of great interest for drug development.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru