Researchers in Maryland may have uncovered an unusual strategy for treating venomous snakebites: turning to proteins that snakes already carry in their bloodstream for protection.
In laboratory experiments, mixtures of rattlesnake proteins were markedly more powerful than a current sheep-derived rattlesnake antivenom and were effective against venom from several dangerous viper species.
What happened?
The results were published July 29 in PNAS by a University of Maryland group led by Sean B. Carroll, a UMD biology professor who also holds the endowed chair named for Andrew and Mary Balo and Nicholas and Susan Simon.
The project centered on proteins found in the blood of western diamondback rattlesnakes that may help shield the snakes from their own venom, as summarized by the university in Phys.org.
Earlier research from Carroll's lab had pinpointed one such protective protein, FETUA-3. In the new study, Carroll and his co-authors — including Elda Sánchez, director of Texas A&M University-Kingsville's National Natural Toxins Research Center — broadened that work by examining the entire FETUA protein family.
On their own, individual proteins could reduce certain venom effects, including bleeding or enzyme activity, but none fully stopped death. The outcome improved sharply when multiple proteins were used together.
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According to researchers, these proteins have the potential to "fully neutralize rattlesnake venom lethality with approximately 10 times greater potency than commercial antivenom."
"This is one of those great stories when nature has already solved a problem we've been grappling with for decades," Carroll said.
Why does it matter?
Snakebites are still considered one of the world's most overlooked public health dangers.
The World Health Organization estimates that venomous snakebites kill between 80,000 and 140,000 people every year, while hundreds of thousands of others are left with permanent disabilities, particularly in rural places where treatment may be hard to reach, per Phys.org.
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Although current antivenoms can be lifesaving, they also have important limitations. They are generally produced by giving venom to large animals such as horses or sheep and then harvesting the antibodies those animals make.
That method can be costly, may not work equally well across different kinds of venom, and can sometimes cause severe immune reactions in patients.
A stronger, broader, lab-made antivenom could eventually mean safer treatment, a more reliable supply, and better outcomes for people bitten far from major hospitals.
As Carroll put it, "Why rely on horse antibodies when nature has packaged an effective antidote right there in the snake?"
What's being done?
The researchers said this is only the beginning.
Identifying the best formula will take more work because venom is chemically complex: a single snake venom can contain around 100 toxin proteins from several families. The Maryland team is continuing to search for combinations of natural inhibitors that can counter more of those toxins.
In lab testing, the best-performing protein combinations completely blocked the lethal effects of rattlesnake venom and also protected against venoms from several other vipers, including species separated by millions of years of evolution.
"The ingredients are there," Carroll said. "We just have to keep testing various mixtures."
Carroll believes the first commercial uses of these protein-based antidotes may be in veterinary medicine, followed by treatments for snakebites in humans.
"We're getting remarkably close to having effective solutions for the three major toxin families in vipers," Carroll said.
"Many of our most important medicines have come from nature. I'm delighted that the components for a better-than-commercial antivenom were in these snakes all along."
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