Soricidin is a paralytic oligopeptide found in the venomous saliva of the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda);[1] in the wild, shrews use it to paralyze their prey (typically insects).[2] Its name is a reference to "Soricidae", the family to which shrews belong.[3]

In addition to blocking transmission of nerve impulses[4] by inhibiting sodium channels, soricidin also inhibits the TRPV6 calcium channel,[5] which is over-expressed in many epithelial-cell cancers; as a result, soricidin is able to selectively induce apoptosis[6] in breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer.[7]

It is 54 amino acids long.[1] It was first extracted and identified in 2000, as a result of basic research[3] by Jack Stewart of Mount Allison University.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Soricidin - Blarina brevicauda (Northern short-tailed shrew) at UniProt; version 15; published October 31, 2012; retrieved December 13, 2013
  2. ↑ Venom of the Short-Tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) as an Insect Immobilizing Agent, by Irwin G. Martin, in the Journal of Mammalogy (archived at JSTOR); Vol. 62, No. 1 (Feb., 1981), pp. 189-192
  3. 1 2 The Stunning Saliva Of Shrews: Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of the shrew's venomous brew, by Rachel Sheremeta Pepling; in Chemical & Engineering News; published October 13, 2004; retrieved December 13, 2013
  4. ↑ Shrew spit tames cancer cells at CBC.ca; published May 24, 2010; retrieved December 13, 2013
  5. ↑ In Vivo Detection of Human TRPV6-Rich Tumors with Anti-Cancer Peptides Derived from Soricidin, by Chris V. Bowen, Drew DeBay, H. Stephen Ewart, Pamela Gallant, Sean Gormley, T. Toney Ilenchuk, Umar Iqbal, Tyler Lutes, Marzia Martina, Geoffrey Mealing, Nadine Merkley, Sandra Sperker, Maria J. Moreno, Christopher Rice, Raymond T. Syvitski, and John M. Stewart; in PLoS One; published: March 15, 2013; retrieved December 13, 2013; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058866
  6. ↑ The Seventh Annual Ion Channel Retreat - Vancouver, Canada, June 29 – July 1, 2009 - MEETING REPORT, by Saranna Brugger, Susannah Kennedy, and Noel King; in ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies; vol. 8, no. 1, February 2010; doi: 0.1089/adt.2009.0241
  7. ↑ Quest for a wonder drug started with shrew bait, by Dakshana Bascaramurty; at The Globe and Mail; published August 8, 2012; retrieved December 13, 2013
  8. ↑ Open up and say 'aah', by Tom Henheffer; at Maclean's; published July 1, 2010; retrieved December 13, 2013
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.