From Toxic to Tonic

Could a toxin from one of the planet’s most venomous animals improve treatments for diabetes and hormone disorders? Quite possibly, according to a University of Utah-led international research team. The team identified a substance in the venom of a predatory marine cone snail that mimics somatostatin—a human hormone that regulates blood sugar and hormone levels. The very traits that make it lethal in the ocean could help scientists engineer safer, more effective therapies for serious conditions.

“Venomous animals have, through evolution, fine-tuned venom components to hit a particular target in the prey and disrupt it,” says Helena Safavi, associate professor of biochemistry and

senior author on the study. Studying how the component affects normal pathways provides “a bit of a shortcut” for medicinal chemists, she notes.

Somatostatin acts as a biological brake pedal, regulating blood sugar and hormone levels. The cone snail toxin consomatin mimics this effect—but with a crucial difference. Researchers found that unlike somatostatin, which interacts with multiple proteins, consomatin homes in on a single target.

In fact, the cone snail toxin is more precisely targeted than the most specific synthetic drugs designed to regulate hormone levels. Consomatin’s effects on blood sugar could make direct therapeutic use risky for people with dia-

betes, but by studying its structure, researchers could design drugs for endocrine disorders that have fewer side effects. Plus, consomatin contains an unusual amino acid that prevents it from breaking down quickly, offering potential for long-lasting treatments.

For over 50 years, the U has been a hot spot for research into snail venom’s pharmacological properties. The legacy began when renowned cone snail scientist Baldomero Olivera arrived in Utah in 1970 from his native Philippines. Olivera and other faculty from the U’s School of Biological Sciences, including Samuel Espino, contributed to the recent study, which was conducted in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen.