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Home > How it Works > Articles > Hearty welcome for Dr Tarantula

Hearty welcome for Dr Tarantula

01:00 Mon 22nd Jan 2001 | How it Works

by Lisa Cardy

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THE sight of it may set your pulse racing, but its bite could save your life. US and German scientists have discovered that venom from a tarantula contains a protein that could wipe out a common and often fatal heart condition.

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The condition, atrial fibrillation, an erratic pounding of the heart, can be caused by a heart attack or physical blow to the chest and often leads to strokes. Treatment for the common and often fatal condition is usually an electric shock, which knocks the heart back into its normal beat. But now researchers claim that an effective drug could be produced from tarantula venom.

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There are around 10 billion cells in the heart, all interconnected and all excitable. The electrical connections between them synchronise the heart. When a problem occurs the cells swell and the connections distort and send out random electrical signals, which turns into a chaotic twitching. Instead of beating normally the heart is unable to pump blood properly, leading to a swift death if not treated promptly.

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The small protein, known as a peptide, comes from the venom of the Chilean Rosehair tarantula (Grammostola spatulata). It blocks the random electrical signals from being transmitted in the first place. Even better the protein only works on swollen heart muscle and so has no effect on normal healthy heart tissue, which could mean a reduced risk of side effects.

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The potential for a simple drug treatment for a common and frequently fatal heart condition has already attracted the interest of several drug companies.

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