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The fascinating world of cone snails, focusing on their venom and its potential medical applications. the magician's cone (Conus magus), a common piscivorous cone snail found in the Western Pacific, and its unique venom component that blocks a specific calcium channel (N-type), leading to the development of the pain management drug Prialt. The document also touches upon the variability of cone snail species, such as Conus magus, and the potential dangers and benefits of other cone snail species, like the geographic cone (Conus geographus) and the glory of the sea cone (Conus gloriamaris).
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Cone snail molecular phylogeny Cone snail video Snail Venom Yields Potent Painkiller, But Delivering The Drug Is Tricky Updated August 4, 201510:52 AM ETPublished August 3, 20153:30 PM ET http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/03/428990755/snail-venom- yields-potent-painkiller-but-delivering-the-drug-is-tricky
Magician’s cone ( Conus magus) The magician’s cone, Conus magus, is a fish-hunting, or piscivorous cone snail found in the Western Pacific. It is so common in some of small Pacific islands, especially in the Philippines, that it is routinely sold in the market as food. The magician’s cone attacks its fish prey by sticking out its light yellowish proboscis, from which venom is pushed through a harpoon-like tooth. It hunts by the hook-and-line method and so will engulf its prey after it has been paralyzed. To learn more about hook-and-line hunters, click here. Scientists have analyzed the venom of the magician’s cone and one of its venom components was discovered to have a unique pharmacological activity by blocking a specific calcium channel (N-type). After this venom component was isolated and characterized in a laboratory, researchers realized that it had potential medical application. By blocking N-type calcium channels, the venom blocks channels that when open convey pain from nerve cells. If this is blocked, the brain cannot perceive these pain signals. It was developed as a pain management drug, and is now chemically synthesized and sold under the trade name Prialt. This drug is given to patients who have very severe pain that is not alliviated by morphine. Conus magus is an extremely variable cone species with respect to its shell pattern. Different specimens of Conus magus collected from different islands will look different from each other; it is not well understood why some species of Conus are very constant in their shell pattern, while the shells of other species, such as Conus magus , are extremely variable. Looking at two different Conus magus often makes one think that they are in fact different species of cone snails. Research at the University of Utah on Cone snails: https://nihrecord.nih.gov/newsletters/2005/03_01_2005/story03.htm Imperial cone ( Conus imperialis)
The incredibly toxic venom of the geographic cone snail has to be strong enough to paralyze instantly. Otherwise, the fish it preys on would swim away to die, and the slow-moving gastropod would have nothing for its efforts. Indigenous to the reefs of the Indo-Pacific, geographic cones grow to about 6 inches (15 centimeters) in length and have intricately patterned brown-and-white shells highly prized by shell collectors. The geographic cone is the most venomous of the 500 known cone snail species, and several human deaths have been attributed to them. Their venom, a complex concoction of hundreds of different toxins, is delivered via a harpoonlike tooth propelled from an extendable proboscis. There is no antivenin for a cone snail sting, and treatment is limited to merely keeping victims alive until the toxins wear off. Ironically, among the compounds found in cone snail venom are proteins which, when isolated, have enormous potential as pain-killing drugs. Research shows that certain of these proteins target specific human pain receptors and can be up to 10,000 times more potent than morphine without morphine 's addictive properties and side-effects.
Barthelemy’s cone ( Conus barthelemyi) This species occurs off islands throughout the Indian Ocean, ranging from Réunion to the Maldives and Seychelles; it also occurs around Christmas Island (Röckel et al. 1995). At Christmas Island, this species occupies a unique niche; only seven specimens are known but the species is extant. It is found on coral walls in caves, 30 - 60 m deep. The Christmas island population is isolated from other populations (H. Morrison pers. comm. 2011). The EOO, AOO, and number of locations for this species exceed the criteria for B1, B2, and D2 classification. Glory of the sea cone ( Conus gloriamaris) Although the Glory of the Seas Cone Shell is perhaps the most famous and coveted shell in the history of conchology, it is neither the most attractive nor rarest species
