Actinoporins: turning venoms into treatments

Date: 

Thursday, April 5, 2018, 4:00pm to 5:00pm

Location: 

RCC Seminar Room, 26 Trowbridge St., Cambridge MA

Sea anemones produce venoms containing different toxic molecules. Among them, actinoporins are some of the best characterized ones. They constitute a family of toxic polypeptides that belong to the much larger group of pore-forming toxins (PFTs).

They are believed to participate in functions like predation, defense, and digestion and have been shown to be lethal for small crustaceans, mollusks, and fish. They form pores within biological membranes, which result in a colloid-osmotic shock that leads to cell death.

Many approaches are used to fully understand this complex mechanism, with the aim of taking advantage of the lytic functionality of these proteins, turning anemones venom into potential treatments. Studies focusing on the therapeutic potential of actinoporins abound. These include the characterization of their different pharmacological effects, their presumable anticancer activities, and their use in the development of highly specific immunotoxins. Cardio-stimulatory, anti-tumor, and anti-parasite activity have been reported for some of these toxins from sea anemones.

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Speaker: Sara García Linares, RCC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School.