The venoms of cone snails - learning from 50 million years of neuropharmacology

Ion channels are membrane bound proteins that are involved in a great variety of different physiological processes like electrical excitability of cells or absorption and secretions within the epithelia. Ion channels can be activated by different signals and malfunction of these proteines can lead to diseases. Several hereditary diseases like cystic fibrosis or special forms of epilepsy, deafness or heart arrhythmia are known to be correlated with mutations of certain ion channels. Due to their special role in different areas of cellular function ion channels are "popular" targets of biological active substances from different venomous organisms. The laboratory of Heinrich Terlau tries to understand how these substances interact with their target molecules. The focus of their research is the investigation of the mechanism of action of toxins from cone snails interacting with voltage gated ion channels. The aim is to establish new tools for studying the physiological role of a given target and to create the basis for a potential pharmacological or even clinical use of these substances.