Harnessing venom for cancer treatments

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The venom of some of the world’s most deadly creatures has earned them an evil reputation, but scientists at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute are trying to harness their toxic strengths as a ‘force of good’ in medicine, writes Associate Professor John Miles, Head of QIMR Berghofer’s Human Immunity Laboratory.

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QIMR Berghofer researchers are investigating whether the venom of feared creatures such as snakes, spiders and box jellyfish could contain potential cancer treatments.
Over many millennia, more than 100,000 different animal species have independently evolved venoms for predation and defence. These rich biological soups can contain more than 1,000 unique active components that act in synergy to modulate nerve messaging, muscle function, blood clotting and immune function. One hundred million years of evolution have fine-tuned these tiny secretions into seemingly perfect drugs.

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“QIMR Berghofer’s Human Immunity Laboratory staff are examining whether venom-based drugs can be harnessed to control immune system function, allowing them to open treatments for cancer and across a plethora of human diseases.”

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Instead of spending millions of dollars reverse-engineering small molecule drugs that can modulate immune cell activity, QIMR Berghofer is checking to see whether nature may already have manufactured immunotherapy treatments. It is the fast-acting peptide fragments within venoms that target vital molecules in the human body and can turn biological pathways, cells and even whole organs on and off like switches.
Given these unique abilities, a number of venom-based drugs are already in clinical trials for chronic pain and heart disease.
QIMR Berghofer’s Human Immunity Laboratory staff are examining whether venom-based drugs can be harnessed to control immune system function, allowing them to open treatments for cancer and across a plethora of human diseases.
For this to be possible researchers are working to identify compounds that can turn up the power of the immune system, like a volume knob on a stereo. By mining large venom libraries they are hunting for chemicals that target surface receptors on killer T cells, a white blood cell in the immune system that can be “woken up” to fight cancer.
There are several leads from the venom of a number of toxic species which could lead to potent new drugs for immune system reprograming. QIMR Bergofer’s work covers some of Australia’s deadly land predators – snakes, spiders, centipedes and scorpions. The ocean is another rich source of potential subjects, with venom from irukandji, cone snails and box jellyfish being analysed for immune modulating properties.
Associate Professor John Miles
Associate Professor John Miles received his doctorate in Immunology from the University of Queensland in 2008. The same year he was awarded an NHMRC Overseas Biomedical Fellowship and became a visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University (UK). From 2009-2012, John continued basic and applied immunology research in the UK through a Welcome Trust VIP Fellowship and a WORD Medical Research Fellowship.  In 2012, John Returned to Australia to take up a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship and team head position at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. He is concurrently a Cardiff University Honorary Research Fellow, Griffith University Associate Professor and University of Queensland Associate Professor.