Israeli Deathstalker Scorpion Venom to Revolutionize Cancer Treatment: Tumor Paint Can Identify Cancer Cells and Regular Cells

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While the sting of Israeli Deathstalker Scorpion could hurt people, it's their venom that kills. These little beasts and their venom, have had their fair share of victims throughout history. Now, however, scientists have discovered that their venom, minus the poison, could actually help in cancer treatment.

According to a report from CBS News, the venom of the Israeli Deathstalker Scorpion can be synthetically reproduced without the poison. When this synthetic substance is introduced into the bloodstream of a patient, the substance sticks to the cancer cells but not to normal cells.

The synthetic substance derived from the venom of the Israeli Deathstalker Scorpion is combined with a fluorescent dye to produce what Dr. Jim Olson dubbed as "tumor paint." According to Dr. Olson, a brain cancer physician and researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington, the combination of the synthetic venom and fluorescent dye would make the cancer cell light up, hence, the term "tumor paint."

According to Dr. Olson, surgeons would benefit from this "tumor paint" especially when performing critical surgery procedures. The "tumor paint" would allow surgeons to see, in real time, which cells are infected by cancer.

"Sometimes, it's really hard for a surgeon to tell what is cancer and what is normal," Dr. Olson said. During brain operations, surgeons just can't take out a large chunk of normal cells to make sure that they eliminate cancer. That's where the "tumor paint" would be helpful, in identifying which cells are cancerous.

However, researchers have also studied other scorpions, not just the Israeli Deathstalker Scorpion. IFL Science reports that a small peptide isolated from a Brazilian Yellow Scorpion (Tityus serrulatus), called TsAP-1 is rich with anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.

It is interesting to note that some of these peptides are known to kill cells by forming pores in biological membranes. If these peptides can be harnessed and utilized as a targeted drug for tumor cells, it would be a huge breakthrough in cancer treatment. Meaning, these toxins from scorpions could be used to cause the death of unwanted cells or tissues within the body.

Scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, led by Dipanjan Pan, published a study in the journal Chemical Communications claim that they have created spherical capsules that contain the scorpion venom toxin TsAP-1. The encapsulated toxin is called NanoVenin and the researchers claim that it increases drug effectiveness at killing breast cancers by a factor of 10.

Invasive and non-invasive cancer treatment just got a big boost from the Israeli Deathstalker Scorpion and the Brazilian Yellow Scorpion. Granted that these breakthroughs are a long way from completely eradicating cancer, but a step in the right direction usually means the battle would favor the bold.