Characterizing the receptor target of lionfish venom

The lionfish (Pterois volitans), is a species that is originally native to the Indo-Pacific, but has rapidly become a very invasive species in the Caribbean and up the East coast of the United States due to its lack of natural predators there. In addition to the ecological stress it causes in the region, it delivers an incredibly painful sting – for which there is no anti-venom, and no understanding of how the venom causes pain on a cellular level. I’ve previously shown that the venom seems to act on a subtype of sensory neurons to cause pain, and now we would like to understand how it causes pain by acting on these cells. Over the summer (prior to my trips to Japan), I will be identifying the receptor on these cells that the venom acts on in order to cause pain. Over my first 6-week trip to Dr. Tominaga’s lab at the NiPS, I would first study these receptors from species that are able to eat the lionfish (barracuda, grouper, shark) to see if there is a difference between these receptors and those of mice or humans, which would explain why those animal’s don’t feel the pain of the venom[…]

Faculty Supervisor:

Reza Sharif-Naeini

Student:

Partner:

National Institute for Physiological Sciences

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Life Sciences (not health); Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Pharmaceuticals

University:

McGill University

Program: