A new G-protein coupled receptor target for conotoxins

我们的目标是了解海洋锥螺，潜在的药物线索的主要来源，和神经细胞信号传导的关键受体的毒液成分之间的相互作用。这种受体在许多神经系统功能中发挥作用，并已被提议作为治疗一系列疾病的靶点，包括疼痛，抑郁和药物成瘾。我们理解这种相互作用是至关重要的，这样我们就可以充分利用这些分子作为药物先导的潜力。这些新药的潜在市场价值数十亿美元，可以为澳大利亚带来巨大的经济效益。

We aim to understand the interaction between venom components from the marine cone snail, a major source of potential drug leads, and a key receptor in nerve cell signalling. This receptor plays a role in many nervous system functions and has been proposed as a target for treating a range of diseases including pain, depression and drug addiction. It is critical that we understand this interaction so we can fully exploit the potential of these molecules as drug leads. The potential exists for multibillion dollar markets for these new drugs that could provide significant economic benefits to Australia.