The power of venom -- and how it could one day save your life | Mandë Holford

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

How does a sea snail catch a fish?

Kako morski puž hvata ribu?

I mean, it's a snail, so it's slow,

Mislim, radi se o pužu, dakle, spor je,

and the fish is not.

a riba nije.

But yet, this happens.

Međutim, ovo se ipak dešava.

Hidden under the sand is a cone snail.

Sakriven pod peskom je puž konus.

And that orange thing you see is kind of like a tongue.

A ta narandžasta stvar koju vidite je nešto nalik jeziku.

We call it a proboscis.

Nazivamo je surlom.

It uses that to track and subdue this unsuspecting fish.

Koristi je da prati i savlada ovu neupućenu ribu.

In this predator-prey interaction,

U ovoj interakciji između grabljivice i plena,

these are clearly not your garden variety escargots.

očito se ne radi o vašim uobičajenim plodovima mora.

These are assassins of the sea.

Ovo su morske ubice.

And their weapon of choice is venom.

A njihovo omiljeno oružje je otrov.

Venom, like the venom you find in venomous snakes and scorpions,

Otrov, poput otrova koji zatičete kod otrovnih zmija i škorpija,

these sea snails, they use their venom to subdue fish, worms

ovi morski puževi koriste svoj otrov da savladaju ribe, crve

and other snails.

i druge puževe.

And the venom of these snails,

A otrov ovih puževa

it's not just one thing,

nije nešto pojedinačno,

it's actually a cocktail of toxic molecules

zapravo se radi o koktelu otrovnih molekula

that are packaged and delivered through a false tooth called a radula.

koji su upakovani i isporučeni preko lažnog zuba koji se naziva radulom.

You can think of the radulas as hypodermic needles.

Možete da posmatrate radule kao potkožne igle.

Now, no need to worry,

Sad, ne brinite,

these snails are practicing good needle habits,

ovi puževi pametno koriste igle

because each radula is only used once.

jer svaku radulu mogu da upotrebe samo jednom.

Now from your own knowledge about venomous organisms,

Na osnovu vašeg ličnog znanja o otrovnim organizmima,

and the keep-you-up-at-night fish-killing video that I just showed you,

kao i snimka koji sam vam upavo prikazala a koji će vas držati budne po noći,

you might think that venom is dangerous and all bad.

možete da pomislite da je otrov opasan i skroz loš.

Well, yes and no.

Pa, i da i ne.

A more accurate way of thinking of venom

Ispravnije razmišljanje o otrovu

is to think of it as both a supervillain and a superhero.

je da razmišljate o njemu i kao superzlikovcu i kao superheroju.

In my lab, we study the evolution of venom in these sea snails

U mojoj laboratoriji izučavamo evoluciju otrova kod ovih morskih puževa

as a force for good.

kao silu na strani dobra.

Sounds like a stretch,

Zvuči nategnuto

or maybe even snake oil,

ili možda čak kao zmijsko ulje,

but actually,

ali zapravo,

while there are snakes involved, the product is legit.

iako su tu negde i zmije prisutne, proizvod je verodostojan.

One reason the venom product is so successful

Jedan od razloga zašto je otrov tako uspešan

is that it transforms a physical warfare into a biochemical one.

je zato što fizičko ratovanje preobraća u biohemijsko.

Where usually the predator-prey interaction is one of brute force,

Dok se obično interakcija između plena i grabljivice zasniva na sirovoj snazi,

venom takes it to a molecular scale.

otrov je prebacuje na molekularni nivo.

And it's not size that matters,

I nije veličina važna,

but the mixture of your venom arsenal.

već smeša vašeg otrovnog arsenala.

The chemistry of the toxins in your arsenal

Hemija toksina u vašem arsenalu

is what's going to enable David to conquer Goliath.

je ono što će da omogući Davidu da porazi Golijata.

And in our scenario, David is clearly the snail.

A u našem scenariju, David je očito puž.

Another feature of venom that makes it so successful

Druga osobina otrova zbog koje je uspešan

is that the toxins work with the precision of a Swiss Army knife.

je to što toksini deluju preciznošću švajcarskog vojničkog noža.

And so these toxins,

Dakle, ovi toksini

they come for strongholds that help an organism to function.

potiču iz uporišta koja pomažu organizmu da funkcioniše.

So they target blood, brain and membranes.

Stoga oni ciljaju krv, mozak i membrane.

Whether it's snail venom or snake venom,

Bilo da se radi o otrovu puža ili zmije,

they each have components that can do things

svi oni imaju sastojke koji mogu da uzrokuju stvari

like cause your blood to clot,

poput zgrušavanja vaše krvi,

what we call "hemotoxic."

nešto što nazivamo „hemotoksičnošću”.

Or they cause neurons in your brains to not function normally,

Ili uzrokuju da vam neuroni u mozgu ne funkcionišu normalno,

what we call "neurotoxic."

a to nazivamo „neurotoksičnošću”.

Or they have toxins that will poke holes into the membranes of your cells,

Ili poseduju otrove koji buše rupe na membranama vaših ćelija,

causing them to rupture and, basically, explode,

zbog čega one pucaju i, u suštini, eksplodiraju,

what we call "cytotoxic."

nešto što nazivamo „citotoksičnošću”.

Cellular explosion, people.

Ćelijska eksplozija, ljudi.

Now, if that is not all powerful and all present,

Ako to nije svemoćno i sveprisutno,

nothing is.

ništa nije.

Now a little about me,

A sad malo o meni

and why I'm so obsessed with venom.

i zašto sam toliko opsednuta otrovom.

I grew up in New York City

Odrasla sam u Njujorku

with forced access to the Natural History Museum.

sa prinudnim pristupom Muzeju prirodnjačke istorije.

I say "forced access,"

Kažem „prinudnim pristupom”

because I'm one of five kids,

jer sam jedna od petoro dece,

and my parents used museums as a form of childcare.

a moji roditelji su koristili muzeje kao oblik produženog boravka.

There were two rules:

Imali smo dva pravila:

Don't lose anybody

niko ne sme da se izgubi

and meet Mom and Dad at the African elephants

i susret sa mamom i tatom je kod afričkih slonova

at 5:30, when the museum closes.

u 5:30 kada se muzej zatvara.

Those totally unsupervised days running through the halls of the museum

Ti dani bez ikakvog nadzora kada smo jurcali hodnicima muzeja

were full of adventure and exploration.

su bili ispunjeni avanturama i istraživanjem.

And that's how I feel when I'm studying venom.

A upravo se tako osećam kada izučavam otrov.

It's a scientific adventure.

Radi se o naučnoj avanturi.

We're boldly exploring this entity that connects nature and humanity.

Hrabro istražujemo ovaj entitet koji povezuje prirodu i čovečanstvo.

Another reason that I'm obsessed with venom

Drugi razlog zašto sam opsednuta otrovom

is because of its duality.

je njegova dualnost.

When you inject the components of a venom arsenal into an organism,

Kada ubrizgate u organizam sastojke iz otrovnog arsenala,

it can kill or it can cure.

otrov može da ubije ili izleči.

At a molecular level, several things can happen.

Na molekularnom nivou, dešava se nekoliko stvari.

You saw one thing, paralysis in the fish.

Videli ste jednu od njih, paraliza ribe.

Now that was happening because the toxins in the venom

To se dešava jer toksini u otrovu

were attacking how the fish's cells communicate with each other,

napadaju to kako riblje ćelije međusobno komuniciraju,

preventing it from swimming away.

sprečavajući je da otpliva.

Are there other things that I would like to use venom to attack?

Postoje li druge stvari koje bih želela da otrov napadne?

For sure.

Zasigurno.

And one of those is cancer.

A jedna od njih je rak.

Cancer tumors are cells.

Karcinoidni tumori su ćelije.

And like all cells,

I kao i sve ćelije,

they communicate with themselves and their environment around them.

komuniciraju međusobno i sa neposrednim okruženjem.

So we would like to find venom components

Voleli bismo da otkrijemo sastojke otrova

that are very good at disrupting how the tumor cells communicate.

koji su veoma dobri u ometanju komunikacije između ćelija tumora.

Similar to how the venom disrupted how the fish cells communicated

Slično tome kako je otrov omeo ćelijsku komunikaciju kod ribe

and the fish couldn't swim away.

i riba nije mogla da otpliva.

In my lab, we study cancer as a channelopathy.

U mojoj laboratoriji, izučavamo rak kao kanalopatiju.

What this means is, basically, we're looking for venom components

U suštini to znači da tražimo sastojke otrova

that will target channels that are overexpressed in tumor cells

koji bi ciljali kanale koji su prekomerno izraženi kod ćelija tumora

versus normal cells.

nasuprot normalnim ćelijama.

The cancer that we're most focused on right now

Rak na koji smo trenutno najviše usredsređeni

is liver cancer.

je rak jetre.

And that's because since the 1980s,

A to je zato što od 1980-ih,

the death rate of liver cancer has doubled,

stopa smrtnosti od raka jetre se udvostručila

and it's an emerging threat in the US.

i radi se o sve većoj pretnji u SAD-u.

In a screen in which we had cervical,

U ispitivanju gde smo imali ćelije raka grlića materice,

neuroblastoma, prostate and liver cancer cells,

neuroblastoma, prostate i jetre,

we found a compound from a terebrid snail

otrkili mo da jedan sastojak iz puža terebrida

that seems to attack liver cancer cells,

čini se da napada karcinoidne ćelije jetre

and only liver cancer cells, and none of the others that were tested.

i isključivo karcinoidne ćelije jetre i nijedne druge na kojima je testirano.

And then, when we took this compound and we injected it into mouse models

Potom smo uzeli ovo jedinjenje i ubrizgali ga u mišje modele

that were expressing liver cancer cells,

koji su imali karcinoidne ćelije jetre,

it significantly inhibited the growth of the tumors.

ono je značajno inhibiralo rast tumora.

We're not quite sure how this works yet,

I dalje nismo potpuno sigurni kako ovo deluje,

we're still investigating the mechanism

i dalje istražujemo mehanizam

and how we can make this compound more effective,

i kako možemo da jedinjenje učinimo efikasnijim,

so you can't rush out to the pharmacy

te ne možete da pohitate u apoteku

and order up a killer snail liver-cancer therapy treatment.

i poručite terapijski tretman za rak jetre na bazi puževa ubica.

Not yet.

Još uvek ne.

Basically, what we think is happening

U suštini, smatramo da se dešava

is that the compound is blocking a specific channel,

to da jedinjenje blokira specifične kanale,

prohibiting the transmission of a specific chemical

sprečavajući prenos specifične hemikalije

that leads to downstream signaling

koja dovodi do nizvodne signalizacije

that enables the tumor to multiply and draw blood to itself.

i omogućuje tumoru da se množi i da za sebe prikuplja krv.

What we're doing in studying the components of venom

Naše izučavanje otrovnih jedinjenja

to find treatments for human diseases and disorders,

da bismo otkrili lekove za ljudske bolesti i poremećaje

is not new,

nije novina,

it's what we call natural products drug discovery,

radi se o nečemu što nazivamo otkrićem prirodnih lekova

and it's been happening for centuries,

i dešava se već vekovima

and in cultures all over the world.

i to u kulturama širom sveta.

Venoms are not only giving us cool new compounds,

Otrovi nam ne pružaju samo nova strava jedinjenja,

but they're also giving us new ways of thinking

već nam i pružaju nove načine razmišljanja

about how we treat human diseases and disorders.

o tome kako lečimo ljudske bolesti i poremećaje.

And I'll give you three examples.

I daću vam tri primera.

The first is from killer snails, of course.

Prvi je o puževima ubicama, naravno.

And so the first drug from these snails that is on the market

Dakle, prvi lek od ovih puževa koji se nalazi na tržištu

is called ziconotide, or Prialt,

se naziva zikonotid ili prialt

and it's used to treat chronic pain in HIV and cancer patients.

i koristi se kao tretman za hronični bol kod pacijenata sa HIV-om i rakom.

Prialt is a nonaddictive pain therapy.

Terapija bola prialtom ne izaziva zavisnost.

Three magic words when you think about how we're treating pain currently.

Tri čarobne reči kada razmišljate o tome kako trenutno lečimo bol.

We're using things that have a huge cost of addiction.

Koristimo stvari koje uzimaju veliki danak u vidu zavisnosti.

So think of morphine

Setite se morfijuma

or think of any of your favorite opioid out there.

ili se setite bilo kog vama omiljenog opioida koji postoji.

What the snails have done

Ono što su puževi uradili

is they've shown us a way to treat pain without the addiction,

jeste da su nam pokazali način kako da lečimo bol bez zavisnosti,

which is huge.

a to je ogromna stvar.

The next example comes from the Brazilian pit viper.

Sledeći primer dolazi od brazilske ljutice.

From these snakes, we've derived a compound called captopril.

Iz ovih zmija smo dobili jedinjenje koje se naziva kaptopril.

Captopril is used to treat high blood pressure,

Kaptopril se koristi za lečenje visokog krvnog pritiska

and captopril is a breakthrough drug.

i kaptopril je revolucionaran lek.

But not only in and of itself,

Međutim, ne isključivo sam po sebi,

but because it advanced a whole class of drugs,

već jer je unapredio čitavu klasu lekova

what we know as ACE inhibitors,

koji se nazivaju ACE inhibitori,

which are the most commonly [prescribed] for treating hypertension

koji se najčešće propisuju za lečenje hipertenzije

and heart failure.

i zatajenja srca.

The last example is from the Gila monster.

Poslednji primer je otrovni bradavičar.

And this is a really exciting example of understanding the ecology

A ovo je uistinu uzbudljiv primer razumevanja ekologije

of these organisms,

ovih organizama

and pairing it with efficient drug discovery.

i njenog spajanja sa otkrićem učinkovitih lekova.

And Gila monsters are binge eaters.

A otrovni bradavičari kad jedu banče.

So when they bite into a large meal,

Kada zagrizu veliki obrok,

they release things in their venom that lower blood sugar.

oslobađaju sastojke u svom otrovu koji snižavaju šećer u krvi.

So what's the drug that you think we found from the Gila monster?

Dakle, šta mislite koji smo lek otkrili kod otrovnog bradavičara?

A compound that is used to lower the blood sugar in diabetic patients.

Jedinjenje koje se koristi za snižavanje šećera kod dijabetičara.

Now these are three marvelous examples,

Sad, ovo su tri predivna primera,

but we've just scratched the surface.

ali tek smo zagrebali površinu.

There's so much more venom out there for us to study.

Ima još toliko otrova suvda oko nas za izučavanje.

In fact, we think that 15 percent of all the animals on the planet

Zapravo, smatramo da je 15 procenata svih životinja na planeti

are venomous.

otrovno.

And I think this is a low estimate,

I ja to smatram nižom procenom,

given the fact that we haven't surveyed all the animals on the planet.

imajući u vidu činjenicu da nismo ispitali sve životinje na planeti.

But nature seems to have found something that she likes,

No, čini se da je priroda otkrila nešto što joj se sviđa

and she's repeated it over and over and over again,

i ponavljala je to iznova, iznova i iznova,

leading to the vast array of animals that we see around us

dajući čitavu lepezu životinja koje vidimo svuda oko nas

and all throughout the tree of life.

i duž drveta života.

So whether we're talking about my fave, killer snails,

Dakle, bilo da govorimo o mojim favoritima, puževima ubicama,

or jellyfish,

ili meduzama

or the larvae of butterflies and moths,

ili larvama leptira i moljaca

or platypus or slow lorises,

ili kljunaru ili lenjim lorijima,

whether by sea, land or air,

bilo u moru, na kopnu ili u vazduhu,

you're sure to encounter a venomous creature.

zagarantovano ćete naleteti na otrovno biće.

Remember when I told you

Sećate se kad sam vam rekla

that venom can be both a superhero and a supervillain,

da otrov može da bude i superheroj i superzlikovac,

and you doubted me?

a vi ste posumnjali u mene?

Mhm.

Hm.

We're in a race to harness all of this venom goodness

U trci smo da upregnemo svu ovu dobrobit otrova

before we lose the vast majority of animals on our planet.

pre nego što izgubimo veliku većinu životinja na našoj planeti.

It's a holistic process.

Radi se o holističkom procesu.

You can't have the therapeutic treatments without having the animals.

Ne možete da imate terapijske tretmane bez životinja.

And you can't have the animals

I ne možete da imate životinje

without having their ecosystems.

bez njihovih ekosistema.

So for me and the snails,

To za mene i puževe

what it means is we have to save the oceans.

znači da moramo da spasimo okeane.

And because venomous animals are found everywhere,

A kako su otrovne životinje prisutne svuda,

we basically have to save the planet.

u suštini moramo da spasimo planetu.

So do it for the venomous animals,

Učinite to zbog otrovnih životinja,

if you don't want to do it for yourself.

ako ne želite zbog sebe.

And who knows,

I ko zna,

some day, snail venom might just save your life.

jednog dana, otrov puža vam možda jednostavno spasi život.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.