Conus magus vs. Irukandji syndrome: A computational approach of a possible new therapy

The Irukandji syndrome is caused by the sting of some small jellyfish species. The syndrome has severe life-threatening consequences. The exacerbating pain and cardiovascular symptoms (tachycardia and hypertension) are hard to control in many cases. We suggest a way to experiment a new possible therapy with an FDA approved analgesic, ziconotide, a synthetic derivative from a marine cone snail (Conus magus) venom component, which is administrated intravenously. The proposed experimental plasma concentration of ziconotide for rats is in the range of 0-6 μg ml−1. Based on a molecular biological scenario of the venom action mechanism at cellular level, we suggest that the proposed method should be functional in re-establishing the normal cardiovascular parameters of the experimental animals and concomitantly it should abolish the severe pain caused by envenomation. We expect that positive experimental results in agreement with our theory will lead to the possibility of a new therapy for the Irukandji syndrome and possibly for other envenomations with similar ethyology.

► We propose a detailed cardiotoxic mechanism of Irukandji venom (IVE). ► We compare the antagonistic cardiovascular effect of ziconotide and IVE. ► We determined the Hill-parameters on this two neurotoxins for atrial frequency. ► We demonstrate the independent effects of them on cardiomyocytes. ► We model the concerted action of both on atrial rate at different concentrations.