Possible disease cures from... Alligator Blood!

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Houston Chronicle

April 6, 2008, 11:21PM
Alligator blood is seen as new hope
Researchers studying reptiles' store of antibiotic proteins to fight human infections

By BOB KEEFE


Researchers say they've determined that the proteins found in alligator blood can fight 23 different types of bacteria, nearly three times as many as the proteins found in human blood.

Someday, an alligator might save your life.

Researchers in Louisiana say they've discovered unique antibiotic proteins in the blood of American alligators that can kill a wide range of deadly bacteria, halt the spread of common infections, and perhaps even stop the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

If they're right, and they're able to sequence the genetics of alligator blood, the researchers say superdrugs based on their findings might be available within 10 years.

"It's pretty exciting," said Lancia Darville, a Louisiana State University researcher who's scheduled to present the findings at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans this week.

Strong immune systems
Darville explained that alligators have developed unique immune systems during the course of their long evolution.

"If you think about alligators, they usually get into a lot of fights and get cuts and bruises and torn limbs, and they live in swamps that have a whole lot of bacteria," she said. "But even in the presence of all that bacteria, they (almost) never get any infections."

The reason, Darville explained, is that alligators have unusually strong immune systems. Unlike humans, their immune systems can fight off different types of bacteria, viruses and fungi without having been previously exposed to them.

Darville and study co-author Mark Merchant, a longtime alligator researcher at McNeese State University in Louisiana, have been researching alligator blood for years. Previous studies by Merchant and other scientists, including some at the University of Georgia in Athens and the University of Florida in Gainesville, have produced similar findings.

Technology, however, is taking the research to new levels. Currently, Darville and Merchant are sequencing the genetic makeup of alligator blood to figure out how to make chemicals based on it — the next step in developing new drugs.

From creams to pills
Possible drugs include creams that could be used to treat ulcers of diabetes patients or prevent infections in amputees, and pills to fight internal infections and bacteria.

In lab experiments, proteins extracted from alligator blood destroyed the bacteria behind deadly staph infections, some fungi behind yeast infections, and in at least one study, most of a sample of HIV, according to Darville and Merchant.

For researchers, getting blood from alligators is easier than it may seem. To get samples, researchers simply catch and tie up alligators, extract some of their blood, and carefully release the animals.

Swamp voodoo practitioners might already know about the wonders of alligator blood, but researchers caution that it shouldn't be ingested or handled directly by people. Raw, unprocessed blood from alligators could sicken or kill humans.

See, I knew Louisiana was good for something

[Alyrium Denryle]

why is this news? it is awesome, but I have known of similar research being done in Australia with salties for the past decade.

Not to diminish its awesomeness, because when reptiles are involved I will NEVER diminish awesomeness... but still...

[FA Xerrik]

It's news now because the research is being done... IN AMERICA!

No, but seriously, I remember hearing the potential for this sort of medicine a few years back. It's great to see it starting to bear fruit, even if any real advances are still forthcoming.

[Justforfun000]

I remember this too. They discovered the substance and named it Crocodillin....or something like that...I sent an email to the scientist who discovered it because some people were making wild claims about it and he answered me back with a very informative reply. In essence he explained that yes, even though the substance could theoretically do all this, it is so far only of important to crocodiles. There is no evidence it can be transferred over to humans and used as a cure for anything as of yet.

So I hope this new info means they are discovering practical usage?

[cosmicalstorm]

If it's really that good, then why haven't it found it's way into humans and other animals?
Or does it cause some negative side-effect on the organism that produces it?

[Keevan_Colton]

If it's really that good, then why haven't it found it's way into humans and other animals?
Or does it cause some negative side-effect on the organism that produces it?

Do you understand how evolution works? And selective pressures? This is hugely advantageous for a creature that lives in a bacterial paradise and tends to get smashed open regularly...those with it being far more likely to survive...humans are down a different branch and have had different selective pressures, hence why we're not alligators...

You might as well ask why alligators haven't got guns if they're so great for hunting...

[cosmicalstorm]

Do you understand how evolution works? And selective pressures? This is hugely advantageous for a creature that lives in a bacterial paradise and tends to get smashed open regularly...those with it being far more likely to survive...humans are down a different branch and have had different selective pressures, hence why we're not alligators...

You might as well ask why alligators haven't got guns if they're so great for hunting...

Yes I think I do.
My point is that disease is a huge killer of humans.
This kind of substance should give any specie a huge advantage unless it came at some kind substantial cost elsewhere for the organism that produces it.

[Zixinus]

Not that surprising really, considering that Penicilin was discovered in mould (I think).
Of course my biology teacher thinks that its better to eat mould from a bread then from a pill.

[FA Xerrik]

Do you understand how evolution works? And selective pressures? This is hugely advantageous for a creature that lives in a bacterial paradise and tends to get smashed open regularly...those with it being far more likely to survive...humans are down a different branch and have had different selective pressures, hence why we're not alligators...

You might as well ask why alligators haven't got guns if they're so great for hunting...

Yes I think I do.
My point is that disease is a huge killer of humans.
This kind of substance should give any specie a huge advantage unless it came at some kind substantial cost elsewhere for the organism that produces it.

And there are human lineages resistant to human diseases. Certain people, I think of specific European lines, have a natural resistance to the HIV virus. These people would have been selected for if HIV had been a major factor in in our ancestral environment. You have to recall that evolution can't proactively create any inherently useful trait, but instead it has to rise of its own accord via mutation or what have you, and then be selected for at the expense of large chunks of population without the advantageous trait. Alligators have developed this kind of proactive immune system because it was an advantage to be able to respond to bacteria and fungi before they took hold. Those alligators who had to wait for their immune system to "sample" an invasive agent before it could respond would be selected against because that foothold would be enough to kill in their environment. Humans have been able to survive with a reactive immune system, and so that's what we have. You are correct in that disease has been a major killer in the past, but obviously it never presented enough of a selective pressure to necessitate the same immune system as alligators require.

Also, it may have something to do with how much older the crocodilian lineage is than the human line. We've been evolving for what, like 1 million years at best current guess? Alligators have been around for more like 80 million years. It's possible that, had humans remained in a system effected by selective pressure, we would have eventually developed a similar immune ability. However, the point is moot in our case since natural selection no longer has any bearing on our genetic development.

[Gil Hamilton]

Yes I think I do.
My point is that disease is a huge killer of humans.
This kind of substance should give any specie a huge advantage unless it came at some kind substantial cost elsewhere for the organism that produces it.

Did you read what he said? Human simply didn't evolve in an environment that made it as pressing an issue, mostly because we evolved on African plains rather than in the middle of swamps. If we evolved in the Everglades, we'd probably have broad spectrum bacterial resistant blood too.

[cosmicalstorm]

Do you understand how evolution works? And selective pressures? This is hugely advantageous for a creature that lives in a bacterial paradise and tends to get smashed open regularly...those with it being far more likely to survive...humans are down a different branch and have had different selective pressures, hence why we're not alligators...

You might as well ask why alligators haven't got guns if they're so great for hunting...

Yes I think I do.
My point is that disease is a huge killer of humans.
This kind of substance should give any specie a huge advantage unless it came at some kind substantial cost elsewhere for the organism that produces it.

And there are human lineages resistant to human diseases. Certain people, I think of specific European lines, have a natural resistance to the HIV virus. These people would have been selected for if HIV had been a major factor in in our ancestral environment. You have to recall that evolution can't proactively create any inherently useful trait, but instead it has to rise of its own accord via mutation or what have you, and then be selected for at the expense of large chunks of population without the advantageous trait. Alligators have developed this kind of proactive immune system because it was an advantage to be able to respond to bacteria and fungi before they took hold. Those alligators who had to wait for their immune system to "sample" an invasive agent before it could respond would be selected against because that foothold would be enough to kill in their environment. Humans have been able to survive with a reactive immune system, and so that's what we have. You are correct in that disease has been a major killer in the past, but obviously it never presented enough of a selective pressure to necessitate the same immune system as alligators require.

Also, it may have something to do with how much older the crocodilian lineage is than the human line. We've been evolving for what, like 1 million years at best current guess? Alligators have been around for more like 80 million years. It's possible that, had humans remained in a system effected by selective pressure, we would have eventually developed a similar immune ability. However, the point is moot in our case since natural selection no longer has any bearing on our genetic development.

Thanks, I understand now.

[AMX]

Humans have been able to survive with a reactive immune system, and so that's what we have.

That's not entirely correct.
As the article says in its first sentence...

Researchers say they've determined that the proteins found in alligator blood can fight 23 different types of bacteria, nearly three times as many as the proteins found in human blood.

Humans do, in fact, have a similar system - it's just less comprehensive.
And that's not even the whole story - we've also got cells that simply eat anything that doesn't "look" like it belongs into the body.
Only if both of these mechanisms fail does the "reactive" immune system come into play.

[FA Xerrik]

Humans have been able to survive with a reactive immune system, and so that's what we have.

That's not entirely correct.
As the article says in its first sentence...

Researchers say they've determined that the proteins found in alligator blood can fight 23 different types of bacteria, nearly three times as many as the proteins found in human blood.

Humans do, in fact, have a similar system - it's just less comprehensive.
And that's not even the whole story - we've also got cells that simply eat anything that doesn't "look" like it belongs into the body.
Only if both of these mechanisms fail does the "reactive" immune system come into play.

I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying that.

Also, does anyone think it's odd that the author of the article claimed alligator blood could eventually lead to advances capable of stopping the HIV virus? I was under the impression that the problem in combating HIV is that it evolves too rapidly in the host organism for the immune system to successfully fight it before becoming compromised. Is that incorrect?

[Justforfun000]

Also, does anyone think it's odd that the author of the article claimed alligator blood could eventually lead to advances capable of stopping the HIV virus? I was under the impression that the problem in combating HIV is that it evolves too rapidly in the host organism for the immune system to successfully fight it before becoming compromised. Is that incorrect?

No. Actually I shoud say yes and no...

HIV's superpower is somewhat exaggerated. People sometimes act like it's the worst disease in the world when in truth, it has nothing on something like Ebola.

It does mutate quite quickly, but not in the sense that it overwhelms the bodies immune system regardless. In fact, MOST people can control the virus with their own immune system for many, many years with no medical treatment whatsoever. It's very common to go up to 10 years. There are also a growing number of people called Elite controllers that are going on 20 to 25 years with no treatment and very low viral load w/ relatively normal CD4's. They may even live out an entirely normal lifespan.

That being said, it is NOT uncommon to progress to AIDS with no treatment and contract fatal illnesses, so in the comprehensive picture of things it is still considered a deadly disease (although officially no longer a death sentence), and particularly dangerous because of the method of transmission. Sexual activity mainly. This is the single biggest reason why this disease is dangerous. What could possibly be a more powerful drive that is also dealing with highly sensitive matters such as disclosure?

If it wasn't for the sexual element, this disease would have been controlled long ago. Fuck the damn virus for managing to piggyback on our sexuality. The human race owes it a big retribution...

[cosmicalstorm]

Hold you're horses, it seems we may already have a cure for HIV, provided that the ad at the bottom of this page isn't lying to us...

[Gil Hamilton]

The only problem is that it is bupkiss. You can't cure a virus with anti-bacteria anything. The only thing this would do is possibly make a persons immune system more robust so that the thing that actually kills you when you have AIDS (remember, HIV itself is not lethal at all) has a rougher go of it.

That's not a cure though, and medical science has become pretty good at keeping people up and running with AIDS, so long as they can keep paying for it (South Park was weirdly correct about that).

[Justforfun000]

The only problem is that it is bupkiss. You can't cure a virus with anti-bacteria anything. The only thing this would do is possibly make a persons immune system more robust so that the thing that actually kills you when you have AIDS (remember, HIV itself is not lethal at all) has a rougher go of it.

I'm a bit confused about what you're saying here Gil...are you confusing the mechanism of HIV immune dysfunction with like, say an autoimmune disease? Your immune system doesn't kill you with AIDS. It's the lack of a proper functioning one that enables things to do you in.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you. Can you clarify?

Actually on re-reading it, I think I got it. But it doesn't sound quite accurate...Theoretically a more robust immune system WOULD keep you alive longer and possibly enable you to defeat a specific challenge.

[Gil Hamilton]

I'm a bit confused about what you're saying here Gil...are you confusing the mechanism of HIV immune dysfunction with like, say an autoimmune disease? Your immune system doesn't kill you with AIDS. It's the lack of a proper functioning one that enables things to do you in.

Uh, what? No, I'm not confusing AIDS with an autoimmunity disease. Where are you getting that? Autoimmune disorders are when your immune system doesn't recognize your own body and tries to kill your own cells and tissues. HIV is a somewhat different animal all together.

What I mean is that HIV doesn't actually kill itself host in a literal fashion. It shuts down the immune system such that something else can kill you, a something that normally wouldn't. The Alligator Blood thing can't fix that, given that the article states that it is anti-bacterial.

Thus, unlike what the article states, it can't stop HIV. It can only help fight infects that your body gets due to the destructed immune system. However, medical science is already is pretty good at allowing people with AIDS to live healthy lives for long periods of time, so at best it would be another thing to add to the pile of treatments that AIDS patients can receive that improves the quality of their life if they have enough money to throw at it (which, of course, is the unstated Major Problem of AIDS treatment nowadays).

[Justforfun000]

Autoimmune disorders are when your immune system doesn't recognize your own body and tries to kill your own cells and tissues. HIV is a somewhat different animal all together.

Yes I know that. Somehow I interpreted you differently. I'm not sure why. Ok, continuing...

What I mean is that HIV doesn't actually kill itself host in a literal fashion. It shuts down the immune system such that something else can kill you, a something that normally wouldn't.

Yes. Exactly. Kills by proxy essentially. It's also why so many dissidents were bamboozled into thinking it was harmless. They don't understand the comprehensive totality of the domino effect the virus has.

The Alligator Blood thing can't fix that, given that the article states that it is anti-bacterial.

I do believe though that crocodillin is also considered anti-viral as well which is where in other articles people suggested it could be a potential treatment for HIV infection. They should have mentioned that though.

However, medical science is already is pretty good at allowing people with AIDS to live healthy lives for long periods of time, so at best it would be another thing to add to the pile of treatments that AIDS patients can receive that improves the quality of their life if they have enough money to throw at it (which, of course, is the unstated Major Problem of AIDS treatment nowadays).

Most people in the know are aware that while anti-viral treatments can be helpful, they are not curative when dealing with a systemic infection. It's simply impossible to flush out he entire reservoirs of viral infection, especially in the case of this retrovirus because it can live for decades in long-term memory cells and other areas that are not normally "purged" by the body when removing other diseases that grant immunity in normal cases.

Vaccine research is still the holy grail, and even though a recent article suggesting it was a waste of time and they should be focusing more on prevention and extension treatments, other more knowledgeable scientists and researchers have refuted this view and claimed that vaccine research has many promising leads and there is a great deal of new avenues coming up in the pipeline that may yield a vaccine finally.

It's always a hard struggle. Hundreds of failed vaccines were brought forth before smallpox, measles and many other scourges were effectively immunized against. HIV is arguably one of the most difficult challenges because of it's mutational ability, but there has never been this sheer amount of money and effort in vaccine research that we've seen since AIDS hit. They have learned an astronomical amount of advancement techniques since the early 80's, and this will naturally benefit many diseases, not just HIV.