Neuroprotective and cardioprotective conopeptides: An emerging class of drug leads

摘要

The peptides in the venoms of predatory marine snails belonging to the genus Conus (‘cone snails’) have well-established therapeutic applications for the treatment of pain and epilepsy. This review discusses the neuroprotective and cardioprotective potential of four families of Conus peptides (conopeptides), including ω-conotoxins that target voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels, conantokins that target NMDA receptors, μ-conotoxins that target voltage-gated Na⁺ channels, and κ- and κM-conotoxins that target K⁺ channels. The diversity of Conus peptides that have already been shown to exhibit neuroprotective/cardioprotective activity suggests that marine snail venoms are a potentially rich source of drug leads with diverse mechanisms.