A peptide toxin in ant venom mimics vertebrate EGF-like hormones to cause long-lasting hypersensitivity in mammals

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2112630119
• Publication Date: 2022-02-07T21:26:20Z
• Authors: David A. Eagles; Natalie J. Saez; Bankala Krishnarjuna; Julia J. Bradford; Yanni K.-Y. Chin; Hana Starobova; Alexander Mueller; Melissa E. Reichelt; Eivind A. B. Undheim; Raymond S. Norton; Walter G. Thomas; Irina Vetter; Glenn F. King; Samuel D. Robinson
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 570; Epidermal Growth Factor; Ant Venoms; Ants; Molecular Mimicry; 610; Insect Bites and Stings; Biological Sciences; Drug Hypersensitivity; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals; Amino Acid Sequence; Toxins, Biological

Venoms are excellent model systems for studying evolutionary processes associated with predator-prey interactions. Here, we present the discovery of a peptide toxin, MIITX2-Mg1a, which is major component venom Australian giant red bull ant Myrmecia gulosa and has evolved to mimic, both structurally functionally, vertebrate epidermal growth factor (EGF) hormones. We show that Mg1a potent agonist mammalian EGF receptor ErbB1, intraplantar injection in mice causes long-lasting hypersensitivity injected paw. These data reveal previously undescribed mode action, highlight role ErbB receptors pain signaling, provide an example molecular mimicry driven by defensive selection pressure.