Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42685209›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Sea nettle jellyfish venom targets proteoglycans to cause cell death and pain.

Christopher E Denes, Tian Y D'Araujo, Felicity Chung, Man-Tat Lau, Adam Cole, Nicholas R Casewell, Eivind A B Undheim, G Gregory Neely

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Christopher E DenesThe Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8669-8088
Tian Y D'AraujoThe Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0674-361X
Felicity ChungThe Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Man-Tat LauThe Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Adam ColeThe Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Nicholas R CasewellCentre for Snakebite Research and Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8035-4719
Eivind A B UndheimCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-8667-3999
G Gregory NeelyThe Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1957-9732

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sea nettle jellyfish cause millions of painful stings annually with little known about how their venom works and no rational treatments available. Here, we perform a systematic analysis of sea nettle venom/host interactions. The venom shows dose-dependent cytotoxic activity in human cells, and this can be blocked by dual inhibition of apoptosis and necroptosis. Using whole-genome CRISPR screening, we identified human genes and pathways that modify venom action. The top gene cluster identified regulates proteoglycan biosynthesis. We show that exogenous heparin, a drug used clinically as an anticoagulant, blocks venom cytotoxicity at a physiologically relevant dose. This effect was therapeutic, inhibiting venom even 1 hour after exposure. In vivo, heparin protected against acute spontaneous pain, thermal hyperalgesia, and mechanical allodynia induced by venom. This provides the exciting possibility of repurposing heparin, a safe, commercially available drug, as a prophylactic or therapeutic to reduce the impact of sea nettle stings.

Indexed as

Cnidarian VenomsPainProteoglycansScyphozoaAnimalsApoptosisCell DeathHeparinHumansCnidarian VenomsHeparinProteoglycans

Identifiers

PMID42685209
PMCPMC13537241

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.