Marine snail venoms: use and trends in receptor and channel neuropharmacology

Venoms are rich mixtures of mainly peptides and proteins evolved by nature to catch and digest preys or for protection against predators. They represent extensive sources of potent and selective bioactive compounds that can lead to original active ingredients, for use as drugs, as pharmacological tools in research and for the biotechnology industry. Among the most fascinating venomous animals, marine snails offer a unique set of pharmacologically active components, targeting a wide diversity of receptors and ion channels. Recent advances still continue to demonstrate their huge neuropharmacological potential. In the quest for interesting pharmacological profiles, researchers face a vast number of venom components to investigate within time and technological constraints. A brief perspective on marine snail venom''s complexity and features is given followed by the different discovery strategies and pharmacological approaches, exemplified with some recent developments. These advances will hopefully help further uncovering new pharmacologically important venom molecules. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]