The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST, President Kang Do-hyung) announced that it has synthesized a venomous peptide component found in the genomic information of Nemopilema nomurai, a type of jellyfish. This component inhibits the activation of potassium ion channels,¹⁾ which contribute to various autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. The KIOST has already completed its patent registration²⁾ for the new component.

1) A membrane protein that resides in the cell membrane and regulates the passage of potassium by opening and closing the cell membrane in response to membrane voltage. The activation of potassium ion channels in human T cells causes autoimmune diseases, and based on the results of animal testing, the therapeutic effect of blocking potassium ion channels has been shown as an effective treatment to such diseases.

2) Korean Patent Registration 10-2533290, May 12, 2023. (Patent name: Peptide with voltage-gated potassium ion channel inhibitory activity)

In 2019, a research team led by Yum Seung Shic of the Ecological Risk Research Department at the KIOST South Sea Research Institute analyzed the genome of the Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish and obtained genetic information on the jellyfish's proliferation control mechanism and venom proteins³⁾. The team further extracted information on venom proteins that affect the nervous system, synthesized some of these proteins, and through functional analysis, identified three types of peptides⁴⁾ that inhibit the activation of potassium ion channels that cause autoimmune diseases. These three types of synthesized peptides are now patented by the KIOST.

3) KIOST Yum Seung-shic et al., BMC Biology, March 2019 (Thesis title: The genome of the giant Nomura's jellyfish sheds lights on the early evolution of active predation)

4) g5156.t1-3, g7640.t1-1, g5156.t1-2

The research is expected to contribute to the development and commercialization of medicines, such as painkillers and health functional foods, made with jellyfish venom, to help treat autoimmune diseases.

The Nemopilema nomurai is a type of toxic jellyfish that is found in blooms in the seas off of China every year and then is carried by ocean currents to the waters of Korea. The jellyfish’s venom can cause damage to the human body and the jellyfish itself is large in both size and weight, causing damage to fisheries, such as by weighing down and even breaking fishing nets.

Scientists have been studying the venom of different jellyfish, including the Nemopilema nomurai, and after discovering that jellyfish venom is comprised of a mixture of proteins, have been working to develop jellyfish venom into a type of marine biomaterial. However, over the years, there were not any significant studies conducted on the subject, due to difficulties in extracting and purifying sufficient amounts of single proteins from jellyfish venom.

Within this context, the KIOST has been conducting research to analyze genomic data from marine organisms and has been analyzing the functions of jellyfish venom in collaboration with a research team, led by Professor Park Jonghwa of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), as part of the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' R&D project⁵⁾ and the government-wide National Agricultural Genome Program (NAGP)⁶⁾.

5) Development of biomedical materials based on marine proteins (Head Researcher: Lee Jung Hyun, Senior Researcher, KIOST/2017？2022)

6) A national R&D project to analyze genomic information by field and develop relevant techniques is being conducted by seven governmental ministries (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Rural Development Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Forest Service, and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) (2014？2021).

President Kang said, "This research is significant because it raises the possibility that venom from jellyfish, a harmful organism that lives in the sea, can be used as a marine biomaterial." He added, "We will actively support related research so that future research results can lead to commercialization of the biomaterial."