No scorpions live in this part of the world, but ask anyone if they want to get stung by one and the answer will likely be a definitive no.

A former Kinston resident and medical researcher, however, is using the venom for a good cause.

East Carolina University researcher, microbiologist, and former Kinston resident Dr. Jim Fletcher is working on a project which aims to determine if scorpion venom might be used as a way to discover how pancreatitis occurs and what cellular processes are affected at the onset of the disease.

“we have expanded our capabilities a great deal in this study,” Fletcher said. “Through the research, we may be able to determine how to better treat and eventually prevent the disease.”

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas, a gland located behind the stomach, releases insulin, glucagons and substances that help with digestion. Symptoms of pancreatitis include severe stomach pain radiating to the back, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever/chills, and possibly going into shock.

Scorpion stings are a known to cause a rapid onset of this disease, but they are not the only cause. Fletcher believed scorpion venom might be used as a way to discover how pancreatitis occurs by seeing which cellular processes are affected at the onset of the disease.

“there were publications years ago about the affects of people stung by scorpions, and 90 percent developed pancreatitis,” Fletcher said. “The study I was part of focused on using the venom from the scorpions to cause pancreatitis in experimental tissue, and we can learn what causes it and how it could be prevented.”

The sting can affect the pancreas by shutting down certain proteins the gland uses to create essential body chemicals. By determining which specific proteins the venom shuts down, Fletcher was able to get a better understanding of where pancreatitis comes from.

“We found that a particular enzyme in the scorpion’s venom removes a small protein,” Fletcher said. “If you remove a pancreatic cell’s ability to absorb or release components, you end up with pancreatitis.”

The study was published in the March 5 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Fletcher grew up in Kinston, attended Grainger High School, went to Virginia Tech to earn his undergraduate degree, earned a masters degree from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and went to Vanderbilt for his Ph.D. he began this research at Rockefeller University in New York, continued at Yale, and is now furthering his research at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine.

Joel Gerber can be reached at 252-559-1076 or jgerber@freedomenc.com.