RIO DE JANEIRO, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Tests made at the Brazilian Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar), in Sao Paulo state, showed that a protein found in the venom of the Brazilian snake Urutus can help heal and regenerate injured tissue, such as the damaged tissue found in heart attack victims, a professor of UFSCars said on Tuesday.

    Professor Heloisa Sobreiro Selistre de Araujo, from UFSCar's Physiological Science Department, explained that depending on the poison's concentration level, ALT-C, the name given to the poison's protein, could increase or inhibit the formation of new blood vessels.

    In low concentrations, ALT-C can promote the formation of new blood vessels, Araujo said.

    This makes the protein a possible base for drugs that treat conditions caused by inappropriate vascularization, like heart attacks, diabetic wounds and even erectile malfunctions.

    In high concentrations, the protein produces the inverse effect, inhibiting the creation of new blood vessels, an effect potentially useful for the treatment of cancer.

    Although both effects were tested by UFSCar scientists in mice, Araujo said they would focus their research on the tissue regeneration possibilities presented by the protein. These possibilities seemed to be more promising, he said. Enditem