Atividades biológicas e ação antitumoral de peptídeos isolados do veneno de escorpião do gênero Tityus: uma revisão.

Abstract

Natural products have been studied for their pharmacological potential and, among these, enzymes, toxins and peptides in scorpion venoms stand out, whose biological activity and mechanism of action are being increasingly investigated against different types of diseases, in particular, cancer. Scorpions belonging to the Tityus genus are widely distributed in Brazil, due to their easy adaptation to the environment, being responsible for the main cause of scorpianism in the country. In this context, the therapeutic capacity of peptides found in the scorpion venom of the genus Tityus, which has been the subject of numerous preclinical experimental studies so far, has been compiled in this bibliographic review. Especially, regarding the data described the pharmacological potential of substances present in the toxins of species of this genus against cancer cells. Different scientific databases were used to search the bibliography and there was no restriction on the data to be published, to increase the research spectrum as much as possible, and to know the history of scientific research on the subject. The results showed from the genus Tityus venom scorpions, eleven peptides have already been delivered and tested in different tumor strains, as well as eight other substances not described by the searched authors. All the substances tested were shown to be active in different ways against tumors, but without damage to normal cells. Numerous steps are still necessary until the treatment of cancer patients with these toxins is possible, which are promising due to their selectivity, and may contribute in the future to a more effective anticancer therapy.