Effect ofBungarus multicinctus crude venom and its components on tumor cells

Abstract

Objective: To confirm whetherBungarus multicinctus crude venom induces the apoptosis of K562 tumor cells and to find out the components inducing apoptosis of K562 cells from the crude venom. Methods: the crude venom separated and purified by cation exchange chromatography, and the effect of venoms on K562 was studied by MTT method and flow cytometry. Results: The crude venom began to kill K562 cells at than 8×l03ng/ml (the survival rate was 82.5%) concentration and the effect was more significant in 24 h when administrating 8×l05ng/ml (the survival rate was 29.4%) crude venom. Apoptotic bodies were observed in the K562 tumor cells by fluorescent microscopy after administration of 5 µg/ml cycloheximide (CHX) or the peak VI solution at about 8×105 ng/ml. The same results were detected by the flow cytometry. A sub-Gi peak appeared after administration of CHX or the sixth peak solution. Conclusion: The authors found that the venom can kill K562 tumor cells in time- and dose-dependent manner. However, the killing effect of the venom is not apoptosis. What’s more, the peak VI solution, a component of the crude venom can induce the apoptosis of K562 tumor cells.