Abstract
Accidents caused by the sting of Trachinus vipera (known as Lesser weever fish) are relatively common in shallow waters of the Mediterranean. Symptoms after the sting vary from severe pain to edema or even tissue necrosis in some cases. Here we show that purified Lesser weever fish venom induces eryptosis, the suicidal erythrocyte death, and apoptosis of human colon carcinoma cells. The venom leads to erythrocyte shrinkage, phosphatidylserine translocation and increased intracellular Ca2+, events typical for eryptosis. According to mitochondrial staining cancer cells dyed after the activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Trachinus vipera venom further causes cell cycle arrest.
Highlights
Tunisia’s coast is about 1500 km in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea
Driven by the incidence and pattern of injuries caused by Trachinus vipera venom, we decided to investigate the pharmacological potential of the Lesser weever fish venom in two models that are erythrocytes and Colon Carcinoma HCT116 cells
According to the WST-1 test, cell count and Clonogenic assays, Lesser weever fish venom compromizes the survival of HCT116 cancer cells
Summary
Tunisia’s coast is about 1500 km in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea. Envenomations caused by the sting of Trachinus vipera fish (best known as Lesser weever or “Bellem- ” in Tunisian dialect) are relatively common in shallow waters of the Mediterranean and North sea, especially during the spring and summer[1,2]. There are no published findings outlining the pharmacological potential of the Lesser weever fish venom, in contrast to the Greater weever fish venom (Trachinus Draco) of the same family, shown in few studies to exert cardiovascular hypotensive, cytolytic, and neuromuscular effects[1,13,14,15]. It is timely, to explore the properties of the Lesser weever venom, especially cell death, based on the necrotic effect of the sting described in several reports. We aimed to investigate the potential pharmacological effect of the Trachinus vipera venom on two models of cells/tissue namely: Human Erythrocytes (red blood cells) and Human Colon Carcinoma HCT116 cells
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