Abstract
BackgroundThe venom of Centruroides limpidus limpidus (Cll) is a mixture of pharmacologically active principles. The most important of these are toxic proteins that interact both selectively and specifically with different cellular targets such as ion channels. Recently, anticancer properties of the venom from other scorpion species have been described. Studies in vitro have shown that scorpion venom induces cell death, inhibits proliferation and triggers the apoptotic pathway in different cancer cell lines. Herein, after treating human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells with Cll crude venom, their cytotoxic activity and apoptosis induction were assessed.ResultsCll crude venom induced cell death in normal macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. However, through viability assays, HeLa cells showed high survival rates after exposure to Cll venom. Also, Cll venom did not induce apoptosis after performing ethidium bromide/acridine orange assays, nor was there any evidence of chromatin condensation or DNA fragmentation.ConclusionsCrude Cll venom exposure was not detrimental to HeLa cell cultures. This may be partially attributable to the absence of specific HeLa cell membrane targets for molecules present in the venom of Centruroides limpidus limpidus. Although these results might discourage additional studies exploring the potential of Cll venom to treat human papilloma cervical cancer, further research is required to explore positive effects of crude Cll venom on other cancer cell lines.
Highlights
The venom of Centruroides limpidus limpidus (Cll) is a mixture of pharmacologically active principles
Cell viability (MTS) human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells treated with doses ranging from 50–400 μg/ 100 μL of crude Cll venom showed viability of nearly 100%
Our results showed that crude Cll venomtreated HeLa cells did not display any of the toxic effects produced by other scorpion species venom and cancer cell lines
Summary
The venom of Centruroides limpidus limpidus (Cll) is a mixture of pharmacologically active principles. After treating human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells with Cll crude venom, their cytotoxic activity and apoptosis induction were assessed. Scorpions and their venom have been used for centuries as medical treatments in traditional medicine in India, China, Africa and Cuba [1]. It has been reported that some scorpion venoms inhibit the growth of various cancer cell lines via three distinct mechanisms: blocking specific ion channels, binding to cancer cell membrane proteins, impairing their ability to invade, and activating intracellular pathways of apoptosis [10,11,12,13]. MCF-7 (breast cancer) and SH-SY5Y (human neuroblastoma) cell lines treated with
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More From: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases
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