Journal: |
African Journal of Biological Sciences
African Journal of Biological Sciences
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Volume: |
Volume 6
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Abstract: |
Breast cancer (BC) is the most diagnosed cancer among women
worldwide. Despite available chemotherapeutic drugs effective against cancer, BC remains
a complex disease with high mortality incidence. Scorpion venom (SV) is a poisonous
mixture that contains thousands of bioactive proteins that previously demonstrated
pharmacological properties, including anticancer potentials. Our present study investigated
the antitumor effect of the venom of Egyptian scorpions: Androctonus australis and
Androctonus bicolor from Marsa Matrouh. The IC50 dose of venom was determined through
MTT assay, followed by an evaluation of the effect of venoms on cancer cell progression, cell
cycle arrest, apoptosis, and DNA fragmentation. In-vitro cytotoxicity of venom was evaluated
against MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cancer cells, with HSF normal cells. SV showed significant
inhibition of cancer cell viability (32__52.56 % inhibition at the highest tested concentration
of 200μg/mL), respectively. Aa and Ab venoms were cytotoxic to cancer cells, where Aa
venom with a prominent inhibitory effect on MCF-7, while Ab venom with a prominent
inhibitory effect on MDA-MB-231 cells. No signs of toxicity were observed on HSF cells.
Venoms significantly prevented cancer cell progression while exhibiting insignificant effects
on HSF cells. The apoptotic pathway was evaluated using Annexin-V/FITC & PI staining and
agarose gel. Venoms caused a DNA damage-mediated cell death in cancer cells then
confirmed using RT-qPCR that showed upregulation of P53, P21 tumor suppressor gene, and
Bax apoptotic gene, and downregulation of Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic gene. SDS-PAGE results
revealed the presence of various peptides that ranged from 25kDa to 60kDa. Peptide bands
of 245kDa, 90kDa, 75kDa, and 40kDa were found common in venom 1 and venom 2, while
peptide bands of 100kDa, 48kDa to 60kDa, 25kDA, 17kDa, and 11kDa were shared between
venom 1 and venom 2. One unique peptide band suggests inter-genus and inter-species
relationships among different species and explains their various therapeutical potentials.
Our results suggest that scorpion venom exhibits selective cytotoxic properties via apoptosis
induction in breast cancer
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