In vitro cytotoxic activity of Tarantula cubensis alcoholic extract on different human cell lines
Abstract
Spider venoms are known to have great potential for their antimicrobial, antifungal, and antitumor activities due to their rich peptide content. Tarantula cubensis alcoholic extract Theranekron® is a homeopathic remedy and it is frequently used in veterinary treatments. Specifically, the anti-inflammatory, antitumor and wound healing effects of Theranekron® provide a wide range of use in animal treatments. More importantly, it can reduce the growth rate of canine mammary tumors. This effect shows that Theranekron® can be a potential candidate for cancer treatment. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of Theranekron® was evaluated in four different human cancer cell lines and one non-cancerous human cell line. It was aimed to provide a foundation for further studies by conducting an in vitro screening for the cytotoxic effect of Theranekron®. Results showed that Theranekron® has a high cytotoxic effect on human breast cancer cell lines. On the other hand, the rate of cytotoxicity was found to be relatively lower on human small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma and human prostate cancer cell lines as compared to breast cancer cells. These results indicated that T. cubensis alcoholic extract might be utilized as an anticancer bio-therapeutic and should be further examined for its potential.
Keywords
venom, cytotoxicity, cancer, Theranekron®
Thanks
The experiments in this paper were partially performed at Manisa Celal Bayar University (Turkey) - Applied Science and Research Center (DEFAM).
Theranekron D6 solution used for the experiments was accessed courtesy of Veterinary Physician Bora Benli.
References
- [1] King G. F., Venoms as a platform for human drugs: Translating toxins into therapeutics, Expert Opin. Biol. Ther., 11(11) (2011) 1469–1484.
- [2] Oldrati V., Arrell M., Violette A., Perret F., Sprüngli X., Wolfender J. L., Stöcklin R., Advances in venomics, Mol. Biosyst., 12(12) (2016) 3530-3543.
- [3] Lewis R.J., Garcia M.L., Therapeutic potential of venom peptides, Nat. Rev. Drug Discov., 2(10) (2003) 790-802
- [4] Ilhan S., Çiçek K., Tok C.V., Atmaca H., Profiling of apoptosis-associated proteins in human prostate cancer cells in response to Montivipera bulgardaghica albizona venom by protein array, Toxin Rev., (2020) 1–8.
- [5] Saez N. J., Senff, S., Jensen, J. E., Er, S.Y., Herzig, V., Rash, L.D., King, G.F., Spider-Venom Peptides as Therapeutics, Toxins (Basel), 2(12) (2010) 2851–2871.
- [6] Comprehensive Cancer Information - National Cancer Institute, Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/. Retrieved Dec. 09, 2020.
- [7] Pennington M. W., Czerwinski A., Norton R.S., Peptide therapeutics from venom: Current status and potential, Bioorganic Med. Chem., 26(10) (2018) 2738–2758.
- [8] RichterPharma, Theranekron D6. Available at: https://www.richter-pharma.at/product-theranekron-d6_301.htm. https://www.richter-pharma.at/product-theranekron-d6_301.htm. RetrievedDec. 09, 2020.
- [9] Ghasemi-Dizgah A., Nami B., Amirmozafari N., Tarantula cubensis venom (Theranekron®) selectively destroys human cancer cells via activating caspase-3-mediated apoptosis, Acta Medica Int., 4(1) (2017) 74-80.
- [10] Kaçar C., Zonturlu A.K., Oral H., Yıldız S., Arı U.Ç., İneklerde erken puerperal dönemde theranekron uygulamalarının uterus involusyonu ve vaginal akıntı üzerine etkisi, Kafkas Üniversitesi Vet. Fak. Derg., 13(1) (2007) 11–15.