The antineoplastic potential of crotoxin isolated from Crotalus durissus terrificus snake venom on oral squamous cell carcinoma

• Autor(a) principal: Rogério Gonçalves da Rocha
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Eliane Macedo Sobrinho Santos, Anita Mitico Tanaka Azevedo, Caroline Serino Silva, Marcela Gonçalves de Souza, Emisael Stênio Batista Gomes, Felipe Alberto Dantas Guimarães, Luiz Henrique Silveira, Sérgio Henrique Sousa Santos, Alfredo Maurício Batista de Paula, Ricardo Santiago Gomez, André Luiz Sena Guimarães, Lucyana Conceição Farias
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2022.106965; http://hdl.handle.net/1843/77349
• topic: carcinoma de células escamosas de boca; câncer de cabeça e pescoço; TRATAMENTO; Boca - Câncer; Carcinoma de células escamosas; Crotoxina; Cobras venenosas - Veneno

This study investigated the antineoplastic effects of crotoxin isolated from snake venom of the South American Crotalus durissus terrificus in oral cancer cell lines and in an animal model of chemically induced oral cancer. We analyzed cell viability and death, clonogenic formation, DNA fragmentation, migration assay, and gene expression of MMP2, MMP9, COL1A1, and CASP3. In the animal model, after induction of oral cancer by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide carcinogen, mice were treated with crotoxin to investigate its effects on tumor development in tongue and oral mucosa. Crotoxin inhibited cell proliferation, viability, colony formation, and migration, favoring cell death. Furthermore, crotoxin increased caspase-3 expression, decreased Ki-67 protein and mRNA expression of MMP2, MMP9, and COL1A1. Mice treated with crotoxin at 10 μg/kg did not alter biochemical parameters total cholesterol, very-low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, liver transaminases, glycemia, creatinine, and urea. Crotoxin treatment significantly reduced the frequency of oral squamous cell carcinoma lesions by 50%. Thus, this study highlights crotoxin as a promising chemotherapeutic substance, considering its effects on controlling the neoplastic cell population, reducing cell migration, and inhibiting tumor development. Clinical studies are necessary to understand better the impact of crotoxin as a potential adjuvant therapeutic agent for oral cancer patients.