Background:
Mammary gland tumors are the most prevalent
neoplasm in intact
female dogs, and they are good natural models to study comparative oncology. Most canine mammary
malignancies, as in
women, are commonly refractory to conventional
therapies and demand continuous new
therapeutic approaches.
Crotalus durissus terrificus, also called
rattlesnake, has more than 60 different
proteins in its
venom with multiple
pharmaceutical uses, such as antitumor,
antiviral, and antimicrobial action.
Crotoxin, a potent β-
neurotoxin formed by the junction of two subunits, a basic subunit (CB-PLA2) and an acidic subunit (
crotapotin), has already been reported to have anticancer properties in different types of
cancers.
Methods:
In this
work, we describe the cytotoxic potential of
crotoxin and its subunits compared to
doxorubicin (
drug of choice) in two canine mammary
carcinoma cell lines.
Results:
Crotoxin, CB-PLA2, crotalic
venom, and
doxorubicin decreased
cell viability and the
ability to migrate in a
dose-dependent manner, and
crotapotin did not present an antitumoral effect. For all compounds, the predominant
cell death mechanism was
apoptosis. In addition,
crotoxin did not show
toxicity in normal canine
mammary gland cells.
Conclusion:
Therefore, this
work showed that
crotoxin and CB-PLA2 had cytotoxic activity, migration inhibition, and pro-apoptotic potential in canine
mammary gland carcinoma cell lines, making their possible use in
cancer research.