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Review
. 2016 Jul 15;7(11):1571-8.
doi: 10.7150/jca.15309. eCollection 2016.

Effects of Animal Venoms and Toxins on Hallmarks of Cancer

Janeyuth Chaisakul  1 , Wayne C Hodgson  2 , Sanjaya Kuruppu  3 , Naiyarat Prasongsook  4
Affiliations
Review

Effects of Animal Venoms and Toxins on Hallmarks of Cancer

Janeyuth Chaisakul et al. J Cancer. .

Abstract

Animal venoms are a cocktail of proteins and peptides, targeting vital physiological processes. Venoms have evolved to assist in the capture and digestion of prey. Key venom components often include neurotoxins, myotoxins, cardiotoxins, hematoxins and catalytic enzymes. The pharmacological activities of venom components have been investigated as a source of potential therapeutic agents. Interestingly, a number of animal toxins display profound anticancer effects. These include toxins purified from snake, bee and scorpion venoms effecting cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptotic activity and neovascularization. Indeed, the mechanism behind the anticancer effect of certain toxins is similar to that of agents currently used in chemotherapy. For example, Lebein is a snake venom disintegrin which generates anti-angiogenic effects by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF). In this review article, we highlight the biological activities of animal toxins on the multiple steps of tumour formation or hallmarks of cancer. We also discuss recent progress in the discovery of lead compounds for anticancer drug development from venom components.

Keywords: Hallmarks of cancer.; animal venoms; anticancer; apoptosis; cytotoxicity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of animal venoms or toxins on the pathophysiology of cancer development. ❖is indicated venom or toxin.
Figure 2
Figure 2
How currently available chemotherapeutic agents and animal venoms/toxins act on the hallmarks of cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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