The anti-cancer effect of Echis coloratus and Walterinnesia aegyptia venoms on colon cancer cells

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent causes of cancer mortality worldwide. Saudi patients are more likely to present CRC at advanced disease stages and at younger ages compared to other populations. The present study evaluated the anti-cancer effects of venoms extracted from indigenous snakes on the growth arrest of colon cancer cells. Walterinnesia aegyptia venom showed a significant cell death proportions against LoVo cells only, whereas Echis coloratus venom-induced apoptosis in LoVo, HTC-116, and HT-29 colon cancer cells. Also, it suppressed the levels of cyclin D1 and survivin, overexpressed p53 and p21 in HCT-116, HT-29, and LoVo cells. Our results provide evidence that snake venoms induce the growth arrest of colon cancer cells via cell cycle arrest, which promotes the direction toward further investigating the innovative therapeutic strategy using biologically synthesized snake venoms.

Keywords:

• Echis coloratus
• Walterinnesia aegyptia
• cell cycle
• Colorectal cancer
• oncogenes
• suppressor genes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Deanship of Scientific Research and RSSU at King Saud University for their technical support. We thank Dr. Mohammed K. D. AL-Sadoon, PhD, (King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) for his help in preparing and providing the crude snake venoms.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research project was supported by a grant from the Research Center of the Center for Female Scientific and Medical Colleges at King Saud University.