Can catfish venoms treat cancer?

[bekateen]

Not sure this research project was designed well or interpreted properly, but it is interesting.

Raja, K., Selvaraj, S., & Chinnasamy, A. (2019). Inhibition of colon carcinoma cell lines by treatment with crude spine venom from marine catfish Tachysurus dussumieri. International Journal of Bio-Pharma Research, 8(6): 2607-2616.

http://dx.doi.org/10.21746/ijbpr.2019.8.6.2
https://www.ijbpr.net/index.php/ijbpr/article/view/136

Abstract: Catfishes, come under the order Siluriformes, they represent as venomous fishes having venom glands in that dorsal and pectoral spines that are speared into place when threatened. The catfish,

Tachysurus dussumieri

spine venom is unsafe and having neuromuscular blocking activity, envenoms causes instant, local and intense pain, and a variable extent of bleeding. The present study was carried out in the histological section of spine and effect of spine venom on human colon cancer cell lines (HT 29 and COLO 320). Histology study of spine shows the presence of venom secretory cells. Venom was extracted from spines of catfish and the biochemical composition such as protein (1.020 mg/ml), lipid (0.955 mg/ml) and carbohydrate (0.313 mg/ml) was estimated. Protein profiles of Native and SDS page were indicating both high and low molecular weight of proteins. Toxicity on brine shrimp nauplii revealed the LC50 observed at 400 mg/ml. Result of spine venom on Vero cell line showed maximum cell viability up to 800 mg/ml. The cell viability on HT 29 and COLO 320 cell lines showed IC50 at a concentration of 300 mg/ml and 400 mg/ml, at the time of 24 h incubation. Significantly Propidium iodide staining method was observed to view damaged nucleus of cells. DNA fragmentation assay has confirmed DNA fragments due to the induction of apoptosis.

Key words:

Tachysurus dussumieri

, Histology, Spine venom, Cytotoxicity, DNA fragmentation.

[Bas Pels]

One can always use it for a treatment, but the question is whether the treatment works or not.

The road toward having an acceptable medicine is long, and costly. For good reasons, cancer medicins are highly toxic, but are used because the cancer is - slightly - more vunerable than we are. Or, alternatively, the medicine is tooxic, but can be carried to the cancer without risk. Both alternatives need carefull consideration and experimentation in animals and later healthy humans bofore one may think about using them in patients.