title: Inhibition of pancreatic tumoral cells by snake venom disintegrins.
abstract: Pancreatic cancer often has a poor prognosis, even when diagnosed early. Pancreatic cancer typically spreads rapidly and is rarely detected in its early stages, which is a major reason it is a leading cause of cancer death. Signs and symptoms may not appear until pancreatic cancer is quite advanced, and complete surgical removal is not possible. Furthermore, pancreatic cancer responds poorly to most chemotherapeutic agents. The importance of integrins in several cell types that affect tumor progression has made them an appealing target for cancer therapy. Some of the proteins found in the snake venom present a great potential as anti-tumor agents. In this study, we summarize the activity of two integrins antagonist, recombinant disintegrins mojastin 1 and viridistatin 2, on human pancreatic carcinoma cell line (BXPC-3). Both recombinant disintegrins inhibited some essential aspects of the metastasis process such as proliferation, adhesion, migration, and survival through apoptosis, making these proteins prominent candidates for the development of drugs for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 224, 975 West Avenue B, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lucena
authors.affiliation: National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 224, 975 West Avenue B, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 224, 975 West Avenue B, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA.
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lundin
authors.affiliation: National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 224, 975 West Avenue B, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofstetter
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Del Mar College, 101 Baldwin Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX, 78404, USA.
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alaniz
authors.affiliation: National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 224, 975 West Avenue B, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA.
authors.forename: Montamas
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suntravat
authors.affiliation: National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 224, 975 West Avenue B, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA; Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, MSC 161, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA. Electronic address: elda.sanchez@tamuk.edu.
authors.forename: Elda Eliza
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D019483:Disintegrins / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D019483:Disintegrins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012910:Snake Venoms; C554078:mojastin protein, Crotalus scutulatus
keywords: Cancer therapy; Disintegrins; Integrins antagonist; Pancreatic cancer