2. Academic Validation
  3. Chlorotoxin: a helpful natural scorpion peptide to diagnose glioma and fight tumor invasion

Chlorotoxin: a helpful natural scorpion peptide to diagnose glioma and fight tumor invasion

  • Toxins (Basel). 2015 Mar 27;7(4):1079-101. doi: 10.3390/toxins7041079.
Lucie Dardevet 1 2 3,  Dipti Rani 1 2,  Tarek Abd El Aziz 4 5 6 7,  Ingrid Bazin 8,  Jean-Marc Sabatier 9,  Mahmoud Fadl 7,  Elisabeth Brambilla 2 10,  Michel De Waard 11 12 13 14
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Grenoble Neuroscience Institute, Inserm U836, Team 3, Chemin Fortuné Ferrini, Bâtiment Edmond Safra, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 09, France. [email protected].
  • 2 Science Technology Health, Université Joseph Fourier, BP53, 38041 Grenoble, France. [email protected].
  • 3 Labex Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, 660 route des lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France. [email protected].
  • 4 Grenoble Neuroscience Institute, Inserm U836, Team 3, Chemin Fortuné Ferrini, Bâtiment Edmond Safra, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 09, France. [email protected].
  • 5 Science Technology Health, Université Joseph Fourier, BP53, 38041 Grenoble, France. [email protected].
  • 6 Labex Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, 660 route des lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France. [email protected].
  • 7 Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, 61519 Minia, Egypt. [email protected].
  • 8 Ecole des Mines d'Ales, 6 av de Clavieres, 30100 Ales Cedex, France. [email protected].
  • 9 Inserm UMR 1097, 163, Avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09, France. [email protected].
  • 10 Institut Albert Bonniot, Inserm U823, Rond-Point de la Chantourne, 38706 La Tronche Cedex, France. [email protected].
  • 11 Grenoble Neuroscience Institute, Inserm U836, Team 3, Chemin Fortuné Ferrini, Bâtiment Edmond Safra, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 09, France. [email protected].
  • 12 Science Technology Health, Université Joseph Fourier, BP53, 38041 Grenoble, France. [email protected].
  • 13 Labex Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, 660 route des lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France. [email protected].
  • 14 Smartox Biotechnology, 570 Rue de la Chimie, Bâtiment Nanobio campus, 38400 Saint-Martin d'Hères, France. [email protected].
PMID: 25826056 DOI: 10.3390/toxins7041079
Abstract

Chlorotoxin is a small 36 amino-acid peptide identified from the venom of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus. Initially, chlorotoxin was used as a pharmacological tool to characterize chloride channels. While studying glioma-specific chloride currents, it was soon discovered that chlorotoxin possesses targeting properties towards Cancer cells including glioma, melanoma, small cell lung carcinoma, neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. The investigation of the mechanism of action of chlorotoxin has been challenging because its cell surface receptor target remains under questioning since two other receptors have been claimed besides chloride channels. Efforts on chlorotoxin-based applications focused on producing analogues helpful for glioma diagnosis, imaging and treatment. These efforts are welcome since gliomas are very aggressive brain cancers, close to impossible to cure with the current therapeutic arsenal. Among all the chlorotoxin-based strategies, the most promising one to enhance patient mean survival time appears to be the use of chlorotoxin as a targeting agent for the delivery of anti-tumor agents. Finally, the discovery of chlorotoxin has led to the screening of other scorpion venoms to identify chlorotoxin-like Peptides. So far several new candidates have been identified. Only detailed research and clinical investigations will tell us if they share the same anti-tumor potential as chlorotoxin.

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