Selective Toxicity of Persian Gulf Stonefish (Pseudosynanceia Melanostigma) Venom on Human Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia B Lymphocytes

Abstract

Persian Gulf Stonefish (Pseudosynanceia melanostigma) is one of the poisonous fish which is naturally found in Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. The venom, which is isolated from this species, is suspected to use as an anticancer agent. In this study, we showed the cytotoxic effect of stonefish crude venom on lymphocytes, which obtained from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients and normal donors. Our results demonstrated that crude venom of Persian Gulf Stonefish could affect cancerous lymphocytes by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and mitochondrial membrane damage without any significant effect on normal cells. Highlights • Persian Gulf Stonefish (Pseudosynanceia melanostigma) is one of the poisonous fish • This venom is composed of various proteins with cardiotoxic and the hemolytic activity • Crude venom of Persian Gulf Stonefish can affect cancerous lymphocytes by ROS generation

Keywords

• acute lymphocytic leukemia
• sonefish (synanceia verrucosa) venom
• ros
• cytotoxicity