Due to the lack of chemotherapeutic drugs that selectively affect cervical cancer cells, natural sources such as snake venom are currently being investigated for molecules with antitumor potential. Pllans-II, a phospholipase A2 type-Asp49 from Porthidium lansbergii lansbergii snake venom, induced cell death in a cervical cancer cell line-Ca Ski-related to dysfunction in the ability to resolve endoplasmic reticulum stress, evidenced by sub-expression of genes such as PERK, ERO1 PDIs, HSP70, and CHOP. Western blot analysis validated the last two genes' sub-expression at the protein level. In addition, Pllans-II presented a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect on cancer cells and an insignificant effect on healthy endothelial cells (HUVEC). Additionally, Pllans-II inhibited cancer cells' adhesion and migration capacity, induced cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase, and induced apoptosis stimulated possibly by the extrinsic route. These results demonstrate for the first time that Pllans-II has an antitumor effect on a squamous epithelial cervical cancer cell line and represents a possible biotechnological tool for designing a prominent antitumor agent.
Keywords: antitumor potential; bioprospecting; phospholipase A2; snake venom; transcriptomic analysis.