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

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

SUBMITTER: Dardevet L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4417956 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature