ABSTRACT The present study was carried out to assess the antitumor effect of venomous
peptide from the cephalopod Octopus aegina on Ehrlich's
ascites carcinoma (EAC). Male albino Swiss mice were used in the present study. Four groups of animals were treated with three doses of the sublethal dose of
venom, 15, 75, and 150 mug/kg
body weight (
intraperitoneal injection), along with the standard
drug 5-fluorouracil (20 mg/kg b.w.). After 10 days of treatment, six animals from each group were sacrificed for the biochemical analysis and the rest were left to calculate the mean survival time. In EAC-bearing mice, mean lifespan,
tumor volume,
hemoglobin, red blood cells, and lymphocytes were significantly decreased when compared to the normal animals. While
body weight, neutrophils, and viable
tumor cell count were increased in the EAC-bearing mice, these changes were brought back to near normal levels in different treatment groups. The macromolecule concentration of peritoneal cells, such as
DNA,
RNA, and
protein, were altered in the EAC-bearing mice and observed to be near normal in the treatment groups. The
caspase-3 activity was significantly increased in the peritoneal cells of the treatment groups when compared to the EAC-bearing mice. The role of apoptotic cascade in EAC cell death was confirmed by the DNA fragmentation on
agarose gel. Apart from the antitumor effect,
octopus venom reduced the
tumor burden on the liver and altered the changes in the activities of
alanine transaminase (ALT),
aspartate transaminase (AST), and
alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Therefore, the
venom from O. aegina has a potential antitumor effect on the EAC-bearing mice.