Emerging anticancer potential and mechanisms of snake venom toxins: A review.

Animal-derived venom, like snake venom, has been proven to be valuable natural resources for the drug development. Previously, snake venom was mainly investigated in its pharmacological activities in regulating coagulation, vasodilation, and cardiovascular function, and several marketed cardiovascular drugs were successfully developed from snake venom. In recent years, snake venom fractions have been demonstrated with anticancer properties of inducing apoptotic and autophagic cell death, restraining proliferation, suppressing angiogenesis, inhibiting cell adhesion and migration, improving immunity, and so on. A number of active anticancer enzymes and peptides have been identified from snake venom toxins, such as L-amino acid oxidases (LAAOs), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), metalloproteinases (MPs), three-finger toxins (3FTxs), serine proteinases (SPs), disintegrins, C-type lectin-like proteins (CTLPs), cell-penetrating peptides, cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs). In this review, we focus on summarizing these snake venom-derived anticancer components on their anticancer activities and underlying mechanisms. We will also discuss their potential to be developed as anticancer drugs in the future.