Antitumoral effects of Amblyomma sculptum Berlese saliva in neuroblastoma cell lines involve cytoskeletal deconstruction and cell cycle arrest

Abstract

The antitumor properties of ticks salivary gland extracts or recombinant proteins have been reported recently, but little is known about the antitumor properties of the secreted components of saliva. The goal of this study was to investigate the in vitro effect of the saliva of the hard tick Amblyomma sculptum on neuroblastoma cell lines. SK-N-SK, SH-SY5Y, Be(2)-M17, IMR-32, and CHLA-20 cells were susceptible to saliva, with 80% reduction in their viability compared to untreated controls, as demonstrated by the methylene blue assay. Further investigation using CHLA-20 revealed apoptosis, with approximately 30% of annexin-V positive cells, and G0/G1-phase accumulation (>60%) after treatment with saliva. Mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) was slightly, but significantly (p < 0.05), reduced and the actin cytoskeleton was disarranged, as indicated by fluorescent microscopy. The viability of human fibroblast (HFF-1 cells) used as a non-tumoral control decreased by approximately 40%. However, no alterations in cell cycle progression, morphology, and Δψm were observed in these cells. The present work provides new perspectives for the characterization of the molecules present in saliva and their antitumor properties.

Anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activity of glycosidic derivatives of lawsone in melanoma cancer cell

“…The analysis of the cytoplasm of the B16F10 after treatment with the compound 9 revealed a reduction in the size and changes in the morphology of the cells, with loss of the fibroblast aspect. In addition, changes in the disposition of the actin filaments, important structures responsible for numerous functions in the cell, such as morphology and migration, were observed [ 52 ].…”

Differential Tick Salivary Protein Profiles and Human Immune Responses to Lone Star Ticks (Amblyomma americanum) From the Wild vs. a Laboratory Colony

“…Also, to evaluate the effect of endothelial tissue (34), we used HUVEC cells (Millipore-Sigma) cultured in endothelial cell growth medium following sellers' instructions. Since a significant number of viruses transmitted by ticks are neurotropic and arthropod salivary protein may disrupt the nerve-blood barrier, we used the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells to evaluate the effect of SGE on neuronal physiology as described previously (35, 36). SH-SY5Y cells were cultured in DMEM medium supplemented with 15% heat-inactivated FBS and 1% Penicillin/streptomycin.…”

Assessment of anti-cancer potential of Hyalomma dromedarii salivary glands extract: in vitro study

“…Previous studies have confirmed that salivary gland extracts and saliva of various tick species possess marked anticancer effects on several human-derived cancer cell lines (Kazimírová et al 2006;Simons et al 2011;Poole et al 2013;Sousa et al 2018;Nascimento et al 2019). Our study investigated, for the first time, the cytotoxic effects of semifed H. dromedarii females' SGE on colon (HCT116) and lung (A549) cancer cells in addition to normal HFB4 cells.…”

“…These molecules display anti-hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities (Kazimírová and Štibrániová 2013;Kotál et al 2015;Bensaoud et al 2019). Recently, tick salivary compounds have been shown to affect cancer cell proliferation (Kazimírová et al 2006;Simons et al 2011), angiogenesis and tumor growth (Carneiro-Lobo et al 2009), migration and invasion (Poole et al 2013;Bensaoud et al 2017), as well as apoptosis (Sousa et al 2018;Nascimento et al 2019).…”