Purification, Characterization and Evaluation of the Antitumoral Activity of a Phospholipase A2 from the Snake Bothrops moojeni .

Nature presents a wide range of biomolecules with pharmacological potential, including venomous animal proteins. Among the protein components from snake venoms, phospholipases (PLA 2 ) are of great importance for the development of new anticancer compounds. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the PLA 2 anticancer properties from Bothrops moojeni venom. The crude venom was purified through three chromatographic steps, monitored by enzymatic activity and SDS-PAGE (12%). The purified PLA 2 denominated BmPLA2 had its molecular mass and N-terminal sequence identified by mass spectrometry and Edman degradation, respectively. BmPLA2 was assayed against human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2), human rhabdomyosarcoma cells (RD) and mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lung (NCI-H292), using human fibroblast cells (MRC-5) and microglia cells (BV-2) as a cytotoxicity control. BmPLA2 presented 13,836 Da and a 24 amino acid-residue homologue with snake PLA 2 , which showed a 90% similarity with other Bothrops moojeni PLA 2 . BmPLA2 displayed an IC 50 of 0.6 µM against Caco-2, and demonstrated a selectivity index of 1.85 (compared to MRC-5) and 6.33 (compared to BV-2), supporting its selectivity for cancer cells. In conclusion, we describe a new acidic phospholipase, which showed antitumor activity and is a potential candidate in the development of new biotechnological tools.