{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T02:40:06Z","timestamp":1772764806385,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,25]],"date-time":"2022-11-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1669334400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France)"},{"name":"Conacyt (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u03afa, Mexico)"},{"name":"Canc\u00e9rop\u00f4le Provence-Alpes-C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur"},{"name":"French National Cancer Institute (INCa)"},{"name":"R\u00e9gion Provence-Alpes-C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Microtubule targeting agents (MTA) are anti-cancer molecules that bind tubulin and interfere with the microtubule functions, eventually leading to cell death. In the present study, we used an in vitro microtubule polymerization assay to screen several venom families for the presence of anti-microtubule activity. We isolated myotoxin-3, a peptide of the crotamine family, and three isoforms from the venom of the Northern Pacific rattlesnake Crotalus oreganus oreganus, which was able to increase tubulin polymerization. Myotoxin-3 turned out to be a cell-penetrating peptide that slightly diminished the viability of U87 glioblastoma and MCF7 breast carcinoma cells. Myotoxin 3 also induced remodeling of the U87 microtubule network and decreased MCF-7 microtubule dynamic instability. These effects are likely due to direct interaction with tubulin. Indeed, we showed that myotoxin-3 binds to tubulin heterodimer with a Kd of 5.3 \u00b5M and stoichiometry of two molecules of peptide per tubulin dimer. Our results demonstrate that exogenous peptides are good candidates for developing new MTA and highlight the richness of venoms as a source of pharmacologically active molecules.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27238241","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,28]],"date-time":"2022-11-28T06:04:36Z","timestamp":1669615476000},"page":"8241","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Myotoxin-3 from the Pacific Rattlesnake Crotalus oreganus oreganus Venom Is a New Microtubule-Targeting Agent"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Mar\u00eda Cecilia","family":"Gonz\u00e1lez Garc\u00eda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Neurophysiopathol, INP, Facult\u00e9 des Sciences M\u00e9dicales et Param\u00e9dicales, CNRS, Aix-Marseille Universit\u00e9, 13005 Marseille, 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