{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T20:43:03Z","timestamp":1792096983732,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,28]],"date-time":"2022-06-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1656374400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Chinese National Natural Science Foundation","award":["31861143050"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31861143050"]}]},{"name":"Chinese National Natural Science Foundation","award":["31772476"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31772476"]}]},{"name":"Chinese National Natural Science Foundation","award":["31911530077"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31911530077"]}]},{"name":"Chinese National Natural Science Foundation","award":["82070038"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82070038"]}]},{"name":"Academy of Scientific Research and Technology","award":["31861143050"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31861143050"]}]},{"name":"Academy of Scientific Research and Technology","award":["31772476"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31772476"]}]},{"name":"Academy of Scientific Research and Technology","award":["31911530077"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31911530077"]}]},{"name":"Academy of Scientific Research and Technology","award":["82070038"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82070038"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxins"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Smp24, a cationic antimicrobial peptide identified from the venom gland of the Egyptian scorpion Scorpio maurus palmatus, shows variable cytotoxicity on various tumor (KG1a, CCRF-CEM and HepG2) and non-tumor (CD34+, HRECs, HACAT) cell lines. However, the effects of Smp24 and its mode of action on lung cancer cell lines remain unknown. Herein, the effect of Smp24 on the viability, membrane disruption, cytoskeleton, migration and invasion, and MMP-2\/-9 and TIMP-1\/-2 expression of human lung cancer cells have been evaluated. In addition, its in vivo antitumor role and acute toxicity were also assessed. In our study, Smp24 was found to suppress the growth of A549, H3122, PC-9, and H460 with IC50 values from about 4.06 to 7.07 \u00b5M and show low toxicity to normal cells (MRC-5) with 14.68 \u00b5M of IC50. Furthermore, Smp24 could induce necrosis of A549 cells via destroying the integrity of the cell membrane and mitochondrial and nuclear membranes. Additionally, Smp24 suppressed cell motility by damaging the cytoskeleton and altering MMP-2\/-9 and TIMP-1\/-2 expression. Finally, Smp24 showed effective anticancer protection in a A549 xenograft mice model and low acute toxicity. Overall, these findings indicate that Smp24 significantly exerts an antitumor effect due to its induction of membrane defects and cytoskeleton disruption. Accordingly, our findings will open an avenue for developing scorpion venom peptides into chemotherapeutic agents targeting lung cancer cells.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxins14070438","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,28]],"date-time":"2022-06-28T03:16:06Z","timestamp":1656386166000},"page":"438","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":41,"title":["Scorpion Peptide Smp24 Exhibits a Potent Antitumor Effect on Human Lung Cancer Cells by Damaging the Membrane and Cytoskeleton In Vivo and In Vitro"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Ruiyin","family":"Guo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510280, China"},{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junfang","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510280, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jinwei","family":"Chai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yahua","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3862-5535","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohamed A.","family":"Abdel-Rahman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4525-5803","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xueqing","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"446","DOI":"10.1038\/nature25183","article-title":"The biology and management of non-small cell lung cancer","volume":"553","author":"Herbst","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D1087","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkv1278","article-title":"APD3: The antimicrobial peptide database as a tool for research and education","volume":"44","author":"Wang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tornesello, A.L., Borrelli, A., Buonaguro, L., Buonaguro, F.M., and Tornesello, M.L. 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