The venom of the spider Macrothele raveni induces apoptosis in the myelogenous leukemia K562 cell line

Spider venoms are a rich source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. In traditional Chinese medicine, spiders and spider venoms have been used in the treatment of various ailments. In the present study, the venom of the spider Macrothele raveni potently suppressed cell growth in the myelogenous leukemia K562 cell line in a dose and time-dependent manner with an IC50 of 5.1 μg/mL. The venom also had a low inhibitory effect on human lymphocytes with an IC50 of approximately 36.4 μg/mL, indicating that the venom is relatively selective for leukemic cells. Venom treated K562 cells showed typical morphological indicators of apoptosis including condensation of nuclei and fragmentation of DNA. Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide dual staining further demonstrated that the venom had potent apoptogenic activity. Venom treatment induced caspase 3 and caspase 8 activation in K562 cells and promoted PARP cleavage. The present results indicate that the venom of the spider M. raveni potently and selectively suppresses the growth of K562 cells by inducing apoptosis via caspase 3 and caspase 8 mediated signaling pathways.