CYTOTOXICITY OF VENOM FROM ENDOPARASITOID PIMPLA TURIONELLAE L. (HYMENOPTERA: ICHNEUMONIDAE) ON GLIOBLASTOMA CELLS

Abstract

In the treatment of brain cancer, the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation using anti-cancer agents is a priority approach. Venom of endoparasitoid wasps also may be a candidate for the development of new therapeutic agents. In this context, endoparasitoid Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) venom may have an anti-carcinogenic effect on glioblastoma that resists traditional therapies by various mechanisms. Therefore, we aimed to investigate endoparasitoid venom cytotoxicity on glioblastoma cells. For this purpose, the cytotoxic potential of venom from P. turionellae was evaluated on rat C6 glioblastoma cell lines with methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay (MTT assay). P. turionellae venom was isolated from 15±2 day-old females. Different concentrations of P. turionellae venom (176.6-1.83 ?g/ml) were applied to C6 rat glioblastoma cells in vitro. Results of MTT assay showed that the viability of C6 cells in vitro significantly decreased depending on the parasitoid venom concentrations. Therefore, P. turionellae venom showed cytotoxic activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, the results from this research could be used as primary data of venom cytotoxicity for the investigation of new chemotherapeutic agents against malignant tumors.