Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2026

Cytotoxicity Assays with Zebrafish Cell Lines
08:22

Cytotoxicity Assays with Zebrafish Cell Lines

Published on: January 6, 2023

Cytotoxic Effects of Cnidarian Venoms: One Cancer, Two Cell Lines

Khouloud Azaiez1, Nurçin Killi2, Kemal Emir Türk3

  • 1Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Fisheries Engineering Program, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Türkiye.

Marine Biotechnology (New York, N.Y.)
|May 14, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Jellyfish venoms from Aurelia aurita, Rhopilema nomadica, and Anemonia sulcata show cytotoxic effects on colon cancer cells. These natural compounds exhibit selective activity, with potential for apoptosis-related cell death mechanisms.

Area of Science:

  • Marine Biology
  • Pharmacology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Jellyfish venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds.
  • Natural products are increasingly explored for therapeutic applications, including cancer treatment.
  • Colon cancer remains a significant global health challenge, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cytotoxic effects of Aurelia aurita, Rhopilema nomadica, and Anemonia sulcata venoms on colon cancer cell lines (HT29, Caco2).
  • To compare the venom cytotoxicity against cancer cells versus a healthy colon cell line (CCD18co).
  • To elucidate the mechanisms underlying venom-induced cell death.

Main Methods:

  • Venom isolation from collected cnidarian specimens.
  • In vitro cell culture of HT29, Caco2, and CCD18co cell lines.
  • MTT assay to determine half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values.
  • Annexin-V, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) assays to analyze cell death pathways.

Main Results:

  • Aurelia aurita venom demonstrated the highest cytotoxic potency against HT29 cells with minimal toxicity to CCD18co cells.
  • Anemonia sulcata venom showed delayed cytotoxicity on HT29 cells, with limited impact on healthy cells.
  • Rhopilema nomadica venom exhibited moderate, cell line-dependent cytotoxicity, with the highest effect on CCD18co cells among the tested venoms.
  • Cell death was confirmed to be apoptosis-related.

Conclusions:

  • Cnidarian venoms possess significant cytotoxic potential against colon cancer cell lines.
  • The venoms display selective toxicity, affecting cancer cells more than healthy cells.
  • Apoptosis is a key mechanism in venom-induced cancer cell death, highlighting their potential as a source for novel anti-cancer agents.
Keywords:
Anemonia sulcataAurelia auritaRhopilema nomadicaCaco2Colon cancerHT29

More Related Videos

Identification of Hemolytic and Phospholipase Activity in Crude Extracts from Sea Anemones by Straightforward Bioassays12:12

Identification of Hemolytic and Phospholipase Activity in Crude Extracts from Sea Anemones by Straightforward Bioassays

Published on: March 29, 2022

Related Concept Videos

Cancer Therapies02:49

Cancer Therapies

Cancer therapies are various modes of treatment, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy that are administered to cancer patients.
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
What is Cancer?02:12

What is Cancer?

Cells and tissues must meticulously coordinate their activities for the normal functioning of the human body. Therefore, they exhibit socially responsible behavior - resting, growing, dividing, differentiating, or dying - for the organism’s benefit. Cancer arises when cells divide uncontrollably and invade other tissues or organs.
Although people have known about cancer for centuries, it was only in 1761 that Giovanni Morgagni of Padua performed a detailed autopsy of patients who died from...
Cell Lines01:16

Cell Lines

A cell line is a population of cells grown in vitro that can be subcultured over several generations. Normal cells cease to divide after a certain number of cell divisions, a process known as replicative senescence. This number, called the Hayflick limit, was conceptualized by Leonard Hayflick in 1961 when he observed that fetal cells grown in culture could only divide 40-60 times. This limit is due to the shortening of the telomeres during each round of cell division, preventing cell division...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...
Inhibition of Cdk Activity02:34

Inhibition of Cdk Activity

The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
Cancer02:18

Cancer

Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.