Abstract A61: Identification of therapeutic proteins in venom gland of Ectatomma opaciventre for head and neck tumor therapy

Background: Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer site worldwide and is associated with low survival and high mortality rates, when diagnosed in advanced stages. The pursuit for potential therapeutic targets in natural resources may lead to the development of new antineoplastic agents. Several compounds coming from venomous animals are being tested in clinical trials due to their high selectivity and different physiologic activities. In this way, ant-venom glands are composed of bioactive molecules, such as peptides/proteins and allergens, which may be considered as potential therapeutic agents for oncology. Objectives: The aim was to identify potential therapeutic proteins expressed in venomous glands of Ectatomma opaciventre ants, for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tumors. Materials and Methods: The mRNA library of Ectatomma opaciventre was sequenced using Illumina NextSeq 500 platform (76 bp unpaired-end) and NextSeq 500/550 Mid Output v2 kit (150 cycles). Libraries were constructed using TruSeq Stranded mRNA LT Sample Prep Kit (Illumina). A de novo assembly of the Ectatomma opaciventre transcriptome was performed using Velvet software. Results: The RNA-seq of E. opaciventre venom gland generated 55,131,904 raw reads. The de novo Velvet assembly produced 23,254 contigs, which matched against 12,061 NCBI-Blastn transcripts. From these contigs, 437 full-length transcripts were identified, from which two potential therapeutic genes were selected: SPARC and Phospholipase B . Both SPARC and Phospholipase B genes have been previously described as having antitumor properties. Conclusions: In conclusion, this deep transcriptome sequencing may have identified two potential therapeutic proteins, which are being analyzed in HNSCC cell lines. Citation Format: Ângela das Neves Oliveira, Lucas Ian Veloso Correia, Lidia Maria Rebolho Batista Arantes, Ana Carolina de Carvalho, Elisa Alves Messias, Bruna Pereira Sorroche, Flavia Coltri Eguchi, Renata Santos Rodrigues, Matias Eliseo Melendez, Andre Lopes Carvalho. Identification of therapeutic proteins in venom gland of Ectatomma opaciventre for head and neck tumor therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR International Conference held in cooperation with the Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG) on Translational Cancer Medicine; May 4-6, 2017; Sao Paulo, Brazil. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2018;24(1_Suppl):Abstract nr A61.