Abstract: AIM: To isolate and purify a new small peptide from Guangxi agkitrodon acutus venom, then investigating its antitumor activity in vitro.METHODS: Small peptide was separated from the snake venom by gel filtration chromatography on superdex 75, ultrafiltration and DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B ionexchange.The inhibition on the cultured tumor cells was tested by MTT assay.RESULTS: The peptide purified from Guangxi agkitrodon acutus venom strongly inhibited the proliferation of human ovarian carcimona cell, human gastric cancer cell and mouse breast cancer cell in a dose-dependent manner. The IC50 for 24 h was 0.264, 0.648, 0.173 μg/mL, respectively.CONCLUSION: A peptide can be obtained by gel filtration, ultrafiltration and ionexchange, which exhibits strong effect on inhibiting the proliferation of cultural tumor cells line in vitro.

Key words: Guangxi agkitrodon acutus venom, small peptide, antitumor, MTT