A C-Terminal Fragment of Chlorotoxin Retains Bioactivity and...

A C-Terminal Fragment of Chlorotoxin Retains Bioactivity and Inhibits Cell Migration
Thanks for that, it lead me to the above publication which broke down CLTX into four components and modelled how each interacted with cancer cells... which was a very interesting read, though I must admit most of it went over my head. but it did lead me to the below abstract, which was much shorter (part of a much larger paper).

In Silico prediction of the molecular basis of ClTx and AaCTx interaction with matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) to inhibit glioma cell invasion

"Glioblastoma is the deadliest type of brain cancer. Treatment could target the Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), which is known to be involved in the invasion process of glioblastoma cells. But current available inhibitors are not selective to MMP-2 due to their interaction with the catalytic binding site, which is highly conserved in all MMPs structures. Interestingly, members of the chloride channel blocker scorpion toxins, such as chlorotoxin (ClTx) and AaCTx, inhibit glioblastoma cell invasion and show a promising therapeutic potential. Indeed, it has been shown that CITx inhibits selectively MMP-2 and was also able to cross the blood brain and tissue barriers. Although ClTx and AaCTx show high sequence similarity, AaCTx is ten times less active than ClTx. "

The interesting thing is that Chrlorotoxin has in itself anti-tumor activity, but trials thus far have seen limited benefit. Almost all the papers I read on Chlorotoxin end with the same conclusion... something along the lines of "Chlorotoxin is likely to play a significant role in effective GBM immunotherapy in the future"... with the paper identifying the amazing ability of Chlorotoxin to bind to GBM cells. Though that is where these papers end.. they are relatively narrow in their approach, analysis and ultimately the conclusion. Not offering any particular use for Chlorotoxin as an actual effective therapeutic... bar a few that suggest that given the ability of Chlorotoxin to cross the blood brain barrier, it could be used (or parts of it) to transport drugs into the brain.

However some have taken these learnings and have turned them into actual therapeutics... the two most promising ones are firstly the tumor paint (lBlaze Bio), which will help surgeons identify tumors during resections... and our CLTX CAR-T which is in my mind is such a genius move, that I can't believe PH was able to license it and get it on an ASX listed company.