Chlorotoxin and related peptides: Short insect toxins from scorpion venom

Scorpion venom is a complex multicomponent mixture of biologically active substances, some of which possess very interesting properties and are used in quite unexpected areas. The family of chlorotoxin (CTX)-like peptides is a good example. These toxins exhibit insecticidal activity, however, the molecular mechanism of their action on the insect organism has not been established yet. Nevertheless, CTX-like peptides attracted considerable research effort due to their ability to interact specifically with cells of malignant brain tumors—gliomas. In the future these compounds may significantly simplify treatment of tumor diseases. The review summarizes the results accumulated over a forty years period of CTX-like peptides study. Aspects of their natural functions are considered, as well as the application area associated with gliomas.