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Parasporal δ-Endotoxins of Bacillus Thuringiensis: Potentials and Challenges as a New Frontier in the Fight Against Cancer Cover

Parasporal δ-Endotoxins of Bacillus Thuringiensis: Potentials and Challenges as a New Frontier in the Fight Against Cancer

Open Access
|Mar 2026

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Diagram illustrating the potential effects of Cry proteins from B. thuringiensis

Figure 2.

Diagram illustrating the synergistic effects between B. thuringiensis Cry and Cyt toxins on mosquito larvae.

Figure 3.

Generalized mechanism-of-action of parasporin 2 (PS2). PS2 binds to GPI membrane receptors in susceptible cells, which induces PS2 oligomerization, ultimately causing cell death.

Figure 4.

(A) Three-domain structural model of higher-molecular-weight PS3Aa1. (B) Structural model of low-molecular-weight PS2Aa1. Mechanism of cancer cell-killing action of PSs (Suárez-Barrera et al. 2021).

Figure 5.

Diagram illustrating the generalized mechanism of pore-forming toxins (PFTs). Owing to oligomerization and membrane receptor binding, an aqueous hole is formed in the plasma membrane as PFPs attach to their target receptor through contact with an exposed receptor on the cell surface.

Overview of identified parasporins (PS/Mpp): B_ thuringiensis strains, associated Cry genes, activation proteases, main cellular targets and observed cytotoxic outcomaes_

PSB. thuringiensis StrainCry GeneProtease ActivationMain Cellular TargetObserved Cellular OutcomeReference
PS1Aa1A1190Cry31Aa1TrypsinHeLaApoptosis(Mizuki Eiichi et al. 2000)
PS1Aa2M15Cry31Aa2TrypsinHepG2Not determined(Jung et al. 2007)
PS1Aa3B195Cry31Aa3TrypsinHeLaNot determined(Uemori et al. 2008)
PS1Aa4Bt79-25Cry31Aa4Proteinase KNot determinedNot determined(Uemori et al. 2008)
PS1Aa5Bt92-10Cry31Aa5Proteinase KNot determinedNot determined(Uemori et al. 2008)
PS1Aa6M019, 64-1-94Cry31Aa6TrypsinHepG2Not determined(Gonzalez et al. 2011)
PS1Ab1B195Cry31Ab1TrypsinHeLaNot determined(Uemori et al. 2008)
PS1Ab2Bt31-5Cry31Ab2Proteinase KNot determinedNot determined(Uemori et al. 2008)
PS1Ac1Bt87-29Cry31Ac1Proteinase KNot determinedNot determined(Uemori et al. 2008)
PS1Ac2B0462Cry31Ac2Proteinase KHeLaApoptosis(Kuroda et al. 2013)
PS2Aa1A1547Cry46Aa1Proteinase KHepG2Pore-forming(Ito et al. 2004)
PS2Aa2A1470Cry31Aa2Proteinase KMOLT-4Not determined(Okumura et al. 2013)
PS2Ab1TK-E6Cry31Ab1Proteinase KJurkatNot determined(Hayakawa et al. 2007)
PS3Aa1A1462Cry41Aa1Proteinase KHL60Not determined(Yamashita et al. 2000)
PS3Ab1A1462Cry41Ab1Proteinase KHL60Not determined(Yamashita et al. 2000)
PS4Aa1A1470Cry45Aa1Proteinase KCaCo2Pore-forming(Okumura et al. 2006)
PS5Aa1A1100Cry64Aa1Proteinase KTCSNot determined(Okumura et al. 2006; Ekino et al. 2014)
PS6Aa1M019, 64-1-94Cry63Aa1TrypsinHepG2Not determined(Gonzalez et al. 2011)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/am-2026-0004 | Journal eISSN: 2545-3149 | Journal ISSN: 0079-4252
Language: English, Polish
Page range: 33 - 47
Submitted on: Jul 22, 2025
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Accepted on: Jan 13, 2026
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Published on: Mar 31, 2026
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2026 Yazeed A. Al-Sheikh, Abdullah A. Alyousef, Hazem K. Ghneim, Talat A. El-kersh, Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud, published by Polish Society of Microbiologists
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.