Over 50 different cytotoxin polypeptides have been isolated and sequenced from venom samples.

Recent evidence has shown that CTX III may induce apoptosis in K562 cells via the release of cytochrome c. Results indicate that the mechanism utilized by CTX III was a ROS-independent mitochondrial dysfunction pathway.

Evidence from a Taiwanese study of CTX III suggest that the polypeptide selectively enhances apoptosis induction in CD8+ T cells.

[5] Another study performed using MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells concluded that CTX III could induce apoptosis via concomitant inactivation of the JAK2, STAT3, PI3K, and Akt signaling pathways.

[6] In Colo205, human colorectal cancer cells, CTX III was found to induce apoptosis.