Functional Component Isolated from
Phaseolus vulgaris Lectin Exerts In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-Tumor Activity Through Potentiation of Apoptosis and Immunomodulation.
Molecules 2021;
26:molecules26020498. [PMID:
33477737 PMCID:
PMC7832403 DOI:
10.3390/molecules26020498]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 12/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Phytohemagglutinin (PHA), the lectin purified from red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), is a well-known mitogen for human lymphocyte. Because it has obvious anti-proliferative and anti-tumor activity, PHA may serve as a potential antineoplastic drug in future cancer therapeutics. However, the literature is also replete with data on detrimental effects of PHA including oral toxicity, hemagglutinating activity, and immunogenicity. There is a critical need to evaluate the functional as well as the toxic components of PHAs to assist the rational designs of treatment with it. In this report, we performed SDS-PAGE to identify components of PHA-L, the tetrameric isomer of PHA with four identical L-type subunits, and then characterized biological function or toxicity of the major protein bands through in vitro experiments. It was found that the protein appearing as a 130 kD band in SDS-PAGE gel run under the condition of removal of β-mercaptoethanol from the sample buffer together with omission of a heating step could inhibit tumor cell growth and stimulate lymphocyte proliferation, while most of the 35 kD proteins are likely non-functional impurity proteins and 15 kD protein may be related to hemolytic effect. Importantly, the 130 kD functional protein exhibits promising in vivo anti-tumor activity in B16-F10 melanoma C57 BL/6 mouse models, which may be achieved through potentiation of apoptosis and immunomodulation. Altogether, our results suggest that PHA-L prepared from crude extracts of red kidney bean by standard strategies is a mixture of many ingredients, and a 130 kD protein of PHA-L was purified and identified as the major functional component. Our study may pave the way for PHA-L as a potential anticancer drug.
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