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Structural characterization of a Vatairea macrocarpa lectin in complex with a tumor-associated antigen: A new tool for cancer research. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2016; 72:27-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2015.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2015] [Revised: 12/05/2015] [Accepted: 12/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Sousa BL, Silva Filho JC, Kumar P, Pereira RI, Łyskowski A, Rocha BAM, Delatorre P, Bezerra GA, Nagano CS, Gruber K, Cavada BS. High-resolution structure of a new Tn antigen-binding lectin from Vatairea macrocarpa and a comparative analysis of Tn-binding legume lectins. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2014; 59:103-10. [PMID: 25499445 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2014.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2014] [Revised: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 12/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Plant lectins have been studied as histological markers and promising antineoplastic molecules for a long time, and structural characterization of different lectins bound to specific cancer epitopes has been carried out successfully. The crystal structures of Vatairea macrocarpa (VML) seed lectin in complex with GalNAc-α-O-Ser (Tn antigen) and GalNAc have been determined at the resolution of 1.4Å and 1.7Å, respectively. Molecular docking analysis of this new structure and other Tn-binding legume lectins to O-mucin fragments differently decorated with this antigen provides a comparative binding profile among these proteins, stressing that subtle alterations that may not influence monosaccharide binding can, nonetheless, directly impact the ability of these lectins to recognize naturally occurring antigens. In addition to the specific biological effects of VML, the structural and binding similarities between it and other lectins commonly used as histological markers (e.g., VVLB4 and SBA) strongly suggest VML as a candidate tool for cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Lopes Sousa
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull s/n, Bloco 907, Box 6043, 60440-970 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - José Caetano Silva Filho
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull s/n, Bloco 907, Box 6043, 60440-970 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Prashant Kumar
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Humboldtstrasse 50/3, A-8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Ronniery Ilário Pereira
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull s/n, Bloco 907, Box 6043, 60440-970 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Andrzej Łyskowski
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Rzeszów University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
| | - Bruno Anderson Matias Rocha
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull s/n, Bloco 907, Box 6043, 60440-970 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Plínio Delatorre
- Departamento de Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Cidade Universitária, 58059-900 João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Arruda Bezerra
- Department of Structural and Computational Biology, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Celso Shiniti Nagano
- Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull s/n, Bloco 827, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Karl Gruber
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Humboldtstrasse 50/3, A-8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Benildo Sousa Cavada
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull s/n, Bloco 907, Box 6043, 60440-970 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
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Tremblay R, Feng M, Menassa R, Huner NPA, Jevnikar AM, Ma S. High-yield expression of recombinant soybean agglutinin in plants using transient and stable systems. Transgenic Res 2011; 20:345-56. [PMID: 20559869 PMCID: PMC7477883 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-010-9419-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2010] [Accepted: 06/08/2010] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Soybean agglutinin (SBA) is a specific N-acetylgalactosamine-binding plant lectin that can agglutinate a wide variety of cells. SBA has great potential for medical and biotechnology-focused applications, including screening and treatment of breast cancer, isolation of fetal cells from maternal blood for genetic screening, the possibility as a carrier system for oral drug delivery, and utilization as an affinity tag for high-quality purification of tagged proteins. The success of these applications, to a large degree, critically depends on the development of a highly efficient expression system for a source of recombinant SBA (rSBA). Here, we demonstrate the utility of transient and stable expression systems in Nicotiana benthamiana and potato, respectively, for the production of rSBA, with the transgenic protein accumulated to 4% of total soluble protein (TSP) in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and 0.3% of TSP in potato tubers. Furthermore, we show that both plant-derived rSBAs retain their ability to induce the agglutination of red blood cells, are similarly glycosylated when compared with native SBA, retained their binding specificity for N-acetylgalactosamine, and were highly resistant to degradation in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. Affinity column purification using N-acetylgalactosamine as a specific ligand resulted in high recovery and purity of rSBA. This work is the first step toward use of rSBA for various new applications, including the development of rSBA as a novel affinity tag for simplified purification of tagged proteins and as a new carrier molecule for delivery of oral drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reynald Tremblay
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Mary Feng
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1 Canada
| | - Rima Menassa
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford St., London, ON N5V 4T3 Canada
| | - Norman P. A. Huner
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Anthony M. Jevnikar
- Transplantation Immunology Group, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6A 4G5 Canada
| | - Shengwu Ma
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7 Canada
- Transplantation Immunology Group, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6A 4G5 Canada
- Plantigen Inc., 375 South Street, London, ON N6A 4G5 Canada
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Brzezinski JL, Craft DL. Evaluation of an in vitro bioassay for the detection of purified ricin and castor bean in beverages and liquid food matrices. J Food Prot 2007; 70:2377-82. [PMID: 17969621 DOI: 10.4315/0362-028x-70.10.2377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The potential use of ricin as a biological weapon in food highlights the necessity for the development of food-specific detection methods. Current methods for the detection of ricin consist of various immunoassays, which detect only one subunit of the ricin toxin and therefore may not be indicative of a biologically active molecule. An in vivo assay, such as a mouse bioassay, can indicate the biological activity of the toxin; however, this method is not feasible for laboratories that do not have animal testing facilities. The purpose of this study was to develop an in vitro assay for the detection of biologically active ricin in beverages and liquid foods. Acidic and high-protein beverages were spiked with either purified ricin or ground castor beans and added to cultured human Jurkat cells. After an overnight incubation, the supernatant was tested for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity with a colorimetric assay. LDH was released from the cytosol upon cell damage and was positively correlated with cell death. Ricin was detectable in all the matrices tested, with a sensitivity of 10 to 100 pg/ml. Biologically active ricin was detectable in all the matrices incubated with ground castor bean material. This method provides a confirmatory way to detect biologically active ricin that can be utilized by laboratories lacking animal facilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Brzezinski
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Forensic Chemistry Center, 6751 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45237, USA.
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Welty LAY, Heinrich EL, Garcia K, Banner LR, Summers ML, Baresi L, Metzenberg S, Coyle-Thompson C, Oppenheimer SB. Analysis of unconventional approaches for the rapid detection of surface lectin binding ligands on human cell lines. Acta Histochem 2006; 107:411-20. [PMID: 16414103 PMCID: PMC1857331 DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2005.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2005] [Revised: 10/25/2005] [Accepted: 10/31/2005] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
For over a decade our laboratory has developed and used a novel histochemical assay using derivatized agarose beads to examine the surface properties of various cell types. Most recently, we have used this assay to examine lectin binding ligands on two human cell types, CCL-220, a colon cancer cell line, and CRL-1459, a non-cancer colon cell line. We found that CCL-220 cells bound specific lectins better than CRL-1459, and this information was used to test for possible differential toxicity of these lectins in culture, as a possible approach in the design of more specific anti-cancer drugs. Although we have examined the validity of the bead-binding assay in sea urchin cell systems, we have not previously validated this technique for mammalian cells. Here the binding results of the bead assay are compared with conventional fluorescence assays, using lectins from three species (Triticum vulgaris, Phaseolus vulgaris, and Lens culinaris) on the two colon cell lines. These lectins were chosen because they seemed to interact with the two cell lines differently. Binding results obtained using both assays were compared for frozen, thawed and fixed; cultured and fixed; and live cells. Both qualitative and quantitative fluorescence results generally correlated with those using the bead assay. Similar results were also obtained with all of the three different cell preparation protocols. The fluorescence assay was able to detect lower lectin binding ligand levels than the bead assay, while the bead assay, because it can so rapidly detect cells with large numbers of lectin binding ligands, is ideal for initial screening studies that seek to identify cells that are rich in surface binders for specific molecules. The direct use of frozen, thawed and fixed cells allows rapid mass screening for surface molecules, without the requirement for costly and time consuming cell culture.
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Heinrich EL, Welty LAY, Banner LR, Oppenheimer SB. Direct targeting of cancer cells: a multiparameter approach. Acta Histochem 2005; 107:335-44. [PMID: 16181664 PMCID: PMC1857334 DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2005.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2005] [Revised: 06/20/2005] [Accepted: 06/21/2005] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Lectins have been widely used in cell surface studies and in the development of potential anticancer drugs. Many past studies that have examined lectin toxicity have only evaluated the effects on cancer cells, not their non-cancer counterparts. In addition, few past studies have evaluated the relationship between lectin-cell binding and lectin toxicity on both cell types. Here we examine these parameters in one study: lectin-cell binding and lectin toxicity with both cancer cells and their normal counterparts. We found that the human colon cancer cell line CCL-220/Colo320DM bound to agarose beads derivatized with Phaseolus vulgaris agglutinin (PHA-L) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), while the non-cancer human colon cell line CRL-1459/CCD-18Co did not. When these lectins were tested for their effects on cell viability in culture, both cell lines were affected by the lectins but at 6, 48 and 72 h incubation times, PHA-L was most toxic to the cancer cell line in a concentration dependent manner. At 48 h incubation, WGA was more toxic to the cancer cell line. The results suggest that it may be possible to develop lectin protocols that selectively target cancer cells for death. In any case, examination of both malignant cells and their non-malignant counterparts, analysis of their binding characteristics to immobilized lectins, and examination of the toxicity of free lectins in culture, provides a multiparameter model for obtaining more comprehensive information than from more limited approaches.
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