Liu Z, Liu B, Zhang ZT, Zhou TT, Bian HJ, Min MW, Liu YH, Chen J, Bao JK. A mannose-binding lectin from Sophora flavescens induces apoptosis in HeLa cells.
PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2008;
15:867-875. [PMID:
18434118 DOI:
10.1016/j.phymed.2008.02.025]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2007] [Revised: 01/20/2008] [Accepted: 02/27/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-tumor activity of a lectin from Sophora flavescens and explore its potential apoptotic induction mechanism. Here, an elegant series of biochemical and cell biology methods were carried out in a sequential procedure (e.g., MTT, cell morphologic changes and LDH assays, DNA ladder as well as flow cytometric assay). As a result, we found that this lectin shows a strong cytotoxicity against HeLa cells and induces apoptosis in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Subsequently, according to caspase inhibition and Western blot analysis, we further demonstrated that it is a typical caspase-dependent apoptotic mechanism. Furthermore, we also exerted some bioinformatics methods to identify the mannose-binding specificity of this lectin. In conclusion, all experimental results demonstrated that this lectin seems to be a potent anti-tumor agent for its cytotoxicity and apoptosis effects on HeLa cells. Also, bioinformatics analyses showed that this lectin is speculated to bind a certain mannose-containing receptor on cancer cell surface thereby initiating downstream caspase cascade.
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