Functional Component Isolated from Phaseolus vulgaris Lectin Exerts In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-Tumor Activity Through Potentiation of Apoptosis and Immunomodulation

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-01, Vol.26 (2), p.498
• Main Authors: Wang, Peipei, Leng, Xiaohong, Duan, Jiaqi, Zhu, Yue, Wang, Jue, Yan, Zirui, Min, Shitong, Wei, Dapeng, Wang, Xia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; anti-tumor activity; Apoptosis; Beans; Biocompatibility; Cancer; functional component; Gel electrophoresis; Immunogenicity; Immunomodulation; Kidney beans; Lectins; Lymphocytes; Melanoma; PHA-L; Phaseolus vulgaris; Proteins; Toxicity
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules26020498

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.