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Published on: January 11, 2019
Plant lectins: targeting programmed cell death pathways as antitumor agents.
Lei-lei Fu1, Cheng-cheng Zhou, Shun Yao
1School of Life Sciences & State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology
|July 30, 2011
Summary
Plant lectins, like mistletoe lectins, can induce cancer cell death by targeting apoptosis and autophagy. These findings highlight lectins as potential novel antitumor drugs for cancer therapy.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Oncology
Background:
- Lectins are diverse, non-immune carbohydrate-binding proteins found in plants, animals, and fungi.
- Lectins are implicated in various pathological processes, particularly cancer.
- Plant lectins offer potential therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review representative plant lectins that induce cancer cell death via programmed cell death pathways.
- To explore the mechanisms of action, including apoptosis and autophagy.
- To summarize the anti-cancer therapeutic implications of plant lectins in preclinical and clinical trials.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of plant lectins and their effects on cancer cells.
- Analysis of programmed cell death pathways (apoptosis and autophagy) targeted by lectins.
- Summary of preclinical and clinical trial data for plant lectin-based cancer therapies.
Main Results:
- Specific plant lectins, including mistletoe lectins (MLs), Ricin, Concanavalin A (ConA), and Polygonatum cyrtonema lectin (PCL), induce cancer cell death.
- ConA and PCL also trigger cancer cell death through autophagy.
- Several lectins, such as ConA, Phaseolus vulgaris lectin (PHA), and MLs, are in various stages of anti-cancer therapeutic development.
Conclusions:
- Plant lectins can induce cancer cell death by targeting apoptosis and autophagy.
- Further research into plant lectins' roles in cancer pathogenesis and therapeutics is warranted.
- Plant lectins show promise as novel anti-tumor drugs for future cancer treatment.
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