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Updated: May 1, 2026

Characterization of Cell Membrane Extensions and Studying Their Roles in Cancer Cell Adhesion Dynamics
Published on: March 26, 2018
Exogenous expression of marine lectins DlFBL and SpRBL induces cancer cell apoptosis possibly through PRMT5-E2F-1
Liqin Wu1, Xinyan Yang1, Xuemei Duan2
11] College of life sciences, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China [2].
Abstract:
Lectins are widely existed in marine bioresources, and some purified marine lectins were found toxic to cancer cells. In this report, genes encoding Dicentrarchus labrax fucose-binding lectin (DlFBL) and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus rhamnose-binding lectin (SpRBL) were inserted into an adenovirus vector to form Ad.FLAG-DlFBL and Ad.FLAG-SpRBL, which elicited significant in vitro suppressive effect on a variety of cancer cells. Anti-apoptosis factors Bcl-2 and XIAP were determined to be downregulated by Ad.FLAG-DlFBL and Ad.FLAG-SpRBL. Subcellular localization studies showed that DlFBL but not SpRBL widely distributed in membrane systems. Both DlFBL and SpRBL were shown associated with protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), and PRMT5-E2F-1 pathway was suggested to be responsible for the DlFBL and SpRBL induced apoptosis. Further investigations revealed that PRMT5 acted as a common binding target for various exogenous lectin and non-lectin proteins, suggesting a role of PRMT5 as a barrier for foreign gene invasion. The cellular response to exogenous lectins may provide insights into a novel way for cancer gene therapy.
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