pCramoll and rCramoll as New Preventive Agents against the Oxidative Dysfunction Induced by Hydrogen Peroxide

Oxidative stress plays an important role in the induction of cell death and is associated with various pathologic disorders; therefore, the search for natural products that attenuate the effects produced by oxidant agents is greatly increased. Here, the protective effects of native lectin from Cratylia mollis seeds (pCramoll) and recombinant Cramoll 1 (rCramoll) against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in Vero cells were evaluated. Both lectins significantly attenuated the H2O2-induced cytotoxicity in a concentration-dependent way. The maximum protective effects were 96.85 ± 15.59% (rCramoll) and 59.48 ± 23.44% (pCramoll). The Live/Dead analysis showed a reduction in the percentage of dead cells from 65.04 ± 3.29% (H2O2) to 39.77 ± 2.93% (pCramoll) and 13.90 ± 9.01% (rCramoll). The deleterious effects of H2O2 on cell proliferation were reduced to 10.83% (pCramoll) and 24.17% (rCramoll). Lectins treatment attenuated the excessive superoxide production, the collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and the lysosomal and DNA damage in H2O2-treated cells. In conclusion, our results suggest that pCramoll and rCramoll blocked H2O2-induced cytotoxicity through decreasing reactive oxygen species, restoring the mitochondrial potential, preventing the lysosomal damage and DNA fragmentation, and thus promoting cell survival and proliferation.