title: Presence in Pieris rapae of cytotoxic activity against human carcinoma cells.
abstract: Cytotoxic activity in extracts of pupae and adults of various kinds of butterflies and moths was tested in vitro against the human gastric carcinoma cell line, TMK-1, which was chosen as an example of human carcinoma cells. Among the species examined, cytotoxicity was limited to Pieris rapae, Pieris napi and Pieris brassicae. Activity was found down to a dilution of 1/10(4), while with the other butterflies and moths no activity was observed, even at 1/10(2). When the cytotoxicity of the three developmental stages, larvae, pupae and adults, of Pieris rapae was compared, the pupae showed the strongest activity, the IC50 against TMK-1 cells being at the 1/10(6) dilution. For larvae and adults, the respective IC50 values were at the 1/10(5) and 5/10(5) dilutions. The active principle in the pupae of Pieris rapae was found to be heat-labile and not extractable with organic solvents, but precipitated with ammonium sulfate and digested by proteases, suggesting that it is a protein. This cytotoxic factor was named pierisin.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masutani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koiwai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugimura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry*; D002080:Butterflies / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014020:Tissue Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014020:Tissue Extracts