title: Effect of BJcuL (a lectin from the venom of the snake Bothrops jararacussu) on adhesion and growth of tumor and endothelial cells.
abstract: Lectins are polyvalent carbohydrate-binding proteins of non-immune origin. Recently, we have isolated and characterized a lectin from the venom of the snake Bothrops jararacussu. This lectin (BJcuL) has been shown to bind to lactose moieties and induce agglutination of erythrocytes. In the present work, we observed that cells from human metastatic breast cancer (MDA-MB-435) and human ovarian carcinoma (OVCAR-5) cell lines adhere, although weakly, to BJcuL. However, BJcuL did not inhibit adhesion of these cells to the extracellular matrix proteins fibronectin, laminin and type I collagen. Importantly, viability of these tumor cells and cells from other human tumor cell lines and a bovine brain endothelial cell line was suppressed by BJcuL. These findings suggest that the lectin BJcuL may serve as an interesting tool for combating tumor progression by inhibiting tumor cell and endothelial cell growth.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Biologia, UNICAMP, Campinas-SP, 13083-970, Brazil.
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmitmeier
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Novello
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Markland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000166:cytology; D017837:Bothrops; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology; D002417:Cattle; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D003435:Crotalid Venoms / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000378:metabolism; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin / Q000378:metabolism; D037102:Lectins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007938:Leukemia / Q000473:pathology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003435:Crotalid Venoms; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D005353:Fibronectins; D007797:Laminin; D037102:Lectins; D003094:Collagen