title: A mistletoe lectin (ML-1)-containing diet reduces the viability of a murine non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumor.
abstract: In this study we show that the characteristics of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) tumors in female Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI, USA) mice fed mistletoe lectin (ML)-containing diets were different from those in mice fed control diet. The non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumor was originally established from a spontaneous tumor which developed in the inguinal region of a male mouse. Mice (five animals per group) were fed a lactalbumin (LA)-based control diet or a diet which provided up to 10 mg lectin per day. At the highest daily intake (10 mg lectin) the degree of mitotic activity in tumors was reduced by 75% and the nuclear area had diminished by 21%. The overall level of lymphocyte infiltration (CD3 positive cells) in tumors from mistletoe lectin fed mice was increased by a factor of two. Other morphological studies showed a high incidence of apoptotic bodies in non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumors obtained from mice fed mistletoe lectin diets. The feeding of such diets thus produced several identifiable changes in the morphology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumors. These were consistent with the observed reduction in tumor mass. In 4/15 mice fed a mistletoe lectin diet for 11 days there was no longer evidence of viable tumor. The results show that this lectin exerts powerful anti-tumor effects when provided by the oral route.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Aarstadveien 19, NO-5009 Bergen, Norway. ian.pryme@ibmb.uib.no
authors.forename: Ian F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Pryme
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bardocz
authors.forename: Arpad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pusztai
authors.forename: Stanley W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Ewen
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pfüller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004032:Diet; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005328:Fetal Viability; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D014784:Mistletoe; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D011897:Random Allocation; D012016:Reference Values; D015996:Survival Rate