title: Plant lectins: potential antineoplastic drugs from bench to clinic.
abstract: Plant lectins, carbohydrate-binding proteins distributed widely in a variety of plant species, have drawn a rising attention for cancer biologists due to their remarkable anti-tumour properties. In this review, we present a brief outline of the up-to-date advances of plant lectins in elucidating their complex anti-cancer mechanisms implicated in apoptosis and autophagy. In addition, we further discuss the pre-clinical and clinical studies of plant lectins for their potential therapeutic applications. In conclusion, these inspiring findings would open a new perspective for plant lectins as potential antineoplastic drugs from bench to clinic.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: He-jiao
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.forename: Jin-ku
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Bao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects; D002686:Chitin / Q000378:metabolism; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D037121:Plant Lectins; D002686:Chitin