Abstract
In a recent review, we focused on possible applications of the plant toxin saporin-S6 in cancer therapy [1]. However, this protein’s therapeutic potential has been demonstrated in many other fields. Saporin-S6 belongs to the Ribosome-Inactivating Protein (RIP) family, a class of enzymes widely distributed amongst plants that damage ribosomes in an irreversible manner causing protein synthesis arrest and cell death. RIPs are mainly classified as type 1, single chain proteins with enzymatic activity, or type 2, consisting of an active A chain coupled by a disulphide bond to a lectin B chain [2]. RIPs cleave a specific adenine essential for the binding of elongation-factors to the ribosomal large subunit. In vitro, RIPs also deadenilate different substrates, such as mRNA, tRNA, DNA and poly (A); for this reason, RIPs’ enzymatic activity has been afterwards defined as Polynucleotide: Adenosine Glycosylase (PNAG) [3].
Highlights
We focused on possible applications of the plant toxin saporin-S6 in cancer therapy [1]
Saporin-S6 belongs to the Ribosome-Inactivating Protein (RIP) family, a class of enzymes widely distributed amongst plants that damage ribosomes in an irreversible manner causing protein synthesis arrest and cell death
RIPs are mainly classified as type 1, single chain proteins with enzymatic activity, or type 2, consisting of an active A chain coupled by a disulphide bond to a lectin B chain [2]
Summary
We focused on possible applications of the plant toxin saporin-S6 in cancer therapy [1]. RIPs are utilised in experimental medicine as toxic component of conjugates, which are hybrid molecules characterised by very high and selective toxicity towards target cells. IT efficiency in killing target cells mainly depends on cell type, surface antigen density, IT binding affinity and intracellular routing.
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