Abstract
Discovery and development of new antitumor agents from abundant marine fish are attracting an increasing interest. In the present study, we extracted and purified a novel antitumor protein Syngnathusin from the whole body of Syngnathus acus L., a precious marine fish traditionally used for tumors. Syngnathusin was comprised of 16 kinds of amino acids, mainly acidic amino acids. Its molecular weight was 67.3 kDa and its isoelectric point was 4.57. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of Syngnathusin was determined to be Lys-Arg-Asp-Leu-Gly-Phe-Val-Asp-Glu-Ile-Ser-Ala-His-Tyr and showed no significant homology with the known proteins. Syngnathusin could significantly inhibit the growth of A549 and CCRF-CEM cells. However, the obvious proliferation inhibition against human non-tumor cell lines was not observed. Flow cytometry, morphologic assessment and comet assay revealed that Syngnathusin could induce apoptosis in A549 and CCRF-CEM cells and strongly cooperated with MTX. Syngnathusin could inhibit the growth of S180 tumor transplanted in mice. Syngnathusin may be developed as a novel, selective and effective antineoplastic agent.
Highlights
The modern research on traditional Chinese drugs has for a long time largely focused on the micromolecular constituents
Some experimental antitumor proteins derived from animal origin medical material have entered the clinical trials [3]
Crude protein of Syngnathus acus (CPSA) was isolated by ammonium sulfate saturation and subjected to the antiproliferative assay against tumor cells
Summary
The modern research on traditional Chinese drugs has for a long time largely focused on the micromolecular constituents. More and more researches have revealed some proteins and polypeptides e.g., lumbrukinase, hirudin and trichosanthin, possess the potent activities . Some proteins and polypeptides from traditional Chinese drugs, especially from animal origin medical material, such as anthoplerintoxin, katsutoxin, snake venom, melittin, dolastatins and didemnins, exhibit significant antitumor activities [1,2]. About 13,000 species, are a large and diverse group of animals containing high levels of protein, and more than 100 species are traditional medicines for tumors. In screening for antitumor protein from marine fish, pipefish have drawn much attention for their life characteristic and medical property. Pipefish, like their seahorse relatives, are remarkable for their adaptations for parental care, with females depositing eggs in male’s specialized incubating area where embryos are protected, nourished and osmoregulated. Result, a novel protein Syngnathusin was purified and found to possess the potent antitumor in vivo and in vitro
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