Polygonatum cyrtonema lectin induces apoptosis and autophagy in human melanoma A375 cells through a mitochondria-mediated ROS-p38-p53 pathway.

Polygonatum cyrtonema lectin (PCL), a mannose-binding lectin, has been reported to induce cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Herein, we demonstrated that PCL-induced apoptosis and autophagy in A375 cells. The apoptotic mechanism was that PCL treatment regulated Bax, Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 proteins, leading to mitochondrial depolarization, cytochrome c release and caspase activation. Subsequently, we found that PCL treatment abrogated glutathione antioxidant system and induced mitochondria to generate ROS accumulation, resulting in p38-p53 activation. Moreover, we confirmed that the ROS-p38-p53 pathway was involved in PCL-induced autophagy. In conclusion, these results indicate that PCL induces apoptosis and autophagy via a mitochondrial-mediated ROS-p38-p53 pathway.