School of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
Curr Mol Pharmacol. 2010 Nov;3(3):123-8. doi: 10.2174/1874467211003030123.
Plant lectins, carbohydrate-binding proteins distributed widely in a variety of plant species, have been well-known to possess a broad range of significant biological functions such as anti-tumor, anti-fungal and anti-viral activities. Amongst the seven major lectin families, legume lectins have been drawing a rising attention for cancer biologists due to their remarkable anti-tumor properties compared to other lectin families. In this review, we mainly focus on analyzing the anti-tumor activities of Concanavalin A (ConA), the first and most typical representative of legume lectin family, and its related mechanisms of cell death implicated in apoptosis and autophagy. We present the up-to-date experimental advancements that ConA is able to induce cancer cell apoptosis through mitochondria-dependent and p73-mediated pathways, as well as ConA can induce cancer cell autophagy through a mitochondria-dependent signaling pathway. In addition, we further discuss the pre-clinical studies of ConA for its potential cancer therapeutic applications. In conclusion, these findings may shed light on the complicated molecular mechanisms of ConA-induced cancer cell death, thereby opening a new perspective for plant lectins as potential anti-neoplastic drugs in future cancer therapeutics.
植物凝集素是广泛分布于多种植物物种中的碳水化合物结合蛋白，具有广泛的重要生物学功能，如抗肿瘤、抗真菌和抗病毒活性。在七种主要凝集素家族中，由于与其他凝集素家族相比具有显著的抗肿瘤特性，豆科凝集素引起了癌症生物学家的关注。在这篇综述中，我们主要集中分析 Concanavalin A（ConA）的抗肿瘤活性，它是豆科凝集素家族的第一个也是最典型的代表，以及涉及细胞凋亡和自噬的相关死亡机制。我们介绍了最新的实验进展，表明 ConA 能够通过线粒体依赖性和 p73 介导的途径诱导癌细胞凋亡，以及 ConA 能够通过线粒体依赖性信号通路诱导癌细胞自噬。此外，我们进一步讨论了 ConA 的临床前研究，以评估其在癌症治疗中的潜在应用。总之，这些发现可能阐明了 ConA 诱导癌细胞死亡的复杂分子机制，从而为植物凝集素作为未来癌症治疗中的潜在抗肿瘤药物开辟了新的视角。
