Laboratory of Entomology and Tropical Parasitology, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristovão, Sergipe, Brazil.
Industrial Biotechnology Program, University of Tiradentes (UNIT), Av. Murilo Dantas, Aracaju, Brazil.
Biochimie. 2022 Jan;192:83-90. doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2021.10.003. Epub 2021 Oct 12.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a ubiquitous bacterium that produces several proteins that are toxic to different invertebrates such as insects, nematodes, mites, and also some protozoans. Among these, Cry and Cyt proteins are most explored as biopesticides for their action against agricultural pests and vectors of human diseases. In 2000, a group of researchers from Japan isolated parasporal inclusion proteins from B. thuringiensis, and reported their cytotoxic action against human leukemia. Later, other proteins with similar antitumor properties were also isolated from this bacterium and these cytotoxic proteins with specific activity against human cancer cells were named parasporins. At present, nineteen different parasporins are registered and classified in six families. These parasporins have been described to have specific in vitro antitumor activity against several cancer cell lines. The antitumor activity makes parasporins possible candidates as anticancer agents. Various research groups around the world are involved in isolating and characterizing in vitro antitumor activity of these proteins and many articles reporting such activities in detail have been published. However, there are virtually no data regarding the antitumor activity of parasporins in vivo. This review summarizes the properties of these potentially useful antitumor agents of natural origin, focusing on their in vivo activity thus also highlighting the importance of testing these proteins in animal models for a possible application in clinical oncology.
苏云金芽孢杆菌(Bt)是一种普遍存在的细菌,它能产生多种对不同无脊椎动物(如昆虫、线虫、螨虫,还有一些原生动物)有毒的蛋白质。在这些蛋白质中,Cry 和 Cyt 蛋白因其对农业害虫和人类疾病的传播媒介的作用而被最广泛地探索作为生物农药。2000 年,一组来自日本的研究人员从苏云金芽孢杆菌中分离出伴孢晶体蛋白,并报告了它们对人类白血病的细胞毒性作用。后来,从这种细菌中还分离出了具有类似抗肿瘤特性的其他蛋白质,这些对人类癌细胞具有特异性活性的细胞毒性蛋白被命名为伴孢菌素。目前,已有 19 种不同的伴孢菌素被注册并分为六个家族。这些伴孢菌素已被描述具有针对几种癌细胞系的特定体外抗肿瘤活性。抗肿瘤活性使伴孢菌素成为潜在的抗癌药物候选物。世界各地的许多研究小组都参与了这些蛋白质的分离和体外抗肿瘤活性的特征描述,已经发表了许多详细报告这些活性的文章。然而,实际上几乎没有关于伴孢菌素体内抗肿瘤活性的数据。这篇综述总结了这些具有潜在用途的天然来源抗肿瘤剂的特性,重点介绍了它们的体内活性,从而也强调了在动物模型中测试这些蛋白质的重要性,以便在临床肿瘤学中可能应用。