Othman Sarah I, Mekawey Amal A I, El-Metwally Mohammad M, Gabr Sami A, Alwaele Maha Abdulla, Al Fassam Haifa, Abo-Eleneen Rasha, Allam Ahmed A, Saber Wesameldin I A
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
The Regional Center of Mycology and Biotechnology, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11765, Egypt.
Biomed Rep. 2022 Mar;16(3):15. doi: 10.3892/br.2022.1498. Epub 2022 Jan 14.
The demand for L-asparaginase is predicted to increase several fold in the future due to its potential clinical applications in the treatment of lymphoid system malignancies and leukemia. Thus identifying suitable sources of production should be considered high priority. Fungi are valuable organisms as they are able to convert what would be considered 'useless' materials into materials that have potential value. The present study provides a proof of concept of production of a new hyperactive L-asparaginase producer ( AM16), which was successfully isolated and sequentially optimized using a semi solid-state fermentation method with a simple and cheap medium produced from wheat bran (WB). The fungus was able to produce an appreciable amount of the enzyme (2,875.9 U) after 8 days of incubation under 85.7% moisture, in the presence of magnesium nitrate (5.0 mg N/mg nitrogen per gram of dry WB) at pH 5.8. Testing the anticancer activity confirmed the ability of the resultant enzyme to inhibit the growth of various types of cancer cells (HepG2, MCF-7, HCT and A549). The IC values of the dialyzed enzyme were lower than that of the crude product. Thus, this newly identified and purified L-asparaginase may be a promising anticancer drug.
