In vivo growth inhibition of sarcoma 180 by latex proteins from Calotropis procera

Abstract

Latex of Calotropis procera has been described as a relevant source of pharmacologically active proteins, including proteins with anticancer activity. A previous in vitro study of laticifer proteins (LP) from C. procera reported that they had selective cytotoxic effects on human cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of LP in vivo using mice transplanted with sarcoma 180. Biochemical, hematological, histopathological, and morphological analyses were performed in animals given LP by oral or intraperitoneal routes. LP significantly reduced tumor growth (51.83%) and augmented the survival time of animals for up to 4 days. Tumor growth inhibitory activity was lost when LP fraction was submitted to proteolysis, acidic treatment, or pretreated with iodoacetamide. However, LP retained its inhibitory activities on sarcoma 180 growth after heat treatment. Thus, it seems that heat-stable proteins are involved in tumor suppression. Biochemical parameters, such as the enzymatic activity of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase and urea content in serum were not affected in treated mice. It is worth noting that LP completely eliminated the 5-FU-induced depletion of leukocytes in mice even when given orally. The active proteins were recovered in a single fraction by ion exchange chromatography and still exhibited anticancer activity. This study confirms the pharmacological potential of proteins from the latex of C. procera to control sarcoma cell proliferation.

Antitumor effect of laticifer proteins of Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel – Apocynaceae

“…It was shown to inhibit DNA synthesis, probably affecting topoisomerase I activity, leading to apoptosis in tumor cells (Oliveira et al, 2007). Recently, its in vivo anticancer potential was also evaluated, reinforcing the potential of laticifer proteins in treating neoplasia (Oliveira et al, 2010). Furthermore, HdLP acts as an immunomodulatory agent, raising the production of OVA-specific antibodies.…”

“…The latex of Himatanthus sucuuba increased nitric oxide (NO) and tumor nuclear factor-␣ (TNF-␣) and decreased transforming growth factor-␤ (TGF-␤) production in macrophages, suggesting an immunomodulatory activity (Soares et al, 2010). In the family Apocynaceae, experimental studies with proteins of the latex of C. procera suggested that the active LP fraction (PII) displays in vivo inhibition of tumor growth, probably by mediating an increased immunopharmacological response (Oliveira et al, 2010).…”

The anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of proteins extracted from Acacia farnesiana seeds

“…The gels were then incubated in 50 mM acetate buffer (pH 5.0) in the presence or absence of 3 mM DTT for 16 h at 37 °C. The enzymatic activity was detected as transparent bands on the gel (Oliveira et al, 2010).…”

“…Many publications have described the pharmacological activities displayed by various plant proteins (Hale et al, 2005, Oliveira et al, 2010, including those belonging to the Leguminoseae family (Leite et al, 2012). These plant proteins receive special attention, as they are promising molecules for human therapeutic treatment.…”

Laticifer proteins from Plumeria pudica inhibit the inflammatory and nociceptive responses by decreasing the action of inflammatory mediators and pro-inflammatory cytokines

“…The latex is commonly known as a rich source of active compounds bearing pharmacological properties (Dewan et al, 2000;Kumar et al, 2001;Frade et al, 2004;Chin et al, 2006). In traditional medicine, the latex of different plant inflammatory and pain process as well as tumor growth (Alencar et al, 2004;Soares et al, 2005;Oliveira et al, 2010). In these studies, the latices were collected in water and submitted to centrifugation and dialysis steps to obtain a protein fraction free of rubber and small molecules.…”