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Purification and Characterization of a Glucosamine-Binding Antifungal Lectin from Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Chinese Pinto Beans with Antiproliferative Activity Towards Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells

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Abstract

A lectin has successfully been isolated from Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Chinese pinto bean using affinity chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration in succession, with a 15.4-fold purification. Investigation of its characteristics revealed that Chinese pinto bean lectin (CPBL) was a 58-kDa dimeric glucosamine-binding protein. Its Mg2+-dependent hemagglutinating activity was stable at pH 7–8 and at or below 60 °C. When the purified lectin was tested against six fungal species including Phyllosticta citriasiana, Magnaporthe grisea, Bipolans maydis, Valsa mali, Mycosphaerella arachidicola, and Setosphaeria turcica, only the mycelial growth of V. mali was reduced by 30.6 % by the lectin at 30 μM. The lectin did not exert any discernible antiproliferative effects on breast cancer MCF-7 cells, but was able to suppress proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma HONE-1 cells, with an IC50 of 17.3 μM, as revealed by the MTT assay. Since few plant lectins demonstrate antifungal activity against V. mali, and not many others have inhibitory effects on HONE-1 cells, CPBL is a distinctive lectin which may be exploited for development into an agent against V. mali and HONE-1 cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Andrew Si Wo Ang

  2. Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Randy Chi Fai Cheung, Xiuli Dan, Yau Sang Chan, Wenliang Pan & Tzi Bun Ng

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  1. Andrew Si Wo Ang
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  2. Randy Chi Fai Cheung
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  3. Xiuli Dan
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Correspondence to Randy Chi Fai Cheung or Tzi Bun Ng.

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Ang, A.S.W., Cheung, R.C.F., Dan, X. et al. Purification and Characterization of a Glucosamine-Binding Antifungal Lectin from Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Chinese Pinto Beans with Antiproliferative Activity Towards Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 172, 672–686 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-013-0542-2

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