Encapsulation into Stealth Liposomes Enhances the Antitumor Action of Recombinant Cratylia mollis Lectin Expressed in Escherichia coli

Abstract

This study evaluated the in vivo antitumor potential of the recombinant lectin from seeds of Cratylia mollis (rCramoll) expressed in Escherichia coli, free or encapsulated in stealth liposomes, using mice transplanted with sarcoma 180. rCramoll-loaded stealth liposomes (rCramoll-lipo) were formulated by hydration of the lipid film followed by cycles of freezing and thawing, and about 60% of rCramoll was encapsulated. This novel preparation showed particle size, polydispersity index, and pH suitable for the evaluation of antitumor activity in vivo. Tumor growth inhibition rates were 59% for rCramoll and 75% for rCramoll-lipo. Histopathological analysis of the experimental groups showed that both free and encapsulated lectin caused no changes in the kidneys of animals. Hematological analysis revealed that treatment with rCramoll-lipo significantly increased leukocyte concentration when compared with the untreated and rCramoll group. In conclusion, the encapsulation of rCramoll in stealth liposomes improves its antitumor activity without substantial toxicity; this approach was more successful than the previous results reported for pCramoll loaded into conventional liposomes. At this point, a crucial difference between the antitumor action of free and encapsulated rCramoll was found along with their effects on immune cells. Further investigations are required to elucidate the mechanism(s) of the antitumor effect induced by rCramoll.

Targeting the Immune System with Plant Lectins to Combat Microbial Infections

“…C. mollis is an endemic plant of Caatinga (Brazil semi-arid area), a plant from the Brazilian exclusive biome. pCramoll is a mannose-specific lectin and it has shown several biotechnological applications, including induction of cell proliferation ( Maciel et al, 2004 ; da Silva et al, 2015a ), in vitro immunomodulation ( de Melo et al, 2010 ; da Silva et al, 2015b ), wound healing ( Albuquerque et al, 2017 ), and anticancer properties ( da Cunha et al, 2016 ). Particularly, the immunomodulatory ability of pCramoll has been demonstrated in an in vivo model of wound healing in immunocompromised mice ( de Oliveira Silva et al, 2011 ) and in experimental infection with Schistosoma mansoni ( de Oliveira Silva et al, 2011 ).…”

Purification of a lectin from Cratylia mollis crude extract seed by a single step PEG/phosphate aqueous two-phase system

“…[10] New researches in biomedical applications include the histochemical evaluation of human prostatic tissues, [11] as anti-parasite agent, [12] mitogenic response, and cytokine in splenocytes of inoculated mice [13] and the use as an affinity matrix to purify a soybean (Glycine max). [14] pCramoll and rCramoll have been reported to induce immunomodulatory response on peritoneal exudate cells (PECs) infected and non-infected with Staphylococcus aureus, [15] pCramoll nanoelectrode for differential diagnostic of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia based on label-free detection. [5] Encapsulation into stealth liposomes enhances the antitumor action of recombinant C. mollis lectin expressed in Escherichia coli.…”

“…[5] Encapsulation into stealth liposomes enhances the antitumor action of recombinant C. mollis lectin expressed in Escherichia coli. [15] Besides, plants lectins have other several biomedical and pharmacological applications [16] and recently Oliveira et al [17] in their study published insecticidal activity against Aedes aegypti.…”