Open AccessA recombinant fungal compound induces anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on colon cancer cells
Author(s) -
Lili Nimri,
Orly Spivak,
Dana Tal,
Dominik Schälling,
Irena Peri,
Lutz Graeve,
Tomer Meir Salame,
Oded Yarden,
Yitzhak Hadar,
Betty Schwartz
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
oncotarget
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.373
H-Index - 127
ISSN - 1949-2553
DOI - 10.18632/oncotarget.15859
Subject(s) - colorectal cancer , cancer , apoptosis , cancer research , cancer cell , medicine , recombinant dna , biology , immunology , biochemistry , gene
Finding intracellular pathways and molecules that can prevent the proliferation of colon cancer cells can provide significant bases for developing treatments for this disease. Ostreolysin (Oly) is a protein found in the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus, and we have produced a recombinant version of this protein (rOly).We measured the viability of several colon cancer cells treated with rOly. Xenografts and syngeneic colon cancer cells were injected into in vivo mouse models, which were then treated with this recombinant protein.rOly treatment induced a significant reduction in viability of human and mouse colon cancer cells. In contrast, there was no reduction in the viability of normal epithelial cells from the small intestine. In the search for cellular targets of rOly, we showed that it enhances the anti-proliferative activity of drugs targeting cellular tubulin. This was accompanied by a reduction in the weight and volume of tumours in mice injected with rOly as compared to their respective control mice in two in vivo models.Our results advance the functional understanding of rOly as a potential anti-cancer treatment associated with pro-apoptotic activities preferentially targeting colon cancer cells.