Plant-Derived Lectins as Potential Cancer Therapeutics and Diagnostic Tools.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Mazalovska, Milena Kouokam, J. Calvin
Copyright Year	2020
Abstract	Cancer remains a global health challenge, with high morbidity and mortality, despite the recent advances in diagnosis and treatment. Multiple compounds assessed as novel potential anticancer drugs derive from natural sources, including microorganisms, plants, and animals. Lectins, a group of highly diverse proteins of nonimmune origin with carbohydrate-binding abilities, have been detected in virtually all kingdoms of life. These proteins can interact with free and/or cell surface oligosaccharides and might differentially bind cancer cells, since malignant transformation is tightly associated with altered cell surface glycans. Therefore, lectins could represent a valuable tool for cancer diagnosis and be developed as anticancer therapeutics. Indeed, several plant lectins exert cytotoxic effects mainly by inducing apoptotic and autophagic pathways in malignant cells. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the basis for the use of lectins in cancer diagnosis and therapy, providing a few examples of plant-derived carbohydrate-binding proteins with demonstrated antitumor effects.
ISSN	23146133
Journal	Biomed Research International
Volume Number	2020
PubMed Central reference number	PMC7245692
PubMed reference number	32509848
e-ISSN	23146141
DOI	10.1155/2020/1631394
Language	English
Publisher	Hindawi
Publisher Date	2020-05-15
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Copyright © 2020 Milena Mazalovska and J. Calvin Kouokam.
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Immunology and Microbiology Medicine Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology