Effect of Lectin on Fine Structure and Extracellular Matrix Protein of Cancer Cell Lines

Kim, Joo Young; Kim, Han Yong; Liu, Yin; Sung, Hoon Ki; Park, Jeong Hyun; Sung, Eon Ki; Lee, Yungchang

Abstract

Lectins are glycoproteins that bind specifically to carbohydrates. Considerable interests in the lectins were encouraged by several reports that certain members of the family bind to the extracellular matrix proteins (ECM), such as fibronectin and laminin. However, the relations between lectin and ECM protein remain unclear. To elucidate the relations of lectin-matrix-cell, we treated three cancer cell lines, HeLa, L929, and EATC with ConA and PHA-P at low dose (4 microgram/ml) and high dose (20 microgram/ml) for 1, 3, 5 days. 1. Whether or not lectins significantly regulate the cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assays. 2. Whether the amount of fibronectin and laminin which of cancer cells can be influenced by lectins was confirmed by immunocytochemical staining. 3. Whether, in turn, the lectins which can change the morphology were observed under inverted and electron microscopes. ConA and PHA-P inhibited cell proliferation rate of all cell lines in a dose- and time- dependent manner. The amount of fibronectin and laminin considerably reduced in the three cell lines after the lectins treatment in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The cancer cell lines showed various morphological changes such as cell aggregation, irregular-shaped cellular processes, rounded cells, cytoplasmic vacuolation, swollen RERs, dilation of mitochondria, margination of chromatin and cell death. In conclusion, our results showed ConA and PHA-P caused damages of the three cancer cell lines, but the effect of PHA-P was much stronger than ConA. Taken together, the present data strongly indicate that ConA and PHA-P influence the cell proliferation rate, reduce the amount of fibronectin and laminin and induce cell injuries of HeLa, L929, and EATC cell lines. Our results also suggest that the cancer cell proliferation and the morphological changes might be modulated by the specific interaction between lectins and ECM proteins associated with the cell surface.