Title:Lectin-Carbohydrate Interactions: Implications for the Development of New Anticancer Agents
Volume: 24
Issue: 34
关键词:
凝集素，糖基化，癌症诊断和治疗，肿瘤细胞，细胞死亡，脂质体。
摘要: Lectins are a large group of proteins found in animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria
that recognize specific carbohydrate targets and play an important role in cell recognition and
communication, host-pathogen interactions, embryogenesis, and tissue development. Recently,
lectins have emerged as important biomedical tools that have been used in the development of
immunomodulatory, antipathogenic, and anticancer agents. Several lectins have been shown to
have the ability to discriminate between normal cells and tumor cells as a result of their different
glycosylation patterns. Furthermore, the specific binding of lectins to cancer cells has been
shown to trigger mechanisms that can promote the death of these abnormal cells. Here, we
review the importance of lectins-carbohydrates interactions in cancer therapy and diagnosis.
We examine the use of lectins in the modification of nanoparticles (liposomes, solid lipid
nanoparticles and other polymers) for anticancer drug delivery. The development of drug delivery
systems (liposomes, alginate/chitosan microcapsules, alginate beads) carrying some
antitumor lectins is also discussed. In these cases, the processes of cell death induced by these
antitumor lectins were also showed (if available). In both cases (lectin-conjugated polymers or
encapsulated lectins), these new pharmaceutical preparations showed improved intracellular
delivery, bioavailability and targetability leading to enhanced therapeutic index and significantly
less side effects.
