Purification and characterization of a novel anti-proliferative lectin from Morus alba L. leaves

A novel anti-proliferative lectin was purified from morus alba l. (mulberry) leaves by a two step chromatographic procedure namely,immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (imac) and convective interaction media (cim) based anion exchange chromatography. the purified mulberry leaf lectin (mll) was specific to galactose,galactosamine and n-acetyl galactosamine (galnac). mll was homogenous with a molecular weight of ~56kda in silver stained sds-page. the lectin showed rbc agglutination activity up to 40°c and was independent of ph above ph 6. haemagglutination activity of purified mll was not dependent on any metal ions. however,with high concentration of trivalent metal ions,fe3+ and al3+ and the divalent metal ion fe2+,a three fold increase in agglutination activity was observed. the purified mll showed an anti-proliferative activity towards human breast cancer cells (mcf-7) and colon cancer cells (hct-15) with a higher potency towards mcf-7 cells. this is the first report on the anti-proliferative activity of a galnac specific lectin from m. alba. © 2012 bentham science publishers.