Antitumor effects of chitin specific lectin from Praecitrullus fistulosus by targeting angiogenesis and apoptosis

In the present study, chitin specific lectin was purified from fruit exudates of Praecitrullus fistulosus. The lectin was purified and analyzed using affinity chromatography, RP-HPLC and electrophoretic studies. Furthermore, protein was identified by MALDI-MS/MS and peptide mass fingerprinting. Purified lectin (PfL) effectively agglutinates RBC, lymphocytes and displayed strong cytotoxicity against colon cancer (line HT29) cells among screened cells. PfL induced apoptosis by altering the expression of apoptotic proteins via caspadse-3 dependent pathway. In vivo studies using EAC mice model proves the efficacy of PfL by activating apoptosis and inhibiting the tumor neovasculature by targeting the MVD, VEGF and MMP's secretion. More importantly, the PfL treatment leads to effective inhibition of tumor growth and a ∼2.71 fold increase in the lifespan of EAC mice. Collectively, our study provides comprehensive evidence that the role of dietary lectins with significant cytotoxic potential by targeting tumor angiogenesis and activating apoptosis in cancer study models. •New chitin specific lectin purified from phloem exudates of Praecitrullus fistulosus.•First report on purified lectin from fruit exudates of Curbitaceae exerts strong antitumor properties.•Praecitrullus fistulosusLectin (PfL) exerts potent cytotoxic activity against colon cancer cells by activating apoptotic pathway.•PfL suppress the angiogenesis by modulating the VEGF and MMP’s secretion and increases the survivability of EAC mice