Anti-Cancerous Potential of Polysaccharides Derived from Wheat Cell Culture

Alima Murtazina; Gloria Ruiz Alcala; Yaiza Jimenez-Martinez; Juan Antonio Marchal; Anel Tarabayeva; Elmira Bitanova; Gordon McDougall; Nazira Bishimbayeva; Houria Boulaiz

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics14051100

Anti-Cancerous Potential of Polysaccharides Derived from Wheat Cell Culture

Pharmaceutics. 2022 May 20;14(5):1100. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14051100.

Authors

Alima Murtazina^{1

2

3}, Gloria Ruiz Alcala^{1

4}, Yaiza Jimenez-Martinez^{1

4}, Juan Antonio Marchal^{1

4

5

6}, Anel Tarabayeva², Elmira Bitanova², Gordon McDougall⁷, Nazira Bishimbayeva^{3

8}, Houria Boulaiz^{1

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine Institute (IBIMER), Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, 18100 Granada, Spain.
² Department of General Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Asfendyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty A35B8H9, Kazakhstan.
³ Research Center "Bioscience Technologies", Almaty A15G7B0, Kazakhstan.
⁴ Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. GRANADA, University Hospitals of Granada, University of Granada, 18012 Granada, Spain.
⁵ Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, 18012 Granada, Spain.
⁶ Research Unit "Modeling Nature" (MNat), University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain.
⁷ Plant Biochemistry and Food Quality Group, Environmental and Biochemical Sciences Department, The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK.
⁸ Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty A15E3B4, Kazakhstan.

Abstract

There is a global need to discover effective anti-cancerous compounds from natural sources. Cultivated wheat cells can be a valuable source of non-toxic or low toxic plant-derived polysaccharides. In this study, we evaluated the anti-cancer ability of seven fractions of wheat cell culture polysaccharides (WCCPSs) in the HCT-116 colon cancer cell line. Almost all (6/7) fractions had an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of colon cancer cells, and two fractions (A-b and A-f) had considerable therapeutic indexes. The WCCPS fractions induced cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase and induced different rates of apoptosis (≤48%). Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed that WCCPS fractions caused apoptotic changes in the nucleus and cytoplasm, including damage to mitochondria and external morphological signs of apoptosis. In addition, the WCCPSs induced an increase in the levels of Bax, cytochrome c, and caspases 8 and 3, indicating that cell death progressed through intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis. Furthermore, some fractions caused a significant decrease of c-Myc, b-catenin, NFkB2, and HCAM (CD 44) levels, indicating enhanced cell differentiation. Thus, for the first time, our results provide a proof of concept of the anti-cancer capacity of WCCPS fractions in colorectal cancer.

Keywords: apoptosis; colon cancer cells; cytochrome c; differentiation; electron microscopy; inhibition of proliferation; plant polysaccharides; wheat cell culture.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the FEDER Operational Program 2020/Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento/ Project (B-CTS-562-UGR20) and the Chair “Doctors Galera-Requena in cancer stem cell research” (CMC-CTS963); Erasmus+ Mobility Program; “Bolashak” Presidential Scholarship of the Republic of Kazakhstan for scientific work abroad. The Hutton gratefully acknowledges support from the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) division.