Litopenaeus vannamei hemocyanin exhibits antitumor activity in S180 mouse model in vivo

PLoS One. 2017 Aug 30;12(8):e0183783. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183783. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Hemocyanin is a multifunctional glycoprotein, which also plays multiple roles in immune defense. While it has been demonstrated that hemocyanin from some mollusks can induce potent immune response and is therefore undergoing clinical trials to be used in anti-tumor immunotherapy, little is currently known about how hemocyanin from arthropods affect tumors. In this study we investigated the anti-tumor activity of hemocyanin from Litopenaeus vannamei on Sarcoma-180 (S180) tumor-bearing mice model. Eight days treatment with 4mg/kg bodyweight of hemocyanin significantly inhibited the growth of S180 up to 49% as compared to untreated. Similarly, histopathology analysis showed a significant decrease in tumor cell number and density in the tissues of treated mice. Moreover, there was a significant increase in immune organs index, lymphocyte proliferation, NK cell cytotoxic activity and serum TNF-α level, suggesting that hemocyanin could improve the immunity of the S180 tumor-bearing mice. Additionally, there was a significant increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and a decrease in the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum and liver, which further suggest that hemocyanin improved the anti-oxidant ability of the S180 tumor-bearing mice. Collectively, our data demonstrated that L. vannamei hemocyanin had a significant antitumor activity in mice.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arthropod Proteins / pharmacology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Female
  • HeLa Cells
  • Hemocyanins / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Immunoblotting
  • Liver / drug effects
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Lymphocytes / cytology
  • Lymphocytes / drug effects
  • Male
  • Malondialdehyde / blood
  • Malondialdehyde / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Penaeidae / metabolism*
  • Sarcoma, Experimental / drug therapy*
  • Sarcoma, Experimental / metabolism
  • Superoxide Dismutase / blood
  • Superoxide Dismutase / metabolism
  • Tumor Burden / drug effects
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / blood
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism

Substances

  • Arthropod Proteins
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Malondialdehyde
  • Hemocyanins
  • Superoxide Dismutase

Grants and funding

This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31672689 & 31372558), The National Key Growth Project of Guangdong Province College (No. 2014GKXM043), and The Key Innovation Project of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province College (No. 2012CXZD0025).