Cucurmosin
Cucurmosin is a type I ribosome inactivating protein (RIP) found in the sarcocarp (flesh) and seed of Cucurbita — notably Cucurbita moschata, that is toxic to cancer cells,[1] if the dosage is high enough, by stopping their ribosomes.[2] Cucurmosin is what Cucurbita use to defend against viral, fungal, and bacterial agents. It takes a lower dose of cucurmosin to kill cancer cells than healthy cells.[3] It has been shown to induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer and myeloid leukemia cells.[4]
References
- ^ Preedy, Victor R.; Watson, Ronald Ross; Patel, Vinwood B. (2011). Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention. London: Academic Press. p. 936. ISBN 978-0-12-375688-6.
- ^ Barbieri, L.; Polito, L.; Bolognesi, A.; Ciani, M.; Pelosi, E.; Farini, V.; Jha, A. K.; Sharma, N.; Vivanco, J. M.; Chambery, A.; Parente, A.; Stirpe, F. (May 2006). "Ribosome-inactivating proteins in edible plants and purification and characterization of a new ribosome-inactivating protein from Cucurbita moschata". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 1760 (5): 783–792. doi:10.1016/j.bbagen.2006.01.002. PMID 16564632.
- ^ Hou, Xiaomin; Meehan, Edward J.; Xie, Jieming; Huang, Mingdong; Chen, Minghuang; Chen, Liqing (October 2008). "Atomic resolution structure of cucurmosin, a novel type 1 ribosome-inactivating protein from the sarcocarp of Cucurbita moschata". Journal of Structural Biology. 164 (1): 81–87. doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2008.06.011.
- ^ Zhang, B.; Huang, H.; Xie, J.; Xu, C.; Chen, M.; Wang, C.; Yan, A.; Yin, Q. (March 2012). "Cucurmosin induces apoptosis of BxPC-3 human pancreatic cancer cells via inactivation of the EGFR signaling pathway". Oncology Reports. 27 (3): 891–897. doi:10.3892/or.2011.1573. PMID 22139427.