Targeting of Prostate Cancer with Hyaluronan-Binding Proteins

摘要

The goal of this study is to determine the anti-tumor effect of hyaluronan (HA) binding proteins/peptides (HABPs) and to explore their underlying anti-tumor mechanisms. The idea is triggered by the facts that several known anti-tumor agents are the member of HABPs family, and that little is known about the their mechanisms. In this grant support period, we demonstrated that: (1) HABPs could be obtained via different approaches, such as affinity purification, genetic expression and chemical synthesis; (2) HABPs from different sources could exert anti-cancer effect without obvious side-effect, indicating that anti-tumor effect is a universal property of members in HABPs family; (3) HABPs could inhibit the tumor angiogenesis; (4) some HABPs could bind to Bcl-2, promote the release of cytochrome c and trigger apoptosis of tumor cells; (5) some HABPs could activate the classic complement pathway to kill tumor cells. The results reveal that HABPs, a set of naturally existing biological agents is likely to be a new category of anti-tumor agent via triggering intrinsic death pathways. We believe that study of functional domain of HABPs may lead to discover new anti-tumor agent that can be synthesized in a large quantity and safe for use in cancer treatment.