Efeitos de um inibidor do tipo Kunitz de sementes de Mimosa regnellii Benth sobre eventos celulares da linhagem tumoral B16-F10

Abstract

Cancer is a term used to represent a set of more than 200 diseases, including malignant tumors of different localizations. There are several mechanisms that contribute to carcinogenesis: sustained proliferative signals, deregulation of cellular energy, evasion of apoptosis, angiogenesis induction and unlimited replication, among others. Among the main types of cancer, skin cancer stands out: arises in melanocytes and is the most common in Brazil, accounting for 30% of all malignant tumors registered in the country melanomas at an early stage can, in most cases,. It is treated with surgery, but the most advanced cancers require other treatments. In this work a Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor was purified from Mimosa regnellii Benth (ITJ) legume seeds, partially characterized and evaluated for their toxicity front tumor cell lines, specifically acting with an IC50 of 0.65 μM in B16-F10 cell line, showing no toxicity compared to non-transformed cell lines. Its ability to induce cell death by apoptosis pathway in mouse B16-F10 melanoma cells was evaluated by flow cytometry with Annexin V-FITC / PI markers, inducing about 45% apoptosis of cells. In addition, the inhibitor was also evaluated for their ability to: change the mitochondrial membrane potential, visualized by flow cytometry experiments using Rhodamine123 probe and confocal microscopy with Mitotracker Red marker, which was able to significantly change the ΔΨm; Release of ROS and RNs through specific probes visualized by microscopy techniques, causing release of ROS in the concentration of IC50, but not influencing release RNS; Liberation of cytosolic calcium, an event that influences the apoptosis activation, with significant effect on B16-F10 cells; Inhibition of angiogenic activity on rabbit endothelial cells through experiments of inhibition of new vessel formation in Matrigel, analysis of VEGF expression by western blotting techniques and reduction of IL-6 expression analyzed by confocal microscopy; Inhibition of cell migration process in wound induction assay and microscopy analysis and, finally, to alter the cellular morphology of B16-F10 analyzed by incubation with specific antibodies to extracellular matrix components and intermediate filaments of melanoma cells, conducted in fluorescence microscopy. All these combined results favor the proposal of a possible ITJ action mechanism in the induction of cell death by apoptosis in B16-F10 cells, where the inhibitor initially act by altering the p53 expression in 36h of incubation, increasing calcium cytosolic levels and ROS, which would act changing the mitochondrial metabolism, activating dependent apoptosis pathways of caspase participation; ITJ also act by inhibiting migration processes up to 18 hours of exposure, as well as influence belatedly in inhibiting the angiogenic process in vitro. These results suggest that ITJ has the potential to be used as a drug adjuvant treatment for melanomas, due to their specificity and low-dose when compared to other bioactive molecules.