Enhancement of Cancericidal Activity of Bamlet Complexes by Enzymatic Treatment

Abstract

Abstract BAMLET (Bovine α-Lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumors) is a tumoricidal molecular complex of partially unfolded bovine α-lactalbumin and multiple oleic acid molecules. Although this class of molecules was shown to be effective in many cancer types, their effectivity was not promising compared to synthetic drug products. In this study, the α-lactalbumin was purified from the skimmed cow milk, and BAMLET was produced with oleic acid. The cytotoxic character and the anti-cancer activity of BAMLET and of its hydrolysed form were comparatively analyzed in vitro focusing on breast cancer (MCF7) and prostate cancer cell (DU145) lines. The results showed that the most effective dose of the untreated form of BAMLET decreased the viability of MCF7 and DU145 by 89.2% at 10 µg/mL and 48.0% at 2.14 µg/mL after 24 hours, respectively. After the hydrolyses, the most effective doses were altered, but the anti-cancer effect was improved to 21.9% for MCF7 (6.38 µg/mL) and 32.2% for DU145(6.38 µg/mL) under the same condition. Interestingly, the untreated BAMLET demonstrated cytotoxic effect on fibroblasts above the concentration of 2.1 µg/mL, but this detrimental effect was vanished after the enzyme treatment of BAMLET. The cell viability was supported by 2.7-fold at 6.38 µg/mL hydrolised BAMLET. As conclusion, BAMLET produced from the hydrolysed form of the α-lactalbumin was found to be more effective against the cancer cells than its non-hydrolysed form. The hydrolysed BAMLET was found to be a promising natural anti-cancer product without any toxic effect on fibroblasts.