Effects of the recombinant toxin protein rLj-RGD3 in multidrug-resistant human breast carcinoma cells

We have previously reported that Lj-RGD3, a novel RGD-toxin protein, was isolated from the buccal gland of Lampetra japonica. The recombinant protein rLj-RGD3 has anti-invasive and anti-adhesive activity in tumor cells (HeLa cells) and endothelial cells (ECV304 cells) in vitro, and inhibits αvβ3, αvβ5, and β1 integrin-mediated adhesion. In this study, we investigated the bioactivity of rLj-RGD3 in the drug-resistant MCF-7/Adr breast carcinoma cell line and drug-sensitive parental line MCF-7, and found that rLj-RGD3 inhibited the growth of both cell lines. Biological function studies revealed that rLj-RGD3 could induce the apoptosis in MCF-7/Adr, which was more prevalent than that in the drug-sensitive parental line MCF-7. In addition, rLj-RGD3 inhibited the adhesion of MCF-7/Adr cells to fibronectin. Furthermore, rLj-RGD3 prevented invasion of MCF-7/Adr cells through an artificial matrigel basement membrane. In summary, rLj-RGD3 may be used as a potential drug in multidrug-resistant breast cancer therapy.