Purification and characterization of a novel anti-tumour galactose binding lectin fromEuphorbia caducifolialatex

A galactose specific lectin was isolated from the latex of Euphorbia caducifolia to investigate the therapeutical aspects protein. Protein was purified from latex serum with two different affinity matrices and confirmed to contain 8 isoforms called isolectin with a molecular weight of 32 and 32.5 kDa. Preliminary studies state the specificity towards galactose, but its affinity with lactose is more favourable even at low concentrations. Circular spectrometry suggests the predominance β conformation is high in comparison to others as like most of the other latex lectins. Haemagglutination activity of the protein with different thermal and pH ranges shows maximum activity at pH 6-8 and 60-70°C. In therapeutically, it is noticed that the galactose specific lectin showed mitogenicity with human macrophages and anti-cancer properties on human cervical cancer cells.