NUCLEOLIN AND NUCLEOPHOSMIN AS EXPECTED TARGETS FOR CATIONIC PEPTIDES, INDUCING TUMOR CELL APOPTOSIS

Abstract

Multifunctional proteins nucleolin (NCL, C23) and nucleophosmin (NPM, B23) are the most abundant nucleolar phosphoproteins  with chaperone activities. Nucleolin is over-expressed also on tumor cell surface.   The proteins regulate the most of important cell functions, they  are considered now as the cell proliferation markers and potential targets for cancer treatment  Objective is  a screening for some cationic peptides as an expected ligands for NCL/NPM  and  novel agents  with selective   cytotoxicity  in  human cutaneous melanoma cell lines.  Three original cell lines mel IS, mel H and mel Ki obtained from the lymph node metastasis of the patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma were used as a models. To evaluate binding between NCL, NPM  and peptides under study molecular docking  was used. The data obtained allow to characterize tested  cationic peptides  as a ligands for NCL and NPM  triggered  subsequent tumor cell  apoptosis.