Glycine- and proline-rich glycoprotein isolated from Solanum nigrum Linne activates caspase-3 through cytochrome c in HT-29 cells.

This study was carried out to investigate apoptotic effects of the glycoprotein (SNL glycoprotein, 150 kDa) isolated from Solanum nigrum Linne, which has been used as an anti-pyretic and anti-cancer agent in folk medicine. We found that the SNL glycoprotein consists of carbohydrate (69.74%) and protein content (30.26%), which has >50% hydrophobic amino acids containing glycine and proline. LDH assay indicated that the SNL glycoprotein has obvious cytotoxic and apoptotic effects (>50% cell death) at 40 microg/ml SNL glycoprotein for 2 h in HT-29 cells. The results showed that the SNL glycoprotein has a stimulatory effect on the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, cleavages of pro-caspase-9, pro-caspase-3, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) proteins in HT-29 cells. However, the SNL glycoprotein did not significantly stimulate or change the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). The results of this experiment suggest that the SNL glycoprotein activates caspase-3 in HT-29 cells, independent of ROS.