The choanoflagellate pore-forming lectin SaroL-1 punches holes in cancer cells by targeting the tumor-related glycosphingolipid Gb3

Authors: Simona Notova, François Bonnardel , Francesca Rosato, Lina Siukstaite, Jessica Schwaiger, Jia Hui Lim, Nicolai Bovin, Annabelle Varrot, Yu Ogawa, Winfried Römer, Frédérique Lisacek and Anne Imberty

Communications Biology, 12 September 2022

The authors of this study performed a sequence database screening to identify β-trefoil lectins in proteomes containing β pore-forming toxins (PFTs) that can create pores in bacteria membranes or other host cells. SaroL-1 was identified as a β-PFT with a membrane-binding domain with high affinity for cancer-related epitopes. The Axion BioSystems Exact (formerly known as Corning Cell Counter) was used to quantify cellular death of H1299 cells in the presence of SaroL-1. The results show that SaroL-1 displays cytotoxic activity on cancer cells, suggesting its further use in nanopore technology and treatment of specific cancers.