Purification and characterization of pleuroferin, a novel protein with in vitro anti-non-small cell lung cancer activity from the mushroom Pleurotus ferulae lanzi

A novel protein with in vitro anti-tumor activity designated as pleuroferin was isolated from the dried fruit bodies of Pleurotus ferulae lanzi, a special culinary-medicinal mushroom. Pleuroferin was purified by HiTrap Q HP anion exchange chromatography and DEAE-52 anion exchange chromatography. After Superdex75 chromatography and SDS-PAGE electrophoresis identification analysis, pleuroferin was determined to be a component with a molecular weight of 17.5 kDa. Pleuroferin displayed anti-non-small cell lung cancer activityin vitro with an IC50 of 190 μg/mL. AO/EB staining, Annexin V-FITC/PI flow cytometry, JC-1 staining, quantitative real-time PCR, and western blot proved that pleuroferin induced A549 cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and the death receptor pathway. These results indicated that pleuroferin exhibits the potential as an anti-tumor therapeutic agent for non-small cell lung cancer.