α-Conotoxin recombinant protein ImI-AFP3 efficiently inhibits the growth and migration of lung cancer cells

alpha-Conotoxin ImI is a selective antagonist of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (alpha 7 nAChR) that is involved in cancer development. Human alpha fetoprotein domain 3 (AFP3) is a prototype of anticancer agents. In an effort to design drugs for anticancer treatments, we fused the ImI peptide to AFP3 as a fusion protein for testing. The fusion protein (ImI-AFP3) was highly expressed in the insect Bac-to-Bac system. The purified fusion protein was found to have improved anticancer activity and synergized with the drug gefitinib to inhibit the growth and migration of A549 and NCI-H1299 lung cancer cells. Our data have demonstrated that the recombinant protein ImI-AFP3 is a promising candidate for drug development to suppress lung cancer cell growth, especially to suppress hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the lung (HAL) cell growth.

Automated summary

In this study, the fusion protein ImI-AFP3, composed of alpha-Conotoxin ImI and human alpha fetoprotein domain 3 (AFP3), was found to inhibit the growth and migration of lung cancer cells and showed synergistic effects with the drug gefitinib. These findings suggest that ImI-AFP3 is a promising candidate for the development of anticancer drugs.