Volume: 2 Issue: 4
Year: 2025, Page: 177-184, Doi: https://doi.org/10.71325/ajjms.v2i4.1
Received: Dec. 13, 2025 Accepted: Dec. 23, 2025 Published: Dec. 31, 2025
Background: Lung cancer accounts for major cancer related mortality worldwide. Among the subtypes, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) considered to be the most prevalent subtype. Due inferiority of current treatment strategies such as toxicity, non-selectivity, high cost and resistance emphasizes the exploration for selective and safer anticancer agents. In view of their recognition of aberrant carbohydrate ligands on the cancer cell surface, various plant lectins including Xanthosoma violaceum lectin (XVL) exhibit antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing activities. Despite this, its effects on lung cancer cells remain insufficiently investigated. Methods: Xanthosoma violaceum lectin (XVL), which was previously purified and characterized, was used to investigate for antiproliferative activity against human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and normal embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) were used as control. MTT assay, an in vitro assay, has been employed to check the cell viability. Varying concentrations of XVL (0.31–10 µg/100 µL) was used to treat the cells. Prolonged cytotoxicity and cell migration were investigated by clonogenic and wound healing assays respectively. The caspase-3, -8, and -9 activity, flow cytometry, and comet assays were adapted to induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and DNA fragmentation respectively. Results: The cell viability of A549 was significantly reduced by XVL in a dose-dependent manner with an IC₅₀ of 6.508 µg/100 µL. However, it exhibits minimal toxicity toward HEK293 cells. Colony formation and cell migration were markedly inhibited. G₂/M phase cell cycle arrest along with a moderate increase in Sub G₀/G₁ apoptotic cell populations were observed from the Flow cytometric data. DNA fragmentation and production of caspase-3, -8, and -9 upon treatment with XVL induces apoptosis with the involvement of both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways. Conclusion: Overall, Xanthosoma violaceum lectin specifically retards proliferation, migration, and survival of A549 lung cancer cells with less toxicity to normal cells. The results of present investigation underpin the potential of XVL as a natural anticancer agent and require preclinical investigation.
Keywords: <I>Xanthosoma violaceum</I> lectin, Lung cancer, A549 cells, Apoptosis, Cell cycle arrest, Caspase activation
1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, <I>et al</I>. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2021; 71 (3). Available from: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660
2. Duma N, Santana-Davila R, Molina JR. Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: Epidemiology, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2019; 94 (8). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.01.013
3. Sharon N, Lis H. History of lectins: from hemagglutinins to biological recognition molecules. Glycobiology. 2004; 14 (11). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/glycob/cwh122
4. Gabius HJ, André S, Kaltner H, Siebert HC. The sugar code: functional lectinomics. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects. 2002; 1572 (2-3). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-4165(02)00306-9
5. Kaur M, Tiwari R, Ramachandran V, Tiwari A, Kaur G. Plant lectins as potent anticancer agents: a review. <I>Pharmacognosy Reviews</I>. 2006;2(3):215–224.
6. Anitha N, Sathisha GJ. Screening of lectin in tubers of Araceae and partial characterization of <I>Xanthosoma violaceum</I> lectin (XVL). World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 2017; 6 (12). Available from: https://doi.org/10.20959/wjpr201712-9684
7. Anitha N, Sathisha GJ. Evaluation of antibacterial and antioxidant activities of partially purified lectin from tubers of <I>Xanthosoma violaceum</I>. <I>European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences</I>. 2017;4(4):420–425.
8. Mosmann T. Rapid colorimetric assay for cellular growth and survival: Application to proliferation and cytotoxicity assays. Journal of Immunological Methods. 1983; 65 (1-2). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1759(83)90303-4
9. Franken NA, Rodermond HM, Stap J, Haveman J, van Bree C. Clonogenic assay of cells in vitro. Nature Protocols. 2006; 1 (5). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2006.339
10. Liang CC, Park AY, Guan JL. <I>In vitro</I> scratch assay: a convenient and inexpensive method for analysis of cell migration <I>in vitro</I>. Nature Protocols. 2007; 2 (2). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2007.30
11. Jonkman JE, Cathcart JA, Xu F, Bartolini ME, Amon JE, Stevens KM, <I>et al</I>. An introduction to the wound healing assay using live-cell microscopy. Cell Adhesion & Migration. 2014; 8 (5). Available from: https://doi.org/10.4161/cam.36224
12. Thornberry NA, Lazebnik Y. Caspases: Enemies Within. Science. 1998; 281 (5381). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.281.5381.1312
13. Kalejta RF, Shenk T, Beavis AJ. Use of a membrane-localized green fluorescent protein allows simultaneous identification of transfected cells and cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry. Cytometry. 1997; 29 (4). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0320(19971201)29:4<286::aid-cyto4>3.0.co;2-8
14. Ostling O, Johansson KJ. Microelectrophoretic study of radiation-induced DNA damages in individual mammalian cells. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 1984; 123 (1). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-291x(84)90411-x
15. Singh NP, McCoy MT, Tice RR, Schneider EL.. A simple technique for quantitation of low levels of DNA damage in individual cells. Experimental Cell Research. 1988; 175 (1). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-4827(88)90265-0
16. Collins AR. The Comet Assay for DNA Damage and Repair: Principles, Applications, and Limitations. Molecular Biotechnology. 2004; 26 (3). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1385/mb:26:3:249
17. Silva HC, Toyama MH, Marangoni S, <I>et al</I>. Structural and functional characterization of a novel lectin from <I>Xanthosoma sagittifolium</I>. <I>Phytomedicine</I>. 2014;21(2):243–252.
18. Liu B, Bian HJ, Bao JK. Plant lectins: Potential antineoplastic drugs from bench to clinic. Cancer Letters. 2010; 287 (1). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2009.05.013
19. Lavastre V, Cavalie I, Moreau MF, <I>et al</I>. Mistletoe lectin induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human cancer cells. <I>International Journal of Oncology</I>. 2002;20(3):589–594.
20. Chowdhury AR, Ghosh I, Datta S. Natural compounds with anti-metastatic properties: an update. <I>Pharmacological Research</I>. 2015;102:76–89
© 2025 Published by Laxmi Memorial Education Trust. This is an open-access article under CC BY 4.0 license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
G T Ramya, E Sarathkumar, M Meghana, N Anitha, S J Prashanth, G J Sathisha. Tuber Lectin Extracted from Xanthosoma violaceum (XVL) Promotes Apoptosis and Suppresses Proliferation in A549 Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells. AJ J Med Sci 2025;2(4):177-184