Molecules (May 2024)

Substrate Affinity Is Not Crucial for Therapeutic L-Asparaginases: Antileukemic Activity of Novel Bacterial Enzymes

  • Anna Ściuk,
  • Kinga Wątor,
  • Izabela Staroń,
  • Paulina Worsztynowicz,
  • Kinga Pokrywka,
  • Joanna Sliwiak,
  • Marta Kilichowska,
  • Kamila Pietruszewska,
  • Zofia Mazurek,
  • Anna Skalniak,
  • Krzysztof Lewandowski,
  • Mariusz Jaskolski,
  • Joanna I. Loch,
  • Marcin Surmiak

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29102272
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 10
p. 2272

Abstract

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L-asparaginases are used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The aim of this work was to compare the antiproliferative potential and proapoptotic properties of novel L-asparaginases from different structural classes, viz. EcAIII and KpAIII (class 2), as well as ReAIV and ReAV (class 3). The EcAII (class 1) enzyme served as a reference. The proapoptotic and antiproliferative effects were tested using four human leukemia cell models: MOLT-4, RAJI, THP-1, and HL-60. The antiproliferative assay with the MOLT-4 cell line indicated the inhibitory properties of all tested L-asparaginases. The results from the THP-1 cell models showed a similar antiproliferative effect in the presence of EcAII, EcAIII, and KpAIII. In the case of HL-60 cells, the inhibition of proliferation was observed in the presence of EcAII and KpAIII, whereas the proliferation of RAJI cells was inhibited only by EcAII. The results of the proapoptotic assays showed individual effects of the enzymes toward specific cell lines, suggesting a selective (time-dependent and dose-dependent) action of the tested L-asparaginases. We have, thus, demonstrated that novel L-asparaginases, with a lower substrate affinity than EcAII, also exhibit significant antileukemic properties in vitro, which makes them interesting new drug candidates for the treatment of hematological malignancies. For all enzymes, the kinetic parameters (Km and kcat) and thermal stability (Tm) were determined. Structural and catalytic properties of L-asparaginases from different classes are also summarized.

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