[Lunasin--a novel chemopreventive peptide]

Abstract

Lunasin is a bioactive peptide originally isolated from soybean and has demonstrated chemopreventive and anticancer properties against: skin, colon, prostate and breast cancers. Lunasin by binding to the receptors of colon cancer cells prevents its adhesion to the liver tissue. When the receptor is blocked, new blood vessels cannot differentiate which prevent the spread of cancer. In the model estrogen-independent breast cancer, lunasin and aspirin administration inhibits cell proliferation, arrest cell cycle in S-phase as well as a decreases expression of cancer genes. Lunasin has also been found to exert potent antioxidant properties, reducing lipopolysaccharide induced production of ROS by macrophage cells, and acting as a potent free radical scavenger. Using the modifying the of DNA method it has been demonstrated that CpG islands were hypomethylated in RWPE-1 cell lines and hypermethylated RWPE-2 in cell line.Despite of numerous and promising evidence of antitumor activity of lunasin, there are still not explained all the mechanisms of its action in the processes of carcinogenesis.