Biomedicine: 2023; 43(1): 265-272 January-February 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51248/.v43i01.2650 Biomedicine- Vol. 43 No. 1: 2023 Research article Potentials of Artocarpus altilis latex lectin (AaLL) as an antiproliferative, nematicidal, and insecticidal agent Vasanthraj Boraiah 1 , Sathisha G. Jayanna 1 , Sarathkumar Edachery 1,2 , Praveenkumar Shetty 2 , Sathish S.V. 3 , Ghouseul Azam 1 , Jayalakshmi K. 4 , Kavyashree B. A. 4 , Sharanabasappa S. Deshmukh 4 1 Department of Biochemistry, Kuvempu University, Jnanasahyadri, Shankaraghatta 577 451, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India 2 Division of Proteomics and Cancer Biology, Nitte University Center for Science Education and Research, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangaluru, Karnataka 575018, India 3 Department of Zoology, Sri Mahadeshwara Government First Grade College, Kollegala 571440, Chamarajanagara, Karnataka, India 4 Department of Agricultural Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India (Received: November 2022 Revised: December 2022 Accepted: December 2022) Corresponding author: Sathisha G. Jayanna. Email: satishlec@gmail.com ABSTRACT Introduction and Aim: Plants are the most accessible and convenient source of lectins. Artocarpus altilis is a Moraceae plant utilized for its latex. The anti-proliferative, nematicidal, and insecticidal effects of this plant latex are unknown. The current study evaluates the antiproliferative, nematicidal, and insecticidal activity of pure AaLL on Triple Negative Breast Cancer cells, Meloidogyne incognita, and Spodoptera frugiperda, respectively. Materials and Methods: To assess AaLL's antiproliferative activity against MDA-MB-231, MTT and wound healing experiments were performed. Using juvenile mortality and feeding assays, the in vitro nematicidal and insecticidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita and Spodoptera frugiperda were evaluated. Results: The MTT experiment demonstrated that 5.4μg/ml AaLL effectively inhibited MDA-MB-231 growth by 50% compared to the control. Even at 40μg/ml, AaLL had no cytotoxic effects on NIH3T3 fibroblast cells. AaLL significantly reduced cell migration, with the wound area remaining at 41.95 percent as opposed to 4.57 percent in the control group. In vitro results on J2s exposed to AaLL for 72 hours demonstrated a death rate of 52% at a concentration of 30μg/ml. After 24 hours of incubation with 400μg/ml lectin, the insecticidal tests reveal that AaLL considerably reduces the weight of larvae. After 48 hours, a lectin concentration of 0.04% caused 69.44% larval death. Conclusion: This is the first report demonstrating the latex lectin from Artocarpus altilis's anti-proliferation, anti- migration, nematicidal, and insecticidal properties. Further research will be done on the signaling pathways and mechanism of action linked to these features. Keywords: Artocarpus altilis lectin; antiproliferative; insecticidal; nematicidal; Meloidogyne incognita; Spodoptera frugiperda. INTRODUCTION on-immune proteins or glycoproteins called lectins agglutinate cells and glycoconjugates by their specific and reversible non-covalent binding affinity for the carbohydrate moiety, either in solution or on cell surfaces, without altering the covalent structure of any glycosyl ligand (1).Lectins can be soluble or membrane-bound and can come from plants, microbes, or animals. They are found in all parts of plants and are extracted from seeds, bulbs, leaves, fruits, roots, flowers, and latex (2). Plant lectins have received more attention than animal and other lectins due to their enormous diversity and ease of access. Even though the physiological roles of lectins in plants are unknown, lectins have been implicated in insecticidal, antiparasitic, antifungal, antibacterial, immunological, cell wall propagation, seed germination, hormone regulation, and other cellular functions (3-5). Worldwide, cancer is viewed as a major threat to human health, as the second most frequently diagnosed and lethal non-infectious pathology after cardiovascular illnesses. Chemotherapy is frequently used to treat cancer. However, chemotherapy has detrimental effects on non-cancerous cells, leading to a variety of and occasionally serious side effects (6). Chemotherapy suppresses target cells by altering varied molecules in numerous pathways of rapidly reproducing malignant cells. Unquestionably, the prognosis for cancer patients will be improved by the creation of novel, more focused treatments that may target and distinguish malignant cells. Meanwhile, depending on the level of glycosylation, lectins show unique binding patterns to malignant tissues and could therefore be utilized as both diagnostic and anticancer agents (7, 8). Meloidogyne incognita is a plant-parasitic nematode that affects the quantity and quality of crop production in many annual and perennial crops. N 265