الفهرس Only 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 149 |  |  |
| | | from | 149 | | |
Abstract
Azurin is a member of the cupredoxin family of copper containing redox proteins produced by the pathogenic bacteria Pseudonomas Aregunosa. It preferentially penetrates human cancer cells and exerts cytotoxic apoptotic effects or induces cell cycle regression with no apparent activity on normal cells. The purpose of this work is to study the mechanism of apoptosis induction by azurin in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and colon cancer cells (HCT-116) using Western blotting technique. Azurin was purified using anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography, and its cytotoxicity was assessed by MTT assay. Azurin was found to enhance the intracellular level of the apoptosis inducer p53. In addition, we confirmed that azurin activated intrinsic apoptosis pathway, as reflected by significant activation of caspase- 9 and caspase-7. The involvement of azurin in the extrinsic pathway was confirmed by caspase-8 activation in breast cancer cells (MCF-7)