Multiple Suppressive Effects of a Protein from Caesalpinia minax on Murine Melanoma Cells

Caesalpinia minax has a long history of use as a Chinese traditional herb medicine in Yunnan Province, China, for the treatment of skin-related diseases. A potent melanoma inhibitor, purified from the seeds of C. minax and termed Caesalpinia minax protein (CMP), is a protein with a relative molecular mass of 19.8×103. Experiments were conducted to assay the inhibitive effects of CMP on the proliferation, migration, and adhesion of murine melanoma cell line K1735M2. The results showed that cell proliferation was suppressed by about 60% with treatment of 22 μg/mL CMP. Furthermore, the migration of K1735M2 cells was inhibited by 30% in the presence of 22 μg/mL CMP. The results also demonstrated that the inhibitive effect of CMP on the migration was dose-dependent. Although low-doses of CMP had no obvious inhibitive effect on the adhesion of K1735M2, 22 μg/mL CMP inhibited the adhesion of K1735M2 by 50%. These results suggest that CMP might be a potential medicine for melanoma therapy.