Ricinus Agglutinin Induced Autophagy in Glioblastoma Cells

Abstract

Ricinus agglutinin (RA) is a heterodimer consisting of two chains known as chain A and chain B respectively. The molecular weight of RA is 120 kD. RA is highly toxic to normal cells due to its ability to bind to the carbohydrate moieties present on the cell surface and causes the agglutination of the erythrocytes. Toxicity of ricin is due to its catalytic activity on eukaryotic ribosomes. RA is also known as type II Ribosome Inhibiting Protein (Type II RIP).The purpose of our study was to see whether RA induces autophagic cell death or not .There were amazing results that proved that RA showed both antiproliferative activity and autophagic cell death when treated with Glioblastoma cells. Hence, RA could be effective in the treatment of Glioblastoma.