Aplicações biotecnológicas de um novo inibidor de protease cisteínica isolado de Anacardium occidentale

Abstract

The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a typically Brazilian species, belonging to the family Anacardiaceae. There are two types of cashew, the giant, known as common cashew and the early dwarf which is characterized by low size and precocity in the blossoming. One of the most important parts of the cashew tree is the fruit, the cashew nut, considered rich in nutrients is mainly exploited because it is considered a source of bioactive compounds. Protease inhibitors (PIs) are defined as proteins capable of binding specific proteases, decreasing or ceasing their activity catalytic. Among the main classes studied, protease inhibitors stand out cysteine ​​types, these are commonly isolated from plants especially from monocots. Despite playing an important physiological role in plants, such molecules have been increasingly studied from the point of view biotechnological. Thus, the present work aims to carry out the study and silic characterization of protease inhibitors present in cashew, as well as validate and isolate such compounds by protein chemistry techniques and study the potential cytotoxic effect in an in situ model of bovine ovarian tissues. Analysis of the results in silico demonstrated the presence of complete and conserved sequences for inhibitors of plant proteases, especially for the phytocystatin group. The isolation of inhibitors revealed intense enzyme inhibitory activity for the protease group cysteine, the isolated molecule still showed high thermostable capacity in the temperature of 100 ° C. The in situ test for cytotoxic effects of the new isolated inhibitor Anacardium occidentale L. performed on bovine ovaries demonstrated that the concentrations of 0.1 and 1.0 µg / ml no significant deleterious effects were observed in follicles, characterizing a potential applicability in the pharmacological area. In conclusion, these results suggest that the isolated cysteine ​​protease inhibitor has important biotechnological applicability in diverse areas, especially in the pharmaceutical field where its class has already been cited as a therapeutic tool.