Promising pharmacological profile of a Kunitz-type inhibitor in murine renal cell carcinoma model

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), also called kidney cancer or renal adenocarcinoma, is highly resistant to current treatments. It has been previously reported that a Kunitz-type inhibitor domain-containing protein, isolated from the salivary glands of the Amblyomma cajennense tick, triggers apoptosis in murine renal adenocarcinoma cells (Renca) by inhibiting the proteasome and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Of note, Amblyomin-X is the corresponding recombinant protein identified in the cDNA library from A. cajennense salivary glands. Herein, using orthotopic kidney tumors in mice, we demonstrate that Amblyomin-X is able to drastically reduce the incidence of lung metastases by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The in vitro assays show that Amblyomin-X is capable of reducing the proliferation rate of Renca cells, promoting cell cycle arrest, and down-regulating the expression of crucial proteins (cyclin D1, Ki67 and Pgp) involved in the aggressiveness and resistance of RCC. Regarding non-tumor cells (NIH3T3), Amblyomin-X produced minor effects in the cyclin D1 levels. Interestingly, observing the image assays, the fluorescence-labelled Amblyomin-X was indeed detected in the tumor stroma whereas in healthy animals it was rapidly metabolized and excreted. Taken the findings together, Amblyomin-X can be considered as a potential anti-RCC drug candidate.