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Comparison of gamma irradiation and heating treatment on cytotoxicity, insulinotropic activity, and molecular structure change of mistletoe viscothionin

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Abstract

Mistletoe offers health-promoting effects; however, it has toxicity, requiring careful application. Viscothionin is a polypeptide of mistletoe that while contributing to toxicity also demonstrates anti-cancer and anti-diabetic activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether gamma irradiation or heating treatment could selectively reduce viscothionin-mediated cytotoxicity. Gamma irradiation effectively inhibited viscothionin-induced cytotoxicity to RIN5mF cells, but heating treatment did not affect its cytotoxicity. Both heating and gamma irradiation further increased the insulinotropic activity of viscothionin, whereas the effect of gamma irradiation was dose-dependent and diminished above 20 kGy. Structural analysis showed that gamma irradiation significantly altered the ordered structure of viscothionin, unlike heating treatment, resulting in a change of its molecular properties, which could be linked to the observed changes in the cytotoxicity and insulinotropic activity of the polypeptide. These results suggest gamma irradiation as an alternative method for minimizing viscothionin toxicity without interfering with anti-diabetic effect.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute funded by the Korea Government. Park JH and Kim JK were responsible for experimental test. Park JH performed the purification of viscothionin from mistletoe. Park JH and Song BS designed the concept of the work and prepared the manuscript. We would like to thank the Korea Basic Science Institute for the analysis of the protein secondary structure of viscothionin and Editage (www.editage.co.kr) for English language editing.

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  1. Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do, 56212, Republic of Korea

    Jong-Heum Park, Jae-Kyung Kim & Beom-Seok Song

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  1. Jong-Heum Park
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Correspondence to Beom-Seok Song.

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Park, JH., Kim, JK. & Song, BS. Comparison of gamma irradiation and heating treatment on cytotoxicity, insulinotropic activity, and molecular structure change of mistletoe viscothionin. Food Sci Biotechnol 29, 1531–1539 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-020-00804-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-020-00804-9

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