BMAP-27 Peptide Reduces Proliferation and Increases Apoptosis in Primary and Metastatic Colon Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract BMAP-27 peptide is reported to possess apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects against cancer cells but the actual mechanism of action is yet to be investigated. In the current investigation, we aimed to study the role of the BMAP-27 peptide in reducing proliferation and increasing apoptosis in colon cancer cell lines. In this study, we used primary and metastatic colon cancer cell lines SW480 and SW620. Cell proliferation was measured using MTT and CCK-8 assays, and cellular damage was analyzed by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Apoptosis, cell cycle, and proliferation potentials were measured by the expression of CASPASE3, BAX, BCL-2, TP53, CDK-6, PCNA, WNT11, AXIN1 , and CTNNB1 genes. Additionally, in-silico studies were conducted to determine the binding affinities of BMAP-27 with adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) and β-catenin proteins, one of the primary regulators of colon cancer. BMAP-27 peptide reduced colon cancer cell proliferation, upregulated tumor suppressor genes CASPASE3, BAX, TP53, AXIN1 expression, and downregulated the expression of oncogenes BCL-2, CDK-6, PCNA, WNT11, CTNNB1 in both the cell lines, however, in the primary colon cancer cell line the changes are found to be more significant. The molecular dynamic simulation analysis revealed substantial binding affinity of the peptide to APC and β-catenin proteins. BMAP-27 peptide significantly inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis in the primary colon cancer cell line than in the metastatic colon cancer cell line. In-silico results suggest that BMAP-27 shows a strong binding affinity with APC and β-catenin proteins, highlighting its role in inhibiting colon cancer cell proliferation.