Planta Med. 1996 Oct; 62(5): 423-6.

A water-soluble antitumor glycoprotein from Chlorella vulgaris.

Noda K, Ohno N, Tanaka K, Kamiya N, Okuda M, Yadomae T, Nomoto K, Shoyama Y.

Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

An active substance with antitumor activity (ARS2) was purified from the culture media of Chlorella vulgaris and found to be a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 63,100 amu, as determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. ARS2 contains 66.9% carbohydrate, mainly D-galactose, and 35.2% protein. The carbohydrate moiety has a beta-1,6-D-galactopyranose backbone, as determined by methylation analysis and 13C-NMR. Apparently, the protein moiety, whose 15 amino acid sequence at the NH2-terminus, we determined as DVGEAFPTVVDALVA, is necessary for the antitumor activity, as assessed by hydrazinolysis, periodate oxidation, and proteolysis.