Momordin (protein)

α-Momorcharin (1aha EBI).

Momordin or α-momorcharin is one of several related proteins isolated from several plants of the Momordica genus, which includes the bitter melon (M. charantia) and the balsam apple (M. balsamina).

These enzymes are potent inhibitor of protein synthesis in eukaryotes by inactivating the ribosomes.^[1][2][3] However its cytotoxic activity is limited because it is not taken up by the cells; it has to be chemically modified to do so.^[4]

There are several variants, including momordin II (from M. balsamina)^[1][5] and momordin-a (from M. charantia).^[3][6]

See also

• Momordin (saponin), an unrelated compound (a saponin of the triterpenoid oleanic acid).

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Marcelo Ortigao and Marc Better (1992),Momordin II, a ribosome inactivating protein from Momordica balsamina, is homologous to other plant proteins. Nucleic Acids Research, volume 20, issue 17, page 4662.
2. ^ J. Husain, I. J. Tickle, and S. P. Wood (1994) Crystal structure of momordin, a type I ribosome inactivating protein from the seeds of Momordica charantia. FEBS Letters, volume 342, issue 2, pages 154-158. PubMed
3. ^ ^{a b} Y. Minami and G. Funatsu (1993) The complete amino acid sequence of momordin-a, a ribosome-inactivating protein from the seeds of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia). Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. volume 57 issue 7, pages 1141-1144. PubMed
4. ^ Christopher P. Leamon and Philip S. Low (1992), Cytotoxicity of Momordin-Folate Conjugates in Cultured Human Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, volume 267, issue 35, pages 24966-24971
5. ^ Valbonesi, P., Barbieri, L., Bolognesi, A., Bonora, E., Polito, L., Stirpe, F. Preparation of highly purified momordin II without ribonuclease activity. Life Sciences
6. ^ Yuji MINAMI, M. Rafiqul ISLAM, and Gunki FUNATSU (1998) Chemical Modifications of Momordin-a and Luffin-a, Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins from the Seeds of Momordica charantia and Luffa cylindrica: Involvement of His140, Tyr165, and Lys231 in the Protein-Synthesis Inhibitory Activity. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, volume 62, issue 5, pages 959-964