Effect of polysaccharide extract SPSS1 from Apostichopus japonicas spermary on HepG2 cells via iTRAQ-based proteome analysis

In this study, polysaccharide extract was prepared from Apostichopus japonicus spermary and purified by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. Two main fractions named SPSS1 and SPSS2 were obtained and analyzed by ultraviolet spectroscopy and mixed with KBr, respectively. Chemical components analysis proved that SPSS1 and SPSS2 were rich in sulfate. Monosaccharide analysis indicated that in addition to the high content of lactose in both kinds of polysaccharides, the highest content of monosaccharide in SPSS1 was galactose, while in SPSS2 it was fucose. Further, the antitumor study of SPSS1 was carried and the results showed that SPSS1 treatment inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells. Through the iTRAQ-based proteome analysis, there were 208 differential proteins between control tumor cells and SPSS1 treatment of tumor cells. Compared to control tumor cells, 135 proteins were upregulated and 73 proteins were downregulated in treatment tumor cells. Practical applications Our study suggested that polysaccharide from sea cucumbers had the potential to be further developed as antitumor drugs.