Cell Proliferation Inhibition by Sericin from the Wild Silkworm, Cricula trifenestrata

Abstract

Sericin is a major silk protein, and recent studies have shown that sericin has numerous physio-logical activities against cultured cells. For example, it accelerates mammalian cell proliferation and protects insect cells against cell death. In this study, we examined the activities of sericin pre-pared from the wild silkworm, Cricula trifenestrata. The results presented here indicated that C. trifenestrata sericin has anti-proliferative activity against feline kidney cells, while sericin from Bombyx mori promoted cell proliferation. The components of the sericin preparation that played a role in inhibition of proliferation were analyzed by fractionation through partition chromatogra-phy (Folch method) and reversed-phase chromatography. Our analysis showed that at least two components in the C. trifenestrata sericin preparation promoted the anti-proliferative activity in an additive or even synergistic manner. Therefore, differences in components between insect spe-cies may contribute to different activities against cultured cells.