Pa. Maki et al., STUDIES RELATED TO THE POTENTIAL ANTIGENICITY OF THE BOWMAN-BIRK INHIBITOR, AN ANTICARCINOGENIC PROTEASE INHIBITOR ISOLATED FROM SOYBEANS, Nutrition and cancer, 22(2), 1994, pp. 185-193
Soybeans are known to contain certain proteins that are allergenic; th
erefore the anticarcinogenic Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor (BBI), an
8-kDa protein isolated from soybeans, could be capable of generating a
n immune response that would contraindicate its use as a cancer chemop
reventive agent. In the present investigation, the stimulation of anti
body production in response to BBI was measured after the administrati
on of BBI by various routes and treatment regimens. A significant anti
body titer to BBI was observed when the animals were treated with BBI
by intraperitoneal injection once or three times per week. In these st
udies, higher antibody titers were observed at earlier time points. Wh
en the animals were treated with BBI by oral gavage, little or no anti
body production was observed, regardless of the treatment regimen. The
doses and treatment regimens used in this study have been previously
demonstrated to be effective in preventing tumor formation. The result
s of this study indicate that antibody production in response to BBI a
dministered orally should not present a complication to BBI treatment.