ABSTRACT
Maackia amurensis seed lectin (MASL) is a natural product with an extensive history in medicine. Lectins such as MASL are unique pharmacologic agents that can survive gastrointestinal digestion. They can target specific sugar moieties on extracellular receptors to affect dynamic signaling pathways. In particular, MASL can bind sialic acid moieties on receptors including PDPN and ACE2 in order to inhibit molecular pathways that drive cancer progression, inflammation, and viral infection. Therefore, MASL is an enticing drug candidate with potential to treat pathologies including cancer, arthritis, psoriasis, and COVID. At the time of this writing, MASL is being studied in a phase 1 clinical trial aimed at oral cancer.
