Structural and functional studies of a turmour killing protein-fatty acid complex

Abstract

HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumour cells) is a complex between the milk protein a-lactalbumin (a-LA) and a fatty acid, oleic acid (OA), and displays remarkable properties of selectively killing tumour cell lines while leaving healthy differentiated cells relatively intact. HAMLET and BAMLET (its bovine equivalent) both exhibit toxic activity against a wide range of tumour and bacterial models, both in vitro and in vivo.