Ricin is a cytotoxicity. When the toxin enters the body, the A and B chains separate. The A chain penetrates through the cell membrane and enters the cytoplasm, which mainly inhibits and inactivates the ribosomes of eukaryotic cells, thereby inhibiting protein synthesis. The B chain binds to the cell surface and transfers into the cell through invagination, which can promote the A chain to enter the cytoplasm.
Ricin has a significant inhibitory effect on mouse Ehrlich ascites tumor cells, LD12 leukemia, B16 mole tumor and Levens lung cancer cells. It mainly kills cancer cells by inhibiting protein synthesis. In addition, it has been found that it has a synergistic effect with other drugs, such as ricin and adriamycin, which has a significant synergistic effect on killing leukemia cells.