title: Dietary glycine inhibits the growth of B16 melanoma tumors in mice.
abstract: Dietary glycine inhibited hepatocyte proliferation in response to the carcinogen WY-14,643. Since increased cell replication is associated with hepatic cancer caused by WY-14,643, glycine may have anti-cancer properties. Therefore, these experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that dietary glycine would inhibit the growth of tumors arising from B16 melanoma cells implanted subcutaneously in mice. C57BL/6 mice were fed diet supplemented with 5% glycine and 15% casein or control diet (20% casein) for 3 days prior to subcutaneous implantation of B16 tumor cells. Tumor volume was estimated from tumor diameter for 14 days. Tumors were excised, weighed and sectioned for histology post-mortem. B16 cells and endothelial cells were cultured in vitro to assess effects of glycine on cell growth. Statistical tests were two-sided and a P-value of 0.05 was defined as a significant difference between groups. Weight gain did not differ between mice fed control and glycine-containing diets. B16 tumors grew rapidly in mice fed control diet; however, in mice fed glycine diet, tumor size was 50-75% less. At the time of death, tumors from glycine-fed mice weighed nearly 65% less than tumors from mice fed control diet (P < 0.05). Glycine (0.01-10 mM) did not effect growth rates of B16 cells in vitro. Moreover, tumor volume and mitotic index of B16 tumors in vivo did not differ 2 days after implantation when tumors were small enough to be independent of vascularization. After 14 days, tumors from mice fed dietary glycine had 70% fewer arteries (P < 0.05). Furthermore, glycine (0.01-10 mM) inhibited the growth of endothelial cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05; IC50 = 0.05 mM). These data support the hypothesis that dietary glycine prevents tumor growth in vivo by inhibiting angiogenesis through mechanisms involving inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7365, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Madren
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bunzendahl
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Thurman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D004032:Diet; D005998:Glycine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051379:Mice; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000517:prevention & control; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D005998:Glycine