Inhibition of carcinogen induced activity of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase by certain dietary constituents in mouse skin.
Cancer chemoprevention, a desirable and important facet of biomedical research, provides a practical approach to identify potentially useful inhibitors of cancer development, and offers an opportunity to study the mechanism of carcinogenesis. During the recent past a number of compounds have been tested for their anticarcinogenic potential specially constituents of our diet. The enzyme gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) which catalyses the transfer of glutamyl groups of peptides to other peptides and amino acid and has been proposed as a marker of cell proliferation and neoplasia. It also serves as a tool to evaluate the carcinogenic and cocarcinogenic potential of environmental toxicants. In the present investigations, GGT activity induced by carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, viz. 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) and benzo(a) pyrene (BaP) was significantly inhibited by diallylsulfide (DAS) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C) in mouse skin. DAS and I3C are constituents of garlic and cruciferous vegetables respectively. A significant inhibition in GGT levels was also observed in a strong mitogen (12-o-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate) induced activity in mouse skin by pretreatment with DAS/I3C. Therefore these dietary constituents seem to be strong modifiers of chemically induced carcinogenesis.
Shukla
Y
Y
Environmental Carcinogenesis Division, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, India.
Singh
A
A
Srivastava
B
B
D000818:Animals; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002384:Catalysis; D004790:Enzyme Induction; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D012867:Skin / Q000201:enzymology*; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism
D002273:Carcinogens; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase