title: N-acetyl cysteine inhibits cell cycle progression in pancreatic carcinoma cells.
abstract: The antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is a precursor of intracellular glutathione (GSH) and is also a well known as one of the chemopreventive agents which act through a variety of cellular mechanisms. We examined the effects of NAC on cell cycle progression in the pancreatic carcinoma cell lines, SW1990 and JHP1. Cells were incubated with or without NAC. Cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. NAC suppressed cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas NAC increased intracellular glutathione content significantly in a dose-dependent manner. The percentage of cells in the G1 phase after treatment with NAC was significantly higher than the percentage seen for control cells. Cyclin D1 expression of carcinoma cells treated with NAC decreased remarkably compared with cells without NAC treatment. Thus, the antiproliferative effect of NAC by prolongation of the G1 phase in human pancreatic carcinoma cells shows its possible utility as an antitumor agent.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kusano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takao
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Noma
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoh
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aikou
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baba
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000111:Acetylcysteine