title: Exfoliated colonic epithelial cells: surrogate targets for evaluation of bioactive food components in cancer prevention.
abstract: There is significant evidence supporting the hypotheses that lifestyle, diet, and bioactive components in foods are important modifiers of cancer risk. However, our ability to assess host response noninvasively is limited. To overcome this, we have developed a technology to isolate several million viable exfoliated somatic colonic cells from a small sample of stool (0.5-1.0 g) by a procedure known as somatic cell sampling and recovery (SCSR). Orally administered carotenoids appear in these cells several days after consuming the supplement, usually showing a peak concentration between 5-7 d after their ingestion. The time lag observed for the appearance of orally administered carotenoids in SCSR cells corresponds to the turnover rate of the colonic mucosa. This is an example of how changes in cell turnover rates can be carefully assessed using the SCSR system. The specific mechanisms by which individual constituents of diet affect the cancer process are not fully understood. However, host response to dietary constituents may be investigated, noninvasively, by following the modulation of tumor-associated molecular markers in these exfoliated SCSR cells. We have demonstrated the feasibility of using SCSR cells to detect the expression of carcinoembryonic antigen, CD44, and its splice variants, c-myc, c-erbb2, and mutations in the p53 gene. In this regard, SCSR cells are a readily available surrogate cellular target that may serve to monitor changes in cell turnover, differentiation, and expression of cancer-associated biomarkers that are likely to be modulated by bioactive food components.
authors.affiliation: NonInvasive Technologies, Elkridge, MD 21075, USA.
authors.forename: Alka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamra
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kessie
authors.forename: June-Home
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shilpa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kalavapudi
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shores
authors.forename: Ibtihal
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: McElroy
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gireesh
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Sudhakaran
authors.forename: Sudhir K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Dutta
authors.forename: Padmanabhan P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Nair
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods; D003106:Colon / Q000166:cytology*; D004032:Diet; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D005243:Feces / Q000166:cytology; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000032:analysis; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D024505:Tocopherols / Q000032:analysis; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D014801:Vitamin A; D002338:Carotenoids; D024505:Tocopherols