Apo-10'-lycopenoic acid inhibits lung cancer cell growth in vitro, and suppresses lung tumorigenesis in the A/J mouse model in vivo.
High intake of lycopene has been associated with a lower risk of a variety of cancers including lung cancer. We recently showed that lycopene can be converted to apo-10'-lycopenoids [Hu et al. (2006). J. Biol. Chem., 281, 19327-19338] in mammalian tissues both in vitro and in vivo, raising the question of whether apo-10'-lycopenoids have biological activities against lung carcinogenesis. In the present study, we report that apo-10'-lycopenoic acid inhibited the growth of NHBE normal human bronchial epithelial cells, BEAS-2B-immortalized normal bronchial epithelial cells and A549 non-small cell lung cancer cells. This inhibitory effect of apo-10'-lycopenoic acid was associated with decreased cyclin E, inhibition of cell cycle progression from G(1) to S phase and increased cell cycle regulators p21 and p27 protein levels. In addition, apo-10'-lycopenoic acid transactivated the retinoic acid receptor beta (RARbeta) promoter and induced the expression of RARbeta. We further examined the effect of apo-10'-lycopenoic acid treatment on 4-(N-methyl-N-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridal)-1-butanone (NNK)-induced lung tumorigenesis in the A/J mouse model. We found that the lung tumor multiplicity was decreased dose dependently from an average of 16 tumors per mouse in the NNK injection alone group, to an average of 10, 7 and 5 tumors per mouse in groups injected with NNK and supplemented with 10, 40 and 120 mg/kg diet of apo-10'-lycopenoic acid, respectively. These observations demonstrate that apo-10'-lycopenoic acid is a biological active metabolite of lycopene and suggest that apo-10'-lycopenoic acid is a potential chemopreventive agent against lung tumorigenesis.
Lian
Fuzhi
F
Nutrition and Cancer Biology Laboratory, Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
Smith
Donald E
DE
Ernst
Hansgeorg
H
Russell
Robert M
RM
Wang
Xiang-Dong
XD
D000818:Animals; D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000077276:Lycopene; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009602:Nitrosamines; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D009602:Nitrosamines; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid; C523199:apo-10'-lycopenoic acid; C082925:retinoic acid receptor beta; D002338:Carotenoids; C016583:4-(N-methyl-N-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone; D000077276:Lycopene