title: Chitin or chitin-like glycans as targets for late-term cancer chemoprevention.
abstract: A consistent observation in studies of carcinogenesis is that some glycans are expressed differently in cancer cells than in normal cells. A well-known example is the aberrant β1-6 N-acetyl-d-glucosamine branching associated with metastasis and poor prognosis in many cancers. This commentary proposes that, although not found in normal mammalian cells, a chitin (β-1,4-linked N-acetyl-d-glucosamine) or a chitin-like polysaccharide (e.g., hyaluronan) may exist as a cancer-associated glycan, which can be targeted by the novel pyrimidine nucleotide derivative SP-1015 (designed as a chitin synthase inhibitor). Preliminary chemoprevention data of our group showed SP-1015 in the diet can inhibit benzo(a)pyrene-induced neoplasia in the forestomach of female A/J mice, and, of importance, this activity occurred at late stages in carcinogenesis. While no effect was seen in the murine lung, this may be due to the low bioavailability of the compound. A different route of administration (e.g. inhalation of an aerosol) may have potential to inhibit pulmonary carcinogenesis. We hypothesize that inhibitors of chitin or chitin-like glycan formation may be effective chemopreventive agents and suggest that further work is needed to study these novel targets for cancer prevention.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. watte002@umn.edu
authors.forename: Lee W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Wattenberg
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Jennifer D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Antonides
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002686:Chitin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D002687:Chitin Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002686:Chitin; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D002687:Chitin Synthase