title: In vivo and in vitro study on the role of 3,3'-diindolylmethane in treatment and prevention of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by insidious progression and atypical early symptoms and mostly diagnosed in middle or late stages. The long-term prognosis is poor after conventional radiotherapy or chemotherapy, and the therapy often has strong toxic effects on normal tissue and organs. There were in vitro and in vivo preclinical evidences to support chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive effects of 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM), which was a natural compound extracted from cruciferous plants. The in vitro experiments showed that 100 µM DIM could induce remarkable apoptosis of NPC cells, and no obvious damage was observed in normal human bronchial epithelial cells and human liver cells (P < 0.01). DIM could simultaneously regulate several signaling pathways directly related to NPC, such as PI3K, MAPK, Akt and NF-κB. In animal model, the volume of transplanted tumor in animals raised by feed containing DIM was significantly less than that of control group (P < 0.01). The animals with 2 weeks of preventive feeding with feed containing DIM before inoculation had the smallest volume of transplanted tumor (P < 0.01). Intake of DIM had no toxic effects on vital organs such as heart, liver and kidney of experimental animals. In summary, the results of this study confirmed that the DIM effectively induced apoptosis of NPC cells, and had a preventive and curative role in the development and progression of NPC. The drug was safe and had no toxic effects on normal tissues and organs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, PR China
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shi-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bo-Kui
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Ze-Zhang
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002277:Carcinoma; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D016195:G2 Phase / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D007211:Indoles; D016328:NF-kappa B; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; C016392:3,3'-diindolylmethane