title: Eicosapentaenoic acid induced SKOV-3 cell apoptosis through ERK1/2-mTOR-NF-κB pathways.
abstract: Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a typical kind of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, has been considered to be a potent antitumor adjuvant. However, the mechanism related to EPA-induced SKOV-3 cell apoptosis has not been investigated. In this study, we elucidated the anticancer effect of EPA on SKOV-3 cells and its molecular mechanisms. The results of fluorescence microscopy showed that EPA induced typical apoptotic morphological features in SKOV-3 cells. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that EPA induced apoptosis of SKOV-3 cells through cells arrested at the S phase. Western blotting results showed that EPA could inhibit the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Akt, which restrained mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylated. Simultaneously, EPA downregulated the phosphorylation status of mTOR, which may act as an upstream regulator of EPA-blocked nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) p65 translocation from the cytoplasm into the nucleus; the apoptotic mechanism of SKOV-3 cells induced by EPA was associated with the release of cytochrome c, Bax-to-Bcl-2 expression ratio, and activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9. The results suggested that EPA induced SKOV-3 cell apoptosis through ERK1/2, Akt-mTOR-NF-κB pathways.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education, College of food Engineering and Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, People Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lirong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Chunling
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects*; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016328:NF-kappa B; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3