title: Oleuropein Prevents Azoxymethane-Induced Colon Crypt Dysplasia and Leukocytes DNA Damage in A/J Mice.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that the precursor of olive oil secoiridoids, Oleuropein (OL) has several in vitro chemopreventive properties. OL inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in breast, thyroid, prostate, and colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Much less is known about the effects of OL on animal models of carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated the ability of OL to prevent the azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colon cancer upset and DNA damage in mice. Animals, fed with a basal diet either enriched or not with OL (125 mg/kg), were injected with AOM (10 mg/kg, once a week for 6 weeks) and sacrificed after either 7 weeks for histological analysis of colon crypt dysplasia and evaluation of DNA damage in leukocytes or 17 weeks for counting the macroscopically observable colon tumors. An OL-enriched diet prevented the AOM-induced preneoplastic lesions in different colon segments, reducing the severity of crypt dysplasia and DNA damage in peripheral leukocytes. In addition, OL significantly reduced the AOM-induced tumor incidence from 57% to 14% (P < .05, chi-square test) in the medial colon segment. This study shows that OL is able to prevent CRC and DNA damage in mice treated with the carcinogen AOM. These results stimulate further human cancer prevention studies with OL-enriched food supplements that are actually available on the market.
authors.affiliation: 1 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia , Perugia, Italy .
authors.forename: Maria Vittoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Sepporta
authors.affiliation: 1 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia , Perugia, Italy .
authors.forename: Raffaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fuccelli
authors.affiliation: 1 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia , Perugia, Italy .
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rosignoli
authors.affiliation: 2 Laboratory of Histology, Central Animal Unit, University of Perugia , Perugia, Italy .
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: 3 Food Science and Technology Unit, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science, University of Perugia , Perugia, Italy .
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Servili
authors.affiliation: 1 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia , Perugia, Italy .
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fabiani