Why do Parkinson's disease patients have fewer histories of cancer?: A basic study for cancer prevention.

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K08782
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Hygiene and public health
• Research Institution: Fukushima Medical University
• Principal Investigator: FUKUSHIMA Tetsuhito 福島県立医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (90208942)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 熊谷 智広 福島県立医科大学, 医学部, 博士研究員 (20528111)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 癌細胞 / パラコート / ラジカル感受性 / パーキンソン病

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In our previous study, it was suggested that reactive oxygen species produced by 1-methylnicotinamide via cerebral complex I involved in onset of Parkinson’s disease. The reactive oxygen species produced in the whole body might attenuate cancer cell proliferation. Based on this hypothesis, the difference of sensitivity to reactive oxygen species between cancer cells and healthy cells was examined with paraquat. In the culture experiments with mouse cells, the optimum concentrations at which hepatoma cells die and healthy cells survive were 3μM paraquat on days 1 and 2, and 1 or 2μM on day 7. In the culture experiments with human mammary gland cells, sensitivity of healthy cells to paraquat radical was higher than that of cancer cells. But in the culture experiment with human liver cells, sensitivity of cancer cells to paraquat radical was higher than that of healthy cells on day 7.

Free Research Field

予防医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

パーキンソン病やアルツハイマー病等の神経疾患と癌の発症が逆相関することはよく知られており、一方が他方の発症を抑制している可能性がある。パーキンソン病患者では、nicotinamide N-methyltransferase活性が亢進し、体内で1-methylnicotinamide産生が増加しており、全身の細胞で活性酸素が比較的多く発生するため癌細胞は増殖しにくいが、長期の活性酸素の影響で神経細胞のミトコンドリアの機能異常が生じ、パーキンソン病に至るという仮説が導き出された。この仮説をもとに、活性酸素に対する癌細胞と正常細胞の感受性の差に注目して癌の治療に活かせないかと考えた。