Analysis of anticancer mechanisms of dietary factors on cancer cells

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24614019
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Integrated Nutrition Science
• Research Institution: University of the Ryukyus
• Principal Investigator: FUKUI Masayuki 琉球大学, 熱帯生物圏研究センター, 研究員 (60392502)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: Apoptosis / Autophagy / ビタミンC / 不飽和脂肪酸 / 酸化ストレス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Some dietary ingredient have anti-tumor activity. Here, we investigated the mechanisms of anti-tumor activity induced by polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and vitamin C in vitro and ex vivo models. Both PUFA and vitamin C accumulated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and resulted in tumor cell death. In addition, we revealed that PUFA can concomitantly induce autophagy, and the induction of autophagy diminishes its ability to induce apoptotic cell death. On the other hand, we also showed that the autophagy activated by vitamin C contributes to capase-independent cell death. It is therefore suggested that combination of PUFA with autophagy inhibitor may be a useful strategy in increasing the therapeutic effectiveness. Although more studies are needed, the observations made in this study provide an example for future study of the role of autohagy in mediating cell death under certain conditions.

Free Research Field

分子細胞生物学