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The chemoprevention of cancer by dietary carotenoids: Studies in mouse and human cells

  • Conference paper
Oxidative Stress and Aging

Part of the book series: Molecular and Cell Biology Updates ((MCBU))

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Summary

In many epidemiologic studies a decreased risk of cancer has been associated with the consumption of diets rich in fruits and in green and yellow vegetables. Of the many components of such a diet the content of carotenoids, particularly β-carotene, has been most consistently linked to decreased risk. The biological mechanism for such protection is at present unclear; multiple possibilities exist: carotenoids are potent antioxidants and oxidative stress is known to contribute to carcinogenesis; many carotenoids can be converted to retinoids, known cancer preventive agents at several anatomic sites; finally carotenoids may possess additional actions in mammalian cells. Experimental studies have been inhibited by difficulties in delivering these molecules to target cells. A novel delivery system, using THE as solvent, has been developed and the activity of several carotenoids tested in mouse 10T1/2 cells. Carotenoids have been shown to: (a) inhibit plasma membrane lipid-oxidation; (b) inhibit carcinogen-induced neoplastic transformation; (c) cause up-regulated expression at the message and protein level of connexin43, a gene coding for the structural unit of a gap junction. This latter activity was statistically correlated with the ability to inhibit neoplastic transformation. While protection from carcinogen-induced neoplastic transformation cannot be directly studied in human cells, Cx43 expression is also up-regulated in human fibroblasts, suggesting that carotenoids have chemopreventive action in humans. We have proposed that increased junctional communication is mechanistically linked to inhibition of transformation. In this model, the gap junction serves as a conduit for growth regulatory signals from normal to carcinogen-initiated cells, thereby suppressing their transformation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala St., Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA

    J. S. Bertram

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  1. J. S. Bertram
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, NIH, 21224, Baltimore, MD, USA

    R. G. Cutler

  2. Dept. Molecular and Cell Biology, 251 Life Science Addition, Membrane Bioenergetics Group, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA

    L. Packer

  3. Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Molecular Oncology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1236 Lauhala Street, 96813, Honolulu, HI, USA

    J. Bertram

  4. Dept. of Neuroscience, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Okayama University, 2-5-1 Shikatacho, Okayama 700, Japan

    A. Mori

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© 1995 Birkhäuser Verlag Basel/Switzerland

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Bertram, J.S. (1995). The chemoprevention of cancer by dietary carotenoids: Studies in mouse and human cells. In: Cutler, R.G., Packer, L., Bertram, J., Mori, A. (eds) Oxidative Stress and Aging. Molecular and Cell Biology Updates. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7337-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7337-6_22

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser Basel

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-0348-7339-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-7337-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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