COMPOUND IN MEDITERRANEAN DIET INHIBITS CANCER CELLS
Published May 22, 2013 in Food Product Design
COLUMBUS, Ohio—A compound found in parsley, celery and other plant products, including apples, oranges and nuts that are part of the Mediterranean diet, may stop breast cancer cells from inhibiting their own death, according to a new study published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The findings suggest by altering a very specific step in gene regulation, the compound—apigenin—essentially re-educates cancer cells into normal cells that die as scheduled.
Much of what is known about the health benefits of nutrients is based on epidemiological studies that show strong positive relationships between eating specific foods and better health outcomes, especially reduced heart disease. But how the actual molecules within these healthful foods work in the body is still a mystery in many cases, and particularly with foods linked to lower risk for cancer.
Ohio State University researchers also showed that apigenin binds with an estimated 160 proteins in the human body, suggesting that other nutraceuticals might have similar far-reaching effects.
“We know we need to eat healthfully, but in most cases we don’t know the actual mechanistic reasons for why we need to do that," said Andrea Doseff, associate professor of internal medicine and molecular genetics at Ohio State and a co-lead author of the study. “We see here that the beneficial effect on health is attributed to this dietary nutrient affecting many proteins. In its relationship with a set of specific proteins, apigenin re-establishes the normal profile in cancer cells. We think this can have great value clinically as a potential cancer-prevention strategy."
Through additional experimentation, the team established that apigenin had relationships with proteins that have three specific functions. Among the most important was a protein called hnRNPA2. This protein influences the activity of messenger RNA, or mRNA, which contains the instructions needed to produce a specific protein. The production of mRNA results from the splicing, or modification, of RNA that occurs as part of gene activation. The nature of the splice ultimately influences which protein instructions the mRNA contains.
The researchers said abnormal splicing is the culprit in an estimated 80% of all cancers. In cancer cells, two types of splicing occur when only one would take place in a normal cell—a trick on the cancer cells’ part to keep them alive and reproducing.
In this study, the researchers observed that apigenin’s connection to the hnRNPA2 protein restored this single-splice characteristic to breast cancer cells, suggesting that when splicing is normal, cells die in a programmed way, or become more sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs.
“So by applying this nutrient, we can activate that killing machinery. The nutrient eliminated the splicing form that inhibited cell death," Doseff said. “Thus, this suggests that when we eat healthfully, we are actually promoting more normal splice forms inside the cells in our bodies."
The findings suggest by altering a very specific step in gene regulation, the compound—apigenin—essentially re-educates cancer cells into normal cells that die as scheduled.
Much of what is known about the health benefits of nutrients is based on epidemiological studies that show strong positive relationships between eating specific foods and better health outcomes, especially reduced heart disease. But how the actual molecules within these healthful foods work in the body is still a mystery in many cases, and particularly with foods linked to lower risk for cancer.
Ohio State University researchers also showed that apigenin binds with an estimated 160 proteins in the human body, suggesting that other nutraceuticals might have similar far-reaching effects.
“We know we need to eat healthfully, but in most cases we don’t know the actual mechanistic reasons for why we need to do that," said Andrea Doseff, associate professor of internal medicine and molecular genetics at Ohio State and a co-lead author of the study. “We see here that the beneficial effect on health is attributed to this dietary nutrient affecting many proteins. In its relationship with a set of specific proteins, apigenin re-establishes the normal profile in cancer cells. We think this can have great value clinically as a potential cancer-prevention strategy."
Through additional experimentation, the team established that apigenin had relationships with proteins that have three specific functions. Among the most important was a protein called hnRNPA2. This protein influences the activity of messenger RNA, or mRNA, which contains the instructions needed to produce a specific protein. The production of mRNA results from the splicing, or modification, of RNA that occurs as part of gene activation. The nature of the splice ultimately influences which protein instructions the mRNA contains.
The researchers said abnormal splicing is the culprit in an estimated 80% of all cancers. In cancer cells, two types of splicing occur when only one would take place in a normal cell—a trick on the cancer cells’ part to keep them alive and reproducing.
In this study, the researchers observed that apigenin’s connection to the hnRNPA2 protein restored this single-splice characteristic to breast cancer cells, suggesting that when splicing is normal, cells die in a programmed way, or become more sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs.
“So by applying this nutrient, we can activate that killing machinery. The nutrient eliminated the splicing form that inhibited cell death," Doseff said. “Thus, this suggests that when we eat healthfully, we are actually promoting more normal splice forms inside the cells in our bodies."
Sources:
- Ohio State University: The Compound in the Mediterranean Diet that Makes Cancer Cells ‘Mortal’
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