BACKGROUND/AIM: The antitumor effect of fucoxanthin, a marine carotenoid found in brown algae, was investigated on prostate cancer cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: LNCap prostate cancer cells were treated with fucoxanthin and the effects were evaluated in relation to cell proliferation, cell cycle, expression of growth arrest, DNA damage-inducible protein (GADD45) genes, and phosphorylation status of mitogen-activated protein kinases.
RESULTS: Fucoxanthin inhibited the growth of LNCap prostate cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Growth-inhibitory effects were accompanied by the induction of GADD45A expression and G(1) cell cycle arrest, but not apoptosis. Furthermore, fucoxanthin activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK), while the inhibition of SAPK/JNK attenuated the induction of G(1) arrest and GADD45A expression by fucoxanthin.
CONCLUSION: These results show that fucoxanthin induces G(1) cell cycle arrest in prostate cancer cells, and suggest that ADD45A and SAPK/JNK might be involved in these effects.
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Satomi Y Are you the author?
Suzuka University of Medical Science, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 3500-3, Minamitamagaki, Suzuka, Mie 513-8670, Japan.
Reference: Anticancer Res. 2012 Mar;32(3):807-13.
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22399598