Sustained systemic delivery of green tea polyphenols by polymeric implants significantly diminishes benzo[a]pyrene-induced DNA adducts.

The polyphenolics in green tea are believed to be the bioactive components. However, poor bioavailability following ingestion limits their efficacy in vivo. In this study, polyphenon E (poly E), a standardized green tea extract, was administered by sustained-release polycaprolactone implants (two, 2-cm implants; 20% drug load) grafted subcutaneously or via drinking water (0.8% w/v) to female S/D rats. Animals were treated with continuous low dose of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) via subcutaneous polymeric implants (2 cm; 10% load) and euthanized after 1 and 4 weeks. Analysis of lung DNA by (32)P-postlabeling resulted in a statistically significant reduction (50%; p = 0.023) of BP-induced DNA adducts in the implant group; however, only a modest (34%) but statistically insignificant reduction occurred in the drinking water group at 1 week. The implant delivery system also showed significant reduction (35%; p = 0.044) of the known BP diolepoxide-derived DNA adduct after 4 weeks. Notably, the total dose of poly E administered was >100-fold lower in the implant group than the drinking water group (15.7 versus 1,632 mg, respectively). Analysis of selected phase I, phase II, and nucleotide excision repair enzymes at both mRNA and protein levels showed no significant modulation by poly E, suggesting that the reduction in the BP-induced DNA adducts occurred presumably due to known scavenging of the antidiolepoxide of BP by the poly E catechins. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that sustained systemic delivery of poly E significantly reduced BP-induced DNA adducts in spite of its poor bioavailability following oral administration.

[Natural compounds in chemoprevention of esophageal squamous cell tumors--experimental studies]. / Srodki pochodzenia naturalnego w chemoprewencji raka plaskonablonkowego przelyku--badania doswiadczalne.

Chemoprevention refers to prevention of tumor formation due to administration of nontoxic synthetic or natural compounds, which can block or weaken the influence of carcinogens on target cells or even reverse previously formed lesions. In esophageal squamous cell carcinoma--which belongs to the group of the most aggressive tumors of digestive system with poor prognosis--an effective prevention would be strongly expected. Chemopreventive properties of many complex diets and pure natural compounds were evaluated until now. Most studies were performed on rats exposed to chemical carcinogens, usually N-nitroso-N-methylbenzylamine (NMBA). The best effects were achieved after administration of diallyl sulfide and phenethyl isothiocyanate. Lyophilized black raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, as well as products obtained from leaves and buds of tea plant, elagic acid and resveratrol were also very effective. Mechanisms of chemopreventive action were associated with, i.e., activity of enzymes involved in carcinogen metabolic activation (mostly cytochrome P450 isoenzymes), inhibition of DNA adducts formation and modulation of gene expression involved in regulation of proliferation, apoptosis and angiogenesis. However, some agents e.g., perillyl alcohol, could enhance development of proliferative lesions in esophageal epithelium.

Differential inhibition of UV-induced activation of NF kappa B and AP-1 by extracts from black raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries.

Recent studies from our laboratory have shown that the transactivation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) plays an important mechanistic role in ultraviolet (UV)-induced skin carcinogenesis in mice. We also demonstrated that a methanol extract (ME) fraction from black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) (RO; RO-ME) inhibits benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide [B(a)PDE]-induced activation of NF kappa B and AP-1 in cultured mouse epidermal cells. In the present study, we determined if RO-ME might also inhibit the induction of NF kappa B and AP-1 in mouse epidermal cells exposed to mid UV radiation (UVB) and short UV radiation (UVC) and whether methanol fractions from strawberries and blueberries would also be effective. Our results showed that RO-ME inhibited UVB-induced activation of NF kappa B in mouse epidermal cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner; however, the methanol fractions from strawberries and blueberries were ineffective. Interestingly, none of the fractions from all 3 berry types inhibited UVB- or UVC-induced activation of AP-1, suggesting that inhibition of UV-induced signaling pathways is specific for black raspberries and NF kappa B. Cyanidin-3-rutinoside, an anthocyanin found in abundance in black raspberries and not in strawberries or high-bush blueberries, was found to contribute to the inhibition of UVB-induced activation of NF kappa B. These results suggest that berries differ in their ability to influence signaling pathways leading to activation of NF kappa B and AP-1 when using UV light as the inducer.

Protection against esophageal cancer in rodents with lyophilized berries: potential mechanisms.

For several years, our laboratory has been evaluating the ability of lyophilized (freeze-dried) black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis, BRBs), blackberries (R. fructicosus, BBs), and strawberries (Fragaria ananasia, STRWs) to inhibit carcinogen-induced cancer in the rodent esophagus. To assure "standardized" berry preparations for study, each berry type is of the same cultivar, picked at about the same degree of ripeness, washed and frozen within 2-4 h of the time of picking, and freeze-dried under conditions that preserve the components in the berries. Some of the known chemopreventive agents in berries include vitamins A, C, and E and folic acid; calcium and selenium; beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and lutein; polyphenols such as ellagic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, quercetin, and several anthocyanins; and phytosterols such as beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and kaempferol. In initial bioassays, freeze-dried STRW, BRB, and BB powders were mixed into AIN-76A synthetic diet at concentrations of 5% and 10% and fed to Fischer 344 rats before, during, and after treatment with the esophageal carcinogen N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA). At 25 wk of the bioassay, all three berry types were found to inhibit the number of esophageal tumors (papillomas) in NMBA-treated animals by 24-56% relative to NMBA controls. This inhibition correlated with reductions in the formation of the NMBA-induced O6-methylguanine adduct in esophageal DNA, suggesting that the berries influenced the metabolism of NMBA leading to reduced DNA damage. Studies are ongoing to determine the mechanisms by which berries influence NMBA metabolism and DNA adduct formation. BRBs and STRWs were also tested in a postinitiation scheme and were found to inhibit NMBA-induced esophageal tumorigenesis by 31-64% when administered in the diet following treatment of the animals with NMBA. Berries, therefore, inhibit tumor promotion and progression events as well as tumor initiation. In vivo mechanistic studies with BRBs indicate that they reduce the growth rate of premalignant esophageal cells, in part, through down-regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 leading to reduced prostaglandin production and of inducible nitric oxide synthase leading to reduced nitrate/nitrite levels in the esophagus. Based upon the preclinical data on rodents, we have initiated prevention trials in humans to determine if berries might exhibit chemopreventive effects in the esophagus.

Chemopreventive n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reprogram genetic signatures during colon cancer initiation and progression in the rat.

The mechanisms by which n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) decrease colon tumor formation have not been fully elucidated. Examination of genes up- or down-regulated at various stages of tumor development via the monitoring of gene expression relationships will help to determine the biological processes ultimately responsible for the protective effects of n-3 PUFA. Therefore, using a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial design, we used Codelink DNA microarrays containing approximately 9000 genes to help decipher the global changes in colonocyte gene expression profiles in carcinogen-injected Sprague Dawley rats. Animals were assigned to three dietary treatments differing only in the type of fat (corn oil/n-6 PUFA, fish oil/n-3 PUFA, or olive oil/n-9 monounsaturated fatty acid), two treatments (injection with the carcinogen azoxymethane or with saline), and two time points (12 hours and 10 weeks after first injection). Only the consumption of n-3 PUFA exerted a protective effect at the initiation (DNA adduct formation) and promotional (aberrant crypt foci) stages. Importantly, microarray analysis of colonocyte gene expression profiles discerned fundamental differences among animals treated with n-3 PUFA at both the 12 hours and 10-week time points. Thus, in addition to demonstrating that dietary fat composition alters the molecular portrait of gene expression profiles in the colonic epithelium at both the initiation and promotional stages of tumor development, these findings indicate that the chemopreventive effect of fish oil is due to the direct action of n-3 PUFA and not to a reduction in the content of n-6 PUFA.

Gypenosides inhibited N-acetylation of 2-aminofluorene, N-acetyltransferase gene expression and DNA adduct formation in human cervix epithelioid carcinoma cells (HeLa).

N-acetylation plays an important role in the metabolism of arylamine drugs and carcinogens and is catalyzed by cytosolic N-acetyltransferase (NAT). Gypenosides are the major components of Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino which had been used as a natural folk medicine in the Chinese populations. Gypenosides were selected for examining the inhibition on the N-acetylation of 2-aminofluorene (AF), DNA-AF adduct formation and NAT gene expression in the human cervix epithelioid carcinoma cell line (HeLa). Various concentrations of gypenosides were individually added to the culture medium of human cervix epithelioid carcinoma cells (HeLa). The N-acetylation of AF was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assaying for the amounts of acetylated 2-aminofluorene (AAF) and nonacetylated 2-aminofluorene (AF). The N-acetylation of AF in the human HeLa cancer cells was suppressed by gypenosides in a dose-dependent manner. The data also demonstrated that gene expression (NAT1 mRNA) of NAT in human cervix epithelioid carcinoma cells (HeLa) was inhibited and decreased by gypenosides. After the incubation of HeLa cells with 30 or 60 microM AF and with or without 350 microg/ml gypenosides cotreatment, DNA was isolated and hydrolyzed to nucleotides, adducted nucleotides were extracted into butanol and analyzed DNA-AF adducts by HPLC. The data demonstrated that gypenosides decrease the levels of DNA-AF adduct formation in HeLa cells.

Oral administration of the citrus coumarin, isopimpinellin, blocks DNA adduct formation and skin tumor initiation by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene in SENCAR mice.

The current study was designed to evaluate the effects of oral administration of the citrus coumarin, isopimpinellin, on skin tumor initiation by topically applied benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). To evaluate the effects of orally administered isopimpinellin on skin tumor initiation by B[a]P and DMBA, its effects on DNA adduct formation were first evaluated. Female SENCAR mice were pre-treated twice with corn oil, or isopimpinellin (70 mg/kg body wt per os) at 24 h and 2 h prior to topical treatment with B[a]P or DMBA. Another citrus coumarin, imperatorin, was also included in these experiments for comparison. Orally administered isopimpinellin and imperatorin significantly inhibited B[a]P-DNA adduct formation by 37 and 26%, respectively. Imperatorin also blocked DMBA-DNA adduct formation by 43%. In a second dose-response study, orally administered isopimpinellin (35, 70 and 150 mg/kg) blocked DMBA-DNA adduct formation by 23, 56 and 69%, respectively. For the tumor study, mice were pretreated orally with corn oil or isopimpinellin at 24 and 2 h prior to initiation with DMBA, and 2 weeks later promotion began with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Isopimpinellin significantly reduced the mean number of papillomas per mouse by 49, 73 and 78% compared to corn oil controls at 30, 70 and 150 mg/kg body wt, respectively. Orally administered isopimpinellin also significantly reduced the percentage of mice with papillomas at the highest dose tested (150 mg/kg). The effectiveness of isopimpinellin given topically over a broad dose range against DMBA tumor initiation was also evaluated for comparison. As part of this study, several parameters of systemic toxicity were evaluated following oral dosing with isopimpinellin and imperatorin. Mice were treated orally with corn oil, isopimpinellin or imperatorin (35, 70 and 150 mg/kg body wt per os) once daily for four consecutive days, killed at 24 h after the last dose, and livers, lungs, and kidneys evaluated histologically. In addition, urinary parameters of nephrotoxicity, blood parameters of liver and kidney function, and thrombin clotting time were assayed. No significant changes in blood clotting, or renal or hepatic function were observed. There was, however, a significant increase in liver wt accompanied by cytoplasmic vacuolation of hepatocytes. There were no histopathological changes in lungs or kidneys. Overall, these data indicate that isopimpinellin (and imperatorin) have chemopreventive effects when administered orally on skin tumor initiation by DMBA.

Baicalein inhibits DMBA-DNA adduct formation by modulating CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 activities.

Flavonoids are phenolic compounds isolated from plants, and several of them like genistein and quercetin, have been documented to be effective in preventing cancer. Baicalein, a flavonoid extracted from the root of Scutellaria species, is widely used as a health supplement and herbal medicine in Asian countries. In this study, the chemopreventive effect of baicalein on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced DNA damage was evaluated in an established cell culture model. In a preliminary screening, baicalein was identified to be a strong inhibitor to EROD activities induced by DMBA in MCF-7 cells. Subsequent enzyme kinetic analysis revealed that baicalein was a competitive inhibitor to EROD, and CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 gene expressions were also determined. Baicalein could reduce the CYP1A1/1B1 mRNA expressions induced by DMBA, and the mRNA abundance of CYP1A1 appeared to be more responsive than that of CYP1B1. A XRE-luciferase gene reporter assay indicated that AhR transactivation was suppressed. Since CYP1A1/1B1 were responsible for the biotransformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, baicalein also demonstrated its ability to reduce DMBA-DNA adduct formation in MCF-7 cells. This study suggested that the natural occurring baicalein could be an agent preventing carcinogen-DNA adduct formation.

[Direct detoxification of N-acetoxy-PhIP by tea polyphenols: a possible mechanism for chemoprevention against PhIP-DNA adduct formation in vivo].

OBJECTIVE: We have shown that green tea inhibited food-borne carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP)-induced carcinogen-DNA adduct formation in rats, and this protective effect of tea appears not relote to the modifications of metabolic enzymes involved in PhIP metabolism. The aim of this study was to explore the direct reaction of tea and tea polyphenols with N-acetoxy-PhIP, an ultimate carcinogen of PhIP formed via metabolic activation. METHODS: DNA binding assays were conducted to examine the effect of aqueous extract of tea and tea polyphenols on the reaction of [3H]N-acetoxy-PhIP with DNA. The reaction mixtures were analyzed by HPLC for the possible product (s) formed by the reaction of [3H]N-acetoxy-PhIP with tea polyphenols. RESULTS: It was found that agueous extract of tea and tea polyphenols strongly inhibited covalent binding of [3H]N-acetoxy-PhIP to DNA, and the inhibition was concentration-dependent with respect to inhibitors. HPLC analyses of reaction mixture containing [3H]N-acetoxy-PhIP and tea polyphenols revealed the production of the parent amine, PhIP, indicating a redox mechanism. CONCLUSION: In view of the presence of tea polyphenols in rat and human plasma after ingestion of tea, these results suggest that direct reduction of ultimate carcinogen N-acetoxy-PhIP by tea polyphenols is likely to be involved in the mechanism of chemoprevention of tea against PhIP-DNA adduct formation in vivo.

Inhibition of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adduct formation by Aloe barbadensis Miller.

The antigenotoxic and chemopreventive effect of Aloe barbadensis Miller (polysaccharide fraction) on benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)-DNA adducts was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Aloe showed a time-course and dose-dependent inhibition of [3H]B[a]P-DNA adduct formation in primary rat hepatocytes (1x10(6) cells/ml) treated with [3H]B[a]P (4 nmol/ml). At concentrations of 0.4-250 microg/ml aloe, the binding of [3H]B[a]P metabolites to rat hepatocyte DNA was inhibited by 9.1-47.9%. Also, in rat hepatocytes cultured for 3-48 h with aloe (250 microg/ml) and [3H]B[a]P (4 nmol/ml), [3H]B[a]P-DNA adducts were significantly reduced by 36% compared with [3H]B[a]P alone. Aloe also inhibited cellular uptake of [3H]B[a]P in a dose-dependent manner at a concentration of 0.4-250 microg/ml by 6.3-34.1%. After a single oral administration of B[a]P to male ICR mice (10 mg/mouse), benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide I (BPDE-I)-DNA adduct formation and persistence for 16 days following daily treatment with aloe (50 mg/mouse) were quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using monoclonal antibody 8E11. In this animal model, BPDE-I-DNA adduct formation was significantly inhibited in various organs (liver, kidney, forestomach and lung) (P < 0.001). When mice were pretreated with aloe for 16 days before B[a]P treatment, inhibition of BPDE-I-DNA adduct formation and persistence was enhanced. Glutathione S-transferase activity was slightly increased in the liver but cytochrome P450 content was not affected by aloe. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of aloe on BPDE-I-DNA adduct formation might have a chemopreventive effect by inhibition of B[a]P absorption.

Protection by green tea, black tea, and indole-3-carbinol against 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline-induced DNA adducts and colonic aberrant crypts in the F344 rat.

Male F344 rats were exposed for 8 weeks to extracts of green tea (2% w/v) or black tea (1% w/v), or to 0.1% dietary indole-3-carbinol (I3C). In weeks 3 and 4 of the study, rats were given 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) every other day by oral gavage (50 mg/kg body wt) in order to induce aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon. Compared with controls given IQ alone, all three inhibitors reduced the number of total aberrant crypts per colon, and green tea and I3C inhibited significantly the mean number of ACF (P < 0.05). Rats pre-treated with green tea, black tea, or I3C and given a single p.o. injection of 50 mg IQ/kg body wt 24-48 h before sacrifice had reduced levels of IQ-DNA adducts in the liver, and excreted lower amounts of IQ and other promutagens in the urine and feces. Inhibitors also reduced the excretion of IQ-sulfamate in the urine, but increased the relative amounts of IQ-5-O-sulfate and IQ-5-O-glucuronide. Western blotting together with assays for 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase and methoxyresorufin O-demethylase established that I3C preferentially induced cytochrome P4501A1 over 1A2, consistent with the altered profile of urinary metabolites. However, both teas caused slight induction of cytochrome P4501A2 versus 1A1, which would be predicted to enhance the activation of IQ. Thus, green tea and black tea are likely to protect against IQ-DNA adducts and ACF by mechanisms other than induction of cytochromes P450, such as inhibition of enzymes which activate IQ or the scavenging of reactive intermediates.