Anti-carcinogenic actions of glycoprotein conjugated with isoflavones from submerged-liquid culture of Agaricus blazei mycelia through reciprocal expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins / 동물의과학연구지

Glycoproteins isolated from fruit bodies and mycelial cultures of mushrooms exhibit anti-carcinogenic actions in human cancer cells and animal tumor cells by induction of apoptosis. Here, we report that isoflavone-conjugated glycoproteins (designate Gluvone), exhibit strong anti-carcinogenic effects on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells by induction of apoptosis. Gluvone with 9.4 kDa of molecular weight was isolated from submerged-liquid culture of Agaricus blazei mycelia (ABM) in soy flake-containing liquid medium. MCF-7 cells were incubated with various amounts of Gluvone (0~250 microM) for a period of 6 days. Gluvone exhibited anti-proliferative actions in a dose-dependent manner and 62% growth inhibition at 200 microM for 4 days relative to control. Hoechst 33258 staining analysis revealed that Gluvone induced formation of apoptotic bodies. Gluvone was associated with down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein expression as well as up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax protein expression. Gluvone treatment induced proteolytic activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 through cytochrome c release from mitochondria to cytosol as well as concomitant degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). In addition, Gluvone induced activation of caspase-8. Taken all together, these results indicate that the anti-proliferative effect of Gluvone is associated with induction of apoptotic cell death through the mitochondrial dysfunction pathway mediated by enhancement of Bax protein expression and suppression of Bcl-2 protein expression.

Anti-proliferative efficacy comparison of conjugated linoleic acid on human cancer cell lines / 동물의과학연구지

The anti-proliferative efficacy of t,t-conjugated linoleic acid (t,t-CLA), c9,t11-CLA, and t10,c12-CLA was compared in several human cancer cell lines. Gastric NCI-N87, liver Hep3B, pancreas Capan-2, and lung NCI-H522 cancer cells were incubated with 50 microM CLA isomers over a period of 6 days. The t,t-CLA inhibited the growth of all cancer cell lines to different extents, but c9,t11-CLA and t10,c12-CLA inhibited or stimulated the growth of the cancer cell lines. NCI-N87 cells were the most sensitive to growth inhibition and apoptosis from all CLA isomers tested. In NCI-N87 cells, CLA isomers reduced the release of arachidonic acid (AA) via the inhibition of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) activity, consequently reducing the production of PGE2 through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The efficacies of CLA isomers were in the following order (from most to least effective): t,t-CLA, t10,c12-CLA and c9,t11-CLA. Overall, these results imply that the anti-proliferative efficacy of t,t-CLA on cancer cells, especially NCI-N87 cells, was greater than other CLA isomers due to its induction of apoptosis through the inhibition of cPLA2 and COX-2 activities.

MR Imaging in Endometrial Carcinoma as a Diagnostic Tool for the Prediction of Myometrial Invasion and Lymph Node Metastasis / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors that are associated with the accuracy of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for predicting myometrial invasion and lymph node metastasis in women with endometrial carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and preoperative MR imaging reports of 128 women who had pathologically proven endometrial carcinoma. We compared the MR imaging and the histopathology findings. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for identifing any myometrial invasion (superficial or deep) were 0.81, 0.61 and 0.74, respectively; these values for deep myometrial invasion were 0.60, 0.94 and 0.86, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MR imaging for detecting lymph node metastasis were 50.0%, 96.6% and 93.0%, respectively. The patients who were older, had more deliveries and a larger tumor size more frequently had incorrect prediction of deep myometrial invasion (p=0.034, p=0.044, p=0.061, respectively). A higher tumor grade, a histology other than the endometrioid type, myometrial invasion on MR findings and a larger tumor size were associated with a more frequent false-negative prediction of lymph node metastasis (p=0.018, p=0.017, p=0.002, p=0.047, respectively). A larger tumor size was also associated with more frequent false-positive results (p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: There are several factors that make accurate assessment of myometrial invasion or lymph node metastasis difficult with using MRI; therefore, the patients with these factors should have their MR findings cautiously interpreted.