Omega-3 vetzuur tegen kanker*
Uit een Zweedse laboratoriumstudie blijkt dat het omega-3
vetzuur Docosahexaeenzuur
(DHA) niet alleen zelf kankercellen kan doden maar de derivaten van DHA die in de cellen gevormd worden nog beter zijn in het doden van kankercellen. Bij de proeven werd weefsel van neuroblastomen gebruikt doch de wetenschappers denken dat meerdere kankersoorten met DHA behandeld kunnen worden. (Neuroblastomen zijn kwaadaardige tumoren die zich ontwikkelen uit embryonaal zenuwweefsel. Ze komen voornamelijk voor bij kinderen en baby's.)
Scientists show omega-3 fatty acid and its derivatives kill neuroblastoma cancer cells
New research in the FASEB Journal suggests that many types of childhood and adult cancers may be successfully treated with docosahexaenoic acid and its derivatives
The next treatment for cancer might come from fish says a new research report published in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org). In the report, scientists show that the omega-3 fatty acid, "docosahexaenoic acid" or "DHA," and its derivatives in the body kill neuroblastoma cancer cells. This discovery could lead to new treatments for a wide range of cancers, including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, colon, breast, and prostate cancers, among others.
"We hope that this study can provide a deeper understanding of the actions of omega-3 fatty acids and their products in cancer cells, and why they can be of such high importance in treatment of the disease," said Helena Gleissman, Ph.D., co-author of the study from the Childhood Cancer Research Unit of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. "Ultimately, we hope that we can be able to cure more children with neuroblastoma, and possibly other cancers."
Scientists administered DHA to neuroblastoma cells from the nervous system and analyzed the cells for byproducts as the DHA was metabolized into the cells. Researchers then examined the affect of both DHA and its derivatives on the growth of cancer cells. Results showed that DHA killed the cancer cells, but that the toxic derivatives produced by DHA were even more effective at killing the cancer cells. This suggests that DHA could become a new agent for treating neuroblastoma and possibly many other cancers.
"This is good news for those looking to stop cancer. We now know that DHA plays both offense and defense when it comes to protecting our health," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. "It's ability to help prevent numerous diseases is well documented, but now we see that DHA or one of its byproducts might serve as the starting point for a new class of anti-cancer drugs."
Source: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Abstract:
Docosahexaenoic acid metabolome in neural tumors: identification of cytotoxic intermediates
Helena Gleissman*,1, Rong Yang , Kimberly Martinod , Magnus Lindskog*, Charles N. Serhan , John Inge Johnsen* and Per Kogner*
* Childhood Cancer Research Unit, Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and
Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1 Correspondence: Childhood Cancer Research Unit, Q6:05, Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: helena.gleissman@ki.se
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) protects neural cells from stress-induced apoptosis. On the contrary, DHA exerts anticancer effects, and we have shown that DHA induces apoptosis in neuroblastoma, an embryonal tumor of the sympathetic nervous system. We now investigate the DHA metabolome in neuroblastoma using a targeted lipidomic approach in order to elucidate the mechanisms behind the DHA-induced cytotoxicity. LC-MS/MS analysis was used to identify DHA-derived lipid mediators in neuroblastoma cells. Presence of the 15-lipoxygenase enzyme was investigated using immunoblotting, and cytotoxic potency of DHA and DHA-derived compounds was compared using the MTT cell viability assay. Neuroblastoma cells metabolized DHA to 17-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (17-HDHA) via 17-hydroperoxydocosahexaenoic acid (17-HpDHA) through 15-lipoxygenase and autoxidation. In contrast to normal neural cells, neuroblastoma cells did not produce the anti-inflammatory and protective lipid mediators, resolvins and protectins. 17-HpDHA had significant cytotoxic potency, with an IC50 of 3–6 µM at 72 h, compared to 12–15 µM for DHA. -Tocopherol protected cells from 17-HpDHA-induced cytotoxicity. DHA inhibited secretion of prostaglandin-E2 and augmented the cytotoxic potency of the cyclooxygenase-2-inhibitor celecoxib. The cytotoxic effect of DHA in neuroblastoma is mediated through production of hydroperoxy fatty acids that accumulate to toxic intracellular levels with restricted production of its products, resolvins and protectins.—Gleissman, H., Yang, R., Martinod, K., Lindskog, M., Serhan, C. N., Johnsen, J. I., Kogner, P. Docosahexaenoic acid metabolome in neural tumors: identification of cytotoxic
intermediates. (Mei 2010)
