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Research: HUANG and COLLEAGUES,
Listed in Issue 162
Abstract
HUANG and COLLEAGUES, Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan studied the inhibition of tumour metastasis by lycopene at the molecular level.
Background
Lycopene has been shown to inhibit tumour metastasis in vitro, but it is unclear whether lycopene is antimetastatic in vivo.
Methodology
Nude mice were orally supplemented 2 times per week for 12 wk with a low or high dose of lycopene [1 or 20 mg/kg body weight (BW)] or with beta-carotene (20 mg/kg BW). Two weeks after the beginning of supplementation, mice were injected once with human hepatoma SK-Hep-1 cells via the tail vein. Plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) increased gradually in tumour-injected mice (tumour controls) following tumour injection, but were markedly lowered by lycopene or beta-carotene supplementation.
Results
Ten weeks after tumour injection, mice were killed and tumour metastasis was found to be confined to the lungs. Compared with the tumour controls, high-lycopene supplementation lowered the mean number of tumours from 14 +/- 8 to 3 +/- 5 (P < 0.05) and decreased tumour cross-sectional areas by 62% (P < 0.05). High-lycopene supplementation also decreased the positive rate of proliferating cellular nuclear antigen (PCNA), the level of VEGF, and protein expressions of PCNA, MMP-9, and VEGF in lung tissues. However, high-lycopene increased the protein expression of nm23-H1 (an antimetastatic gene) by 133% (P < 0.001). For most variables measured, effects of lycopene were dose dependent and the effect of beta-carotene was between those of high-dose and low-dose lycopene.
Conclusion
These results show that lycopene supplementation reduces experimental tumour metastasis in vivo and suggest that such an action is associated with attenuation of tumour invasion, proliferation, and angiogenesis.
References
Huang CS, Liao JW and Hu ML. Lycopene inhibits experimental metastasis of human hepatoma SK-Hep-1 cells in athymic nude mice.[see comment]. Journal of Nutrition. 138(3):538-43. Mar 2008. Comment in: J Nutr. 138(11): 2289. Nov 2008; author reply 2290; PMID: 18936233.
