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Researchers Identify Components in Pomegranate
Juice That Could Stop Cancer From Spreading
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Research could lead to new drug therapies to fight cancer
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Researchers
at the University of California, Riverside have identified
components in pomegranate juice that both inhibit the movement
of cancer cells and weaken their attraction to a chemical
signal that promotes the metastasis of prostate cancer to
the bone. The research could lead to new therapies for preventing
cancer metastasis.
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December
12, 2010) --RIVERSIDE,
California
Performed in the lab of Manuela Martins-Green,
a professor of cell biology, the research was presented
today (Dec. 12, 2010) at the 50th annual meeting of
the American Society for Cell Biology taking place
in Philadelphia.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related
deaths in men in the United States. To date, there is
no cure for it. If prostate cancer recurs after treatments
of surgery and/or radiation, usually the next treatment
is the suppression of the male hormone testosterone, which
inhibits the growth of the cancer cells because they need
this hormone to grow. But over time, the cancer develops
ways to resist hormone suppression therapies, becomes
very aggressive, and metastasizes to the bone marrow,
lungs, and lymph nodes, usually resulting in the patient's
death.
The Martins-Green lab applied pomegranate juice on laboratory-cultured
prostate cancer cells that were resistant to testosterone
(the more resistant a cancer cell is to testosterone,
the more prone it is to metastasizing).
The researchers “ Martins-Green, graduate student Lei
Wang and undergraduate students Andre Alcon and Jeffrey
Ho found that the pomegranate juice-treated tumor cells
that had not died with the treatment showed increased
cell adhesion (meaning fewer cells breaking away) and
decreased cell migration.
Next, the researchers identified the following active
groups of ingredients in pomegranate juice that had
a molecular impact on cell adhesion and migration in
metastatic prostate cancer cells: phenylpropanoids,
hydrobenzoic acids, flavones and conjugated fatty acids.
"Having identified them, we can now modify cancer-inhibiting
components in pomegranate juice to improve their functions
and make them more effective in preventing prostate cancer
metastasis, leading to more effective drug therapies,"
Martins-Green said. "ecause the genes and proteins
involved in the movement of prostate cancer cells are
essentially the same as those involved in the movement
of other types of cancer cells, the same modified components
of the juice could have a much broader impact in cancer
treatment."
Martins-Green explained that an important protein produced
in the bone marrow causes the cancer cells to move to
the bone where they can then form new tumors.
"We show that pomegranate juice markedly inhibits
the function of this protein, and thus this juice has
the potential of preventing metastasis of the prostate
cancer cells to the bone," Martins-Green said.
Next, her lab plans to do additional tests in an in
vivo model for prostate cancer metastasis to determine
whether the same cancer-inhibiting components that work
in cultured cells can prevent metastasis without side
effects.
RELATED LINKS
ADDITIONAL
CONTACTS
The University
of California, Riverside (http://www.ucr.edu/)
is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for
groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland
Southern California, the state and communities around the
world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment
has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical
school in 2012 and has reached the heart of the Coachella
Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center. The
campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than
$1 billion.
NEWS
MEDIA CONTACT
Name:
Iqbal Pittalwala
Tel: (951) 827-6050
E-mail: iqbal@ucr.edu
Manuela
Martins-Green is a professor of cell biology at UC Riverside.
Photo credit: UCR Strategic Communications.
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