New study, shows that Sulforaphane from broccoli and broccoli sprouts can inhibit breast cancer cells.
5 May 2010
J. Valverde
Last March we had the opportunity to assist to the lecture that Prof. Elizabeth Jeffery (University of Illinois-Urbana, USA) gave on the anti-cancer properties of broccoli and plants form the same family, during the 2nd IPFN Symposium.
During this symposium, she highlighted the importance of a compound (called Sulforaphane) that might be the key to the anti-cancer properties of these plants.
A new study comprising several North American Universities gives more evidence that sulforaphane is the bioactive compound responsible of the anticancer properties of broccoli and broccoli sprouts.
The purpose of this new study was to evaluate the efficacy of sulforaphane to inhibit breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) and also to determine the potential mechanism of this inhibition.
Several assays, such as Aldefluor assay and mammosphere formation assay were used to evaluate the effect of sulforaphane on breast CSCs in vitro. To determine whether sulforaphane could target the CSCs in vivo, a model was used. This model was a nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient xenograft and tumor growth upon cell reimplantation in secondary mice.
Researchers report that sulforaphane (1-5 μmol/L) decreased aldehyde dehydrogenase-positive cell population by 65% to 80% in human breast cancer cells (P < 0.01) and reduced the size and number of primary mammospheres by 8- to 125-fold and 45% to 75% (P < 0.01), respectively.
A daily injection with 50 mg/kg sulforaphane for 2 weeks reduced aldehyde dehydrogenase-positive cells by >50% in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient xenograft tumors (P = 0.003). Sulforaphane eliminated breast CSCs in vivo, thereby abrogating tumor growth after the reimplantation of primary tumor cells into the secondary mice (P < 0.01). Western blotting analysis and β-catenin reporter assay showed that sulforaphane downregulated the Wnt/β-catenin self-renewal pathway.
Researchers conclude that Sulforaphane inhibits breast CSCs and downregulates the Wnt/β-catenin self-renewal pathway. These findings support the use of sulforaphane for the chemoprevention of breast cancer stem cells and warrant further clinical evaluation.
For further details on this study please see:
Li, Y.; Zhang, T.; Korkaya, H.; Liu, S.; Lee, H.-F.; Newman, B.; Yu, Y.; Clouthier, S. G.; Schwartz, S. J.; Wicha, M. S.; Sun, D., Sulforaphane, a Dietary Component of Broccoli/Broccoli Sprouts, Inhibits Breast Cancer Stem Cells. Clinical Cancer Research 16, (9), 2580-2590.
The article can be accesed on-line on the following link
