Regulation of colorectal cancer cell apoptosis by the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids Docosahexaenoic and Eicosapentaenoic.

ABSTRACT: Several studies have suggested that the n-3 fatty acids Docosahexaenoic (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic (EPA) have an important protective effect on colorectal cancer, and this could be at least partly due to their proapoptotic activity. It is unclear, however, how this phenomenon is triggered and what mechanisms are implicated. Here, we show that both DHA and EPA have an important proapoptotic effect on colorectal cancer cells with different molecular phenotypes but not in noncancerous cells. Apoptosis is caspase dependent, and both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways are implicated. The dimerization of Bax and Bak, the depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane, and the subsequent release of cytochrome c and Smac/Diablo to the cytosol evidence the activation of the intrinsic pathway. The impli

SUBMITTER: Giros A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3793343 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature