Samuels Sue E, McLaren Teresa A, Knowles Andrew L, Stewart Sarah A, Madelmont Jean-Claude, Attaix Didier
Food, Nutrition & Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.
Cancer Lett. 2006 Jul 28;239(1):78-83. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2005.07.026. Epub 2005 Sep 2.
We studied the effect of chemotherapy on liver protein synthesis in mice bearing colon 26 adenocarcinoma (C26). Liver protein mass decreased (-32%; P<0.05) in cachectic mice, but protein synthesis increased (20-35%; P<0.05) in cachectic mice, which is consistent with increased export protein synthesis. Increased protein synthesis in tumour-bearing mice was primarily mediated by increasing ( approximately 15%; P<0.05) the RNA concentration, i.e. the capacity for protein synthesis (Cs; mg RNA/g protein). Cystemustine, a nitrosourea chemotherapy that cures C26 with 100% efficacy, rapidly restored liver protein mass; protein synthesis however stayed higher than in healthy mice ( approximately 15%) throughout the initial and later stages of recovery. Chemotherapy had no significant effect on liver protein mass and synthesis in healthy mice. Reduced food intake was not a factor in this model. These data suggest a high priority for liver protein synthesis during cancer cachexia and recovery.
