Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
J Nutr Biochem. 2011 Sep;22(9):799-806. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2010.11.001. Epub 2011 Feb 4.
The emergence of cancer stem cell theory has profound implications for cancer chemoprevention and therapy. Cancer stem cells give rise to the tumor bulk through continuous self-renewal and differentiation. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate self-renewal is of greatest importance for discovery of anticancer drugs targeting cancer stem cells. Naturally occurring dietary compounds have received increasing attention in cancer chemoprevention. The anticancer effects of many dietary components have been reported for both in vitro and in vivo studies. Recently, a number of studies have found that several dietary compounds can directly or indirectly affect cancer stem cell self-renewal pathways. Herein we review the current knowledge of most common natural dietary compounds for their impact on self-renewal pathways and potential effect against cancer stem cells. Three pathways (Wnt/β-catenin, Hedgehog and Notch) are summarized for their functions in self-renewal of cancer stem cells. The dietary compounds, including curcumin, sulforaphane, soy isoflavone, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, resveratrol, lycopene, piperine and vitamin D(3), are discussed for their direct or indirect effect on these self-renewal pathways. Curcumin and piperine have been demonstrated to target breast cancer stem cells. Sulforaphane has been reported to inhibit pancreatic tumor-initiating cells and breast cancer stem cells. These studies provide a basis for preclinical and clinical evaluation of dietary compounds for chemoprevention of cancer stem cells. This may enable us to discover more preventive strategies for cancer management by reducing cancer resistance and recurrence and improving patient survival.
癌症干细胞理论的出现对癌症化学预防和治疗具有深远的意义。癌症干细胞通过持续的自我更新和分化产生肿瘤块。了解调节自我更新的机制对于发现针对癌症干细胞的抗癌药物至关重要。天然存在的膳食化合物在癌症化学预防中受到越来越多的关注。许多膳食成分的抗癌作用已在体外和体内研究中得到报道。最近，许多研究发现，一些膳食化合物可以直接或间接地影响癌症干细胞自我更新途径。本文综述了常见天然膳食化合物对自我更新途径的影响及其对癌症干细胞潜在作用的最新知识。总结了三个途径（Wnt/β-catenin、Hedgehog 和 Notch）在癌症干细胞自我更新中的作用。讨论了姜黄素、萝卜硫素、大豆异黄酮、表没食子儿茶素-3-没食子酸酯、白藜芦醇、番茄红素、胡椒碱和维生素 D(3) 等膳食化合物对这些自我更新途径的直接或间接影响。姜黄素和胡椒碱已被证明靶向乳腺癌干细胞。萝卜硫素已被报道抑制胰腺起始肿瘤细胞和乳腺癌干细胞。这些研究为膳食化合物在癌症干细胞化学预防中的临床前和临床评估提供了依据。这可能使我们能够通过降低癌症耐药性和复发率以及提高患者生存率来发现更多的癌症管理预防策略。
