Xu Yi, Qian Steven Y
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
Biomed J. 2014 May-Jun;37(3):112-9. doi: 10.4103/2319-4170.131378.
The ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are two major families of PUFAs present as essential cellular components which possess diverse bioactivities. The ω-3s, mainly found in seafood, are associated with many beneficial effects on human health, while the ω-6s are more abundant in our daily diet and could be implicated in many pathological processes including cancer development. Increasing evidence suggests that the adverse effects of ω-6s may be largely attributed to arachidonic acid (AA, a downstream ω-6) and the metabolite prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) that stems from its cyclooxygenase (COX)-catalyzed lipid peroxidation. On the other hand, two of AA's upstream ω-6s, γ-linolenic acid (GLA) and dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), are shown to possess certain anti-cancer activities, including inducing cell apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation. In this paper, we review the documented anti-cancer activities of ω-6 PUFAs, including the recent findings regarding the anti-cancer effects of free radical-mediated DGLA peroxidation. The possible mechanisms and applications of DGLA (and other ω-6s) in inducing anti-cancer activity are also discussed. Considering the wide availability of ω-6s in our daily diet, the study of the potential beneficial effect of ω-6 PUFAs may guide us to develop an ω-6-based diet care strategy for cancer prevention and treatment.
ω-3和ω-6多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFAs）是作为必需细胞成分存在的两类主要PUFAs，具有多种生物活性。ω-3主要存在于海鲜中，对人体健康有许多有益影响，而ω-6在我们的日常饮食中更为丰富，可能与包括癌症发展在内的许多病理过程有关。越来越多的证据表明，ω-6的不良影响可能很大程度上归因于花生四烯酸（AA，一种下游ω-6）及其代谢产物前列腺素E2（PGE2），后者源于其环氧化酶（COX）催化的脂质过氧化作用。另一方面，AA的两种上游ω-6，γ-亚麻酸（GLA）和二高-γ-亚麻酸（DGLA），已显示具有某些抗癌活性，包括诱导细胞凋亡和抑制细胞增殖。在本文中，我们综述了已记录的ω-6 PUFAs的抗癌活性，包括关于自由基介导的DGLA过氧化作用的抗癌效果的最新发现。还讨论了DGLA（和其他ω-6）诱导抗癌活性的可能机制和应用。鉴于ω-6在我们日常饮食中的广泛可得性，对ω-6 PUFAs潜在有益作用的研究可能会指导我们制定基于ω-6的饮食护理策略用于癌症预防和治疗。
