Manoharan K, Banerjee M R
Cell Biol Int Rep. 1985 Sep;9(9):783-9. doi: 10.1016/0309-1651(85)90096-7.
Present studies in the mammary epithelial cell transformation model in organ culture showed that presence of beta-carotene during the 24 hr treatment (initiation stage) of the glands with the carcinogens, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (DENA) and N-methylnitrosourea (MNU), caused a highly significant (P less than 0.001-0.01) reduction of SCE induced by the same carcinogens. In contrast, 4-hydroxyphenyl retinamide (4-HPR) which is known to act at the promotional stage of carcinogenesis did not show any significant reduction of SCE. Thus findings suggest that beta-carotene can modify the DNA damaging effect of the carcinogens and thereby may also prevent the initiation of the carcinogenic process.
目前在器官培养的乳腺上皮细胞转化模型中的研究表明，在用致癌物7,12-二甲基苯并[a]蒽（DMBA）、N-亚硝基二乙胺（DENA）和N-甲基亚硝基脲（MNU）对腺体进行24小时处理（启动阶段）期间，β-胡萝卜素的存在导致相同致癌物诱导的姐妹染色单体交换（SCE）显著减少（P小于0.001 - 0.01）。相比之下，已知在致癌作用促进阶段起作用的4-羟基苯基视黄酰胺（4-HPR）并未显示出SCE的任何显著减少。因此，这些发现表明β-胡萝卜素可以改变致癌物对DNA的损伤作用，从而也可能预防致癌过程的启动。
