Affiliations: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing
University, Taichung, Taiwan | National Taichung First Senior High School, Taichung,
Taiwan | Chang-Hwa Hospital, Department of Health, Executive
Yuan, Chang-Hwa, Taiwan
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Kuo-Ning Shao, Chang-Hwa
Hospital, Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Chang-Hwa, 51341, Taiwan. Tel.:
+886 4 8298686 ext 8802; Fax: +886 4 8299962; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Tumor-associated NADH oxidase (tNOX, also known as ENOX2) is a
growth-related protein expressed in transformed cells. Previous reports have
revealed that the inhibition of tNOX activity by the anti-cancer drug,
capsaicin, correlates with a reduction in growth of cancer cells, indicating a
close relationship between tNOX activity and cell growth. Moreover, the study
of depleted tNOX expression by RNA interference in HeLa cells suggests that it
may be associated with the ability of tumor cells to acquire an aggressive
phenotype, particularly in relation to cell proliferation. A key role for tNOX
in regulating cell growth is further supported by the observation that the
growth rate of MEF cells from tNOX-overexpressing transgenic mice is
approximately two-fold greater than that of wild-type cells. The purpose of
this study was to investigate the anti-proliferative effect of capsaicin on
tNOX expression level in stomach cancer cells. We showed that capsaicin induced
cytotoxicity in SCM cells concomitantly with apoptosis, PARP cleavage, and
down-regulation of tNOX protein.
Keywords: Apoptosis, Capsaicin, Downregulation, SCM cells, tumor-associated NADH oxidase (tNOX also as ENOX2)
DOI: 10.3233/BIO-2009-1074
Journal: BioFactors, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 209-217, 2009
