Lycopene breast cancer

Connexin 43 is one of the cell membrane gap junction proteins that allow for cell to cell communication. Cancer cell transformation is correlated with the loss of Connexin 43 expression (Hussain et al. 1989, Zhang et al. 1992). Lycopene increased Connexin 43 expression in fetal skin fibroblasts (Stahl et al. 2000), oral cancer KB-1 cells grown in organotypic rafts (Livny et al. 2003) and breast cancer cell lines (Chalabi et al. 2007). 

King-Batoon et al. have found that the physiological concentrations of lycopene (2pM) partially demethylated the promoter for GSTP1 and restored its expression in the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-468, but RAR0 was not demethylated. However, lycopene did induce the demethylation of RARp in MCF10A fibrocystic cells (King-Batoon et al. 2008). Genistein, in this study, was less active compared to lycopene. 

Hirsch, K, A Atzmon, M Danilenko, J Levy, and Y Sharoni. 2007. Lycopene and other carotenoids inhibit estrogenic activity of 17 beta-estradiol and genistein in cancer cells. Breast Cancer Res Treat 104 221-230. 

King-Batoon, A, JM Leszczynska, and CB Klein. 2008. Modulation of gene methylation by genistein or lycopene in breast cancer cells. Environ Mol Mutagen 46 36 -5. 

Voskuil, DW, A Vrieling, CM Korse et al. 2008. Effects of lycopene on the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in premenopausal breast cancer surviviors and women at high familial breast cancer risk. Nutr Cancer 60(3) 342-353. 

Uppala et al. [10] Breast cancer Inhibition of cell proliferation Lycopene was shown to modulate cell cycle proteins such as beta tubulin, CK8/18, CK19, and heat shock proteins in MCF-7 breast cancer cells... 

Uppala PT, Dissmore T, Lau BH, Andacht T, Rajaram S (2012) Selective inhibition of cell proliferation by lycopene in MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro a proteomic analysis. Phytother Res. doi 10.1002 tr.4764... 

Sahin K, Tuzcu M, Sahin N, Akdemir F, Ozercan I, Bayraktar S, Kucuk O (2011) Inhibitory effects of combination of lycopene and genistein on 7,12-dimethyl benz(a)anthracene-induced breast cancer in rats. Nutr Cancer 63 1279-1286... 

Sesso HD, Buring JE, Zhang SM, Norkus EP, Gaziano JM (2005) Dietary and plasma lycopene and the risk of breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 14 1074-1081... 

Epidemiologic studies have also observed lower rates of bladder, cervical, and breast cancers as well as cancers of the gastrointestinal tract among people with high intake of lycopene. The discovery of significant concentrations of lycopene in specific tissues in the body, i.e., plasma, testes, adrenal glands, liver and kidney, suggests that lycopene may play a role in these tissues. 

Nahum, A., K. Hirsch, M. Danilenko et al. 2001. Lycopene inhibition of cell cycle progression in breast and endometrial cancer cells is associated with reduction in cyclin D levels and retention of p27(Kipl) in the cyclin E-cdk2 complexes. Oncogene 20(26) 3428-3436. 

---