Silibinin, a natural flavonoid, modulates the early expression of chemoprevention biomarkers in a preclinical model of colon carcinogenesis.

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Date publication

septembre 2012

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr MARESCAUX Jacques


Tous les auteurs :
Kauntz H, Bousserouel S, Gosse F, Marescaux J, Raul F

Résumé

The flavonolignan silibinin, the major biologically active compound of the milk thistle (Silybum marianum), has been shown to possess anticancer properties in a variety of epithelial cancers. The present study investigated the potential of silibinin as a chemopreventive agent in colon carcinogenesis. The rat azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colon carcinogenesis model was used because of its molecular and clinical similarities to sporadic human colorectal cancer. One week after AOM injection (post-initiation), Wistar rats received daily intragastric feeding of 300 mg silibinin/kg body weight per day until their sacrifice after 7 weeks of treatment. Silibinin-treated rats exhibited a 2-fold reduction in the number of AOM-induced hyperproliferative crypts and aberrant crypt foci in the colon compared to AOM-injected control rats receiving the vehicle. Silibinin-induced apoptosis in the colon mucosal cells was demonstrated by flow cytometry after propodium iodide staining and by colorimetric measurement of caspase-3 activity. Mechanisms involved in silibinin-induced apoptosis included the downregulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and upregulation of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax, inverting the Bcl-2/Bax ratio to

Référence

Int J Oncol. 2012 Sep;41(3):849-54