TITLE:
Potential of Lunasin Orally-Administered in Comparison to Intraperitoneal Injection to Inhibit Colon Cancer Metastasis in Vivo
AUTHORS:
Vermont P. Dia, Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia
KEYWORDS:
Lunasin; Colon Cancer; Metastasis; Apoptosis; Histones
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.4 No.6B,
July
5,
2013
ABSTRACT: Lunasin is a bioactive peptide originally isolated from soybean and has demonstrated chemopreventive and anti-cancer properties against skin, colon and breast cancers. The objective of the study was to evaluate the capability of intraperitoneally and orally-administered soybean-derived peptide lunasin to inhibit KM12L4 human colon cancer cell metastasis in a mouse model. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of lunasin (4 mg/kg bw/day) reduced the number of liver metastasis by 50% (P = 0.047) and the liver weight/body weight ratio by 23% (P = 0.039). Oral administration of lunasin reduced the number of liver metastasis by 56% (8 mg/kg bw/day, P = 0.293) and 94% (20 mg/kg bw/day, P = 0.247). Immunohistochemical staining of the liver-tissue section showed that lunasin at 20 mg/kg bw dose did not significantly reduce the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, increased the expression of proapoptotic Bax by 2.7-fold but also increased the expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 by 3.8-fold. Regarding epigenetic markers, H3K18 was not significantly affected by either oral dose while H4K8 was dose dependently increased by 2.3-fold (P = 0.001, 8 mg/kg bw) and 2.7-fold (P s of administration used leading to digestion of lunasin when given by oral gavage. In conclusion, lunasin reduced colon cancer metastasis in vivo; however, more studies are needed to determine the oral dose of lunasin and prevent colon cancer metastasis.