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Assessment of Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors by an Interrogation of Signal Transduction Pathways by Antibody Arrays
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Selenium and signal transduction: roads to cell death and anti-tumour activity

A Ghose1, J Fleming, P R Harrison

  • 1CRC Beatson Laboratories, The Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Garscube Estate, Switchback Road, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1BD, UK.

Biofactors (Oxford, England)
|September 25, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Selenium compounds may prevent oral cancer by inducing apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancer cells. This process involves the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway, a key regulator of cell death.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Growing evidence suggests a link between selenium intake and reduced cancer incidence.
  • Selenium's potential chemopreventive effects are attributed to mechanisms like inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis.
  • Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are critical regulators of cell death.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of MAPK pathways in selenium-induced apoptosis in oral cancer.
  • To compare the sensitivity of oral carcinoma cells and normal oral mucosa to selenium compounds.

Main Methods:

  • Primary cultures of oral cancer cells and normal oral mucosa from biopsy material were used.
  • Cells were treated with specific selenium compounds.
  • Apoptosis induction, Fas ligand expression, and MAPK pathway activation (including JNK) were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Oral carcinoma cells exhibited increased sensitivity to apoptosis upon treatment with certain selenium compounds compared to normal oral mucosa.
  • Selenium-induced apoptosis was associated with the induction of Fas ligand.
  • Signal transduction studies revealed alterations in MAPK pathways, with JNK pathway activation being crucial for selenium's apoptotic effect.

Conclusions:

  • Selenium compounds demonstrate potential in inducing apoptosis specifically in oral cancer cells.
  • The JNK pathway plays a significant role in mediating selenium-induced apoptosis in oral cancer.
  • These findings support selenium's chemopreventive potential against oral cancer.

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