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Genomics-based identification of molecular mechanisms behind the cancer preventive action of phytochemicals:

Theo M C M de Kok1, Simone G J van Breda, Jacob J Briedé

  • 1Department of Toxicogenomics, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. t.dekok@grat.unimaas.nl

Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
|April 7, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Dietary phytochemicals from fruits and vegetables may lower cancer risk. Advanced "omics" technologies, like transcriptomics and epigenetics, are revealing the molecular mechanisms behind these protective effects.

Area of Science:

  • Nutritional Genomics
  • Molecular Oncology
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • High intake of dietary phytochemicals is linked to reduced cancer risk.
  • "Omics" technologies offer holistic data on biological responses to diet.
  • Understanding molecular mechanisms enhances the plausibility of epidemiological findings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review "omics" techniques (transcriptomics, epigenetics, SNP analysis) in phytochemical research.
  • To evaluate the implications of these techniques in human cell and population studies.
  • To discuss the potential and challenges of "omics" in nutritional genomics.

Main Methods:

  • Review of "omics" techniques, focusing on transcriptomics, epigenetics, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis.
  • Analysis of implications in in vitro human cell culture studies.
  • Evaluation of applications in human population studies.

Main Results:

  • "Omics" approaches are rapidly increasing understanding of phytochemicals' cancer-preventive mechanisms.
  • These techniques provide biological plausibility for epidemiological associations between fruit/vegetable intake and lower cancer risk.
  • Specific "omics" techniques offer unique insights but also present distinct challenges.

Conclusions:

  • "Omics" technologies are crucial for elucidating the molecular basis of dietary phytochemicals' health benefits.
  • Transcriptomics, epigenetics, and SNP analysis are key tools in nutritional genomics.
  • Further application of these "omics" tools is essential for advancing cancer prevention research.

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