Acetate and propionate potentiate the antiproliferative effect of butyrate on RBL-2H3 growth

1. The effect of acetate, propionate, and butyrate separately and combined on RBL-2H3 (a rat basophilic leukemic cell type) proliferation during 24, 48, and 72 hr was examined. Also, the effect of a mixture of the three volatile fatty acids on proliferation of HeLa-155 (a human adenocarcinoma), C57 B1/6J (a mouse melanoma), and MCF-7 (human breast tumor) during 8 days was investigated. 2. Acetate and propionate per se did not present any effect on RBL-2H3 growth during 72 hr, however, when acetate and propionate were added together a significant inhibition of this cell growth was found; 18% for 48 and 37% for 72 hr. The addition of butyrate to the culture medium caused a 75% decrease in the rate of this cell growth either after 48 and 72 hr. This effect of butyrate was pronounced by acetate (86% and 90% for 48 and 72 hr, respectively), propionate (87% for 48 and 93% for 72 hr), and acetate and propionate together (76% for 48 and 92% for 72 hr). 3. Daily addition of a mixture of the short-chain fatty acids (10 mM acetate, 2 mM propionate and 1.5 mM butyrate) markedly decreased the number of cells after 8 days: 58% for RBL-2H3, 42% for HeLa-155, 91% for C57 B1/6J and 55% for MCF-7. 4. These results support the proposition that a fiber-rich diet that leads to great production of butyrate but also of propionate and acetate would be more effective to prevent the occurrence of colorectal cancer than the administration of this short-chain fatty acid given alone.