How does ellagic acid exert anti-cancer effect on pancreatic cancer cells?

Ellagic acid was previousely shown to have anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and antifibrosis properties. The anticarcinogenic effect of ellagic acid was shown in several types of cancers including skin, esophageal, and colon cancers. However the mechanisms mediating anti-cancer effect of ellagic acid, in general, remain unknown.

A research article to be published on 21 June 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Dr. Edderkaoui from West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center showed that Ellagic acid increases programmed cell death and decreases proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. They showed that the mechanism through which ellagic acid causes cell death is through decreasing the activity of the pro-survival transcription factor NF-kB. The compound does not affect mitochondria. The results presented in this article show for the first time how this polyphenol regulates cancer cell proliferation and resistance to death and may help surpass the resistance of these cells to radio and chemotherapies.

The data of this article demonstrate the anti-cancer properties of ellagic acid as well as its mechanism of action. This opens the possibilities of using this compound in combination with other drugs that target other pro-survival proteins to increase cell death in pancreatic cancer cells.

Reference: Edderkaoui M, Odinokova I, Ohno I, Gukovsky I, Go VLW, Pandol SJ, Gukovskaya AS. Ellagic acid induces apoptosis through inhibition of NF-κB in pancreatic cancer cells. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(23): 3672-3680
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/3672.asp

Correspondence to: Anna Gukovskaya, PhD, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center, 11301 Wilshire Blvd, Blg 258, Rm 340, Los Angeles CA 90073, United States. agukovsk@ucla.edu
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World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

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