2020 journal article

Lycopene Protects against Smoking-Induced Lung Cancer by Inducing Base Excision Repair

Antioxidants.

By: J. Cheng n, B. Miller n, E. Balbuena n & A. Eroğlu n

author keywords: lycopene; beta-carotene; lung cancer; base excision repair; gap junction communication; all-trans retinoic acid; oxidative stress
TL;DR: Lycopene treatment at a lower dosage could inhibit smoke-induced oxidative stress and promote genome stability and shed light on the molecular mechanism of lycopene action against lung cancer. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
3. Good Health and Well-being (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: July 26, 2020

Background: Oxidative stress plays a critical role in lung cancer progression. Carotenoids are efficient antioxidants. The objective of this study was to explore the efficacy of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and carotenoids in cigarette smoke-induced oxidative stress within A549 human lung cancer epithelial cells. Methods: A549 cells were pretreated with 1-nM, 10-nM, 100-nM, 1-μM and 10-μM ATRA, β-carotene (BC) and lycopene for 24 h, followed by exposure to cigarette smoke using a smoking chamber. Results: The OxyBlot analysis showed that smoking significantly increased oxidative stress, which was inhibited by lycopene at 1 nM and 10 nM (p < 0.05). In the cells exposed to smoke, lycopene increased 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) expression at 1 nM, 10 nM, 100 nM, and 1 μM (p < 0.05), but not at 10 μM. Lycopene at lower doses also improved Nei like DNA glycosylases (NEIL1, NEIL2, NEIL3), and connexin-43 (Cx43) protein levels (p < 0.05). Interestingly, lycopene at lower concentrations promoted OGG1 expression within the cells exposed to smoke to an even greater extent than the cells not exposed to smoke (p < 0.01). This may be attributed to the increased SR-B1 mRNA levels with cigarette smoke exposure (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Lycopene treatment at a lower dosage could inhibit smoke-induced oxidative stress and promote genome stability. These novel findings will shed light on the molecular mechanism of lycopene action against lung cancer.