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Original Articles

Natural Grape Extracts Regulate Colon Cancer Cells Malignancy

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Pages 494-503 | Received 19 May 2014, Accepted 18 Nov 2014, Published online: 23 Feb 2015
 

Abstract

Natural dietary components are evolutionary-selected molecules able to control inflammation and cancerous transformation and progression. Because many studies assessed the beneficial properties of key molecules extracted from grapes, we aimed at investigating the properties of Liofenol™, a natural red wine lyophilized extract, devoid of alcohol and composed by a miscellaneous of components (polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins). We proved that the colon cancer cell line HCT116 responded to Liofenol™ treatment by reducing their proliferation, in association with an increase of p53 and p21 cell cycle gate keepers. Liofenol™ increased dihydroceramides, sphingolipid mediators involved in cell cycle arrest and reduced proliferation rate. We observed a strong induction of antioxidant response, with the activation of the transcriptional factor Nrf2, involved in redox homeostasis and differentiation, without altering tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy. Liofenol™ induced an important morphology change in HCT116 cells, migration inhibition, undifferentiated stem/stem-like cells markers downregulation, and E-cadherin downregulation, interested in epithelia to mesenchymal malignant transition. We conclude that lyophilized grape extract, at dose comparable to putative dietary doses, can activate molecular pathways, involving Nrf2 signaling and the modulation of structural and signaling sphingolipid mediators that cooperate in promoting differentiation and reducing proliferation of digestive tract cancer cells.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Dr. Daniela Borsa and Dr. Federico Piano for Liofenol™ composition analysis, performed at Consiglio per la Ricerca e Sperimentazione in Agricoltura-Centro di Ricerca per l'Enologia di Asti (CRA-ENO), Via Pietro Micca 35, 14100 ASTI, Italy.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support from the Institutional Grants of University of Milan and the PhD program in Molecular Medicine, Università di Milano, Italy is acknowledged. Financial support from Generalitat de Catalunya (grant SGR2009 1072), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grant SAF2011 22444) and Fundació La Marató de TV3 (grant 112130) is acknowledged. Financial support from Immobiliare Ca’ Novella srl, Alessandria, Italy is acknowledged.

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