ABSTRACT
Dietary resistant starch (RS) has been suggested to reduce colonic neoplasia. To determine the effects of digestion-resistant cornstarch on colonic carcinogenesis and Wnt signaling in azoxymethane (AOM)-treated F344 rats, diets containing naturally occurring RS from corn lines derived partially from Guat209 (GUAT), AR16035 (AR), or a hybrid (ARxGUAT), containing 34.5 ± 2.0, 0.2 ± 0.1, and 1.9 ± 0.1% RS, respectively, were fed at 55% of the diet. GUAT-fed rats had increased cecal content and tissue weight and decreased cecal pH compared with AR- or ARxGUAT-fed rats. Numbers of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were not different among diet groups. Increased numbers of crypts/focus were observed in AOM-injected rats fed GUAT compared with rats fed other diets. β-catenin mRNA expression of the crypts was significantly increased in GUAT-fed rats injected with AOM relative to those injected with saline. These findings suggest that selected dietary RSs may at some level further enhance colonocyte proliferation and differentiation in an AOM-treated colon.
Abbreviations
ACF | = | Aberrant crypt foci |
ANOVA | = | Analysis of variance |
AOM | = | Azoxymethane |
APC | = | Adenomatous Polyposis Coli |
AR | = | AR starch diet |
= | Hybrid RS diet from parental lines | |
ARxGUAT | = | AR and GUAT |
Axin 2 | = | Axis inhibition protein 2 |
CRC | = | Colorectal cancer |
GSK3-β | = | Glycogen synthase kinase 3 β |
GUAT | = | Guat starch diet |
HNF1α | = | Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1 α |
LCM | = | Laser capture microdissection |
qRT-PCR | = | Quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction |
RS | = | Resistant starch |
SFRP4 | = | Secreted Frizzled protein 4 |
TFRC | = | Transferrin Receptor Protein |
WISP-1 | = | WNT1-inducible-signaling pathway protein 1 |
Wnt 8a | = | Wingless-Type 8a |
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the contributions of Elise Huffman and Esther Haugabrooks for assisting with collection of samples, Toni Christofferson and Jenni Groeltz for histopathology processing and sectioning, Margie Carter for assistance with LCM, Dr. Angela Pillatzki for assisting in optimizing research protocols, and Dr. Jack Gallup for assistance with qPCR data analysis. They include a very special thanks to Dana Pralle, Carter Roberts, Stephanie Nicholson, and Hannah Rupp for assistance with processing tissue samples and RNA isolation.
Funding
This research was funded by the Plant Sciences Institute at Iowa State University and a United States Department of Agriculture grant administered through the Nutrition and Wellness Research Center at ISU.