Different apoptotic mechanisms are involved in the antiproliferative effects of 7beta-hydroxysitosterol and 7beta-hydroxycholesterol in human colon cancer cells.

Abstract	Plant sterols are found in fruits and vegetables. Their cholesterol-lowering effect is well documented. Our study aimed at comparing antiproliferative effects of 7beta-hydroxysitosterol (7beta-OHsito) versus 7beta-hydroxycholesterol (7beta-OHchol) on the human colon cancer cell line Caco-2. When cells were exposed for 32 h to 60 microM 7beta-OHsito or to 30 microM 7beta-OHchol, both compounds caused 50% growth inhibition. Cells treated with 7beta-OHsito showed enhanced caspase-9 and -3 activities followed by DNA fragmentation. In contrast, 7beta-OHchol did not activate caspase-3 and activation of caspase-9 and DNA fragmentation were delayed. The treatment of cells with the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD.fmk retarded the 7beta-OHsito-induced apoptotic process but not that triggered by 7beta-OHchol. Our data suggest that the two compounds in spite of their structural similarities target different cellular pathways, which lead to cell death.
Authors	S Roussi, A Winter, F Gosse, D Werner, X Zhang, E Marchioni, P Geoffroy, M Miesch, F Raul
Journal	Cell death and differentiation (Cell Death Differ) Vol. 12 Issue 2 Pg. 128-35 (Feb 2005) ISSN: 1350-9047 [Print] England
PMID	15550935 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References	Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones Caspase Inhibitors Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors Hydroxycholesterols Sitosterols benzyloxycarbonylvalyl-alanyl-aspartyl fluoromethyl ketone hydroxysitosterol cholest-5-en-3 beta,7 alpha-diol CASP3 protein, human CASP9 protein, human Caspase 3 Caspase 9 Caspases
Topics	Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones (pharmacology) Apoptosis (drug effects, physiology) Caco-2 Cells Caspase 3 Caspase 9 Caspase Inhibitors Caspases (metabolism) Cell Cycle (drug effects) Cell Proliferation (drug effects) Colonic Neoplasms (pathology) Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors (pharmacology) DNA Fragmentation (drug effects) Humans Hydroxycholesterols (pharmacology) Sitosterols (pharmacology)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.

Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!