Background and purpose: Dietary intake of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) decreases cancer risk, while arachidonic acid and other ω-6 PUFAs increase risk, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Cytochrome P450 (CYP)-derived epoxides contribute to enhanced tumourigenesis due to ω-6 PUFA intake. Thus, ω-6 arachidonic acid epoxides (EETs) inhibit apoptosis and stimulate proliferation by up-regulating cyclin D1 expression in cells. The present study evaluated the corresponding ω-3 PUFA epoxides and assessed their role in the regulation of cell proliferation.
Experimental approach: Four chemically stable EPA epoxides (formed at the 8,9-, 11,12-, 14,15- and 17,18-olefinic bonds) were synthesized and tested against growth-related signalling pathways in brain microvascular endothelial bEND.3 cells. Cell cycle distribution was determined by flow cytometry and cyclin gene expression by immunoblotting and real-time PCR. The role of the p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in cyclin D1 dysregulation was assessed using specific inhibitors and dominant-negative expression plasmids.
Key results: The ω-3 17,18-epoxide of EPA decreased cell proliferation, interrupted the cell cycle in S-phase and down-regulated the cyclin D1/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-4 complex, whereas the 8,9-, 11,12- and 14,15-epoxides were either inactive or enhanced proliferation. Cyclin D1 down-regulation by 17,18-epoxy-EPA was mediated by activation of the growth-suppressing p38 MAP kinase, but the alternate EPA-epoxides were inactive.
Conclusions and implications: The present findings suggest that the epoxide formed by CYP enzymes at the ω-3 olefinic bond may contribute to the beneficial effects of ω-3 PUFA by down-regulating cyclin D1 and suppressing cell proliferation.
© 2011 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology © 2011 The British Pharmacological Society.