Antioxidants regulate normal human keratinocyte differentiation
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
8-18-2004
Journal
Biochemical pharmacology
Volume
68
Issue
6
DOI
10.1016/j.bcp.2004.04.029
Abstract
Cancer begins with a normal cell that, due to persistent environmental insult, is transformed, via a series of progressively more insidious steps, into a cancer cell. A major goal of chemopreventive therapy is to alter the normal cell response to the environmental agent with the goal of inhibiting disease progression. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is an important bioactive green tea antioxidant that possesses remarkable cancer chemopreventive properties. We have recently explored the hypothesis that EGCG prevents cancer by promoting keratinocyte differentiation. Based on our findings, we argue that EGCG acts to enhance the differentiation of normal keratinocytes. This is a potentially important finding, as it represents a novel mechanism of disease inhibition by EGCG--cancer preventive "differentiation therapy". However, not all antioxidant chemopreventive agents work by this mechanism. Curcumin, for example, inhibits the differentiation-promoting activity of EGCG. This report discusses the mechanism of EGCG and curcumin action in regulating expression of involucrin, a marker of keratinocyte differentiation.
APA Citation
Eckert, R. L., Crish, J. F., Efimova, T., & Balasubramanian, S. (2004). Antioxidants regulate normal human keratinocyte differentiation. Biochemical pharmacology, 68 (6). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2004.04.029