Ascorbic acid and colon cancer: an oxidative stimulus to cell death depending on cell profile

• Published in: European journal of cell biology 2016-06, Vol.95 (6-7), p.208-218
• Main Authors: Pires, Ana Salomé, Marques, Cláudia Raquel, Encarnação, João Carlos, Abrantes, Ana Margarida, Mamede, Ana Catarina, Laranjo, Mafalda, Gonçalves, Ana Cristina, Sarmento-Ribeiro, Ana Bela, Botelho, Maria Filomena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ascorbic acid; Ascorbic Acid - pharmacology; Cell Death - drug effects; Cell death mechanisms; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Colon cancer; Colonic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Colonic Neoplasms - metabolism; Colonic Neoplasms - pathology; Humans; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism
• ISSN: 0171-9335; 1618-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2016.04.001

Colorectal cancer is a major health problem worldwide with urgent need for new and effective anti-cancer approaches that allow treating, increasing survival and improving life quality of patients. At pharmacological concentrations, ascorbic acid (AA) exerts a selective cytotoxic effect, whose mechanism of cytotoxicity remains unsolved. It has been suggested that it depends on the production of extracellular hydrogen peroxide, using ascorbate radical as an intermediate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects induced by AA in three colon cancer cell lines, as well as, possible cell death mechanisms involved. Our results showed that pharmacological concentrations of AA induce anti-proliferative, cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on three colon cancer cell lines under study. We also found that AA can induce cell death by an increment of oxidative stress, but also mediating a ROS-independent mechanism, as observed in LS1034 cells. This work explores AA anti-tumoral effects and highlights its applicability in the treatment of CC, underlying the importance of proceeding to clinical trials.