An article on it appeared on
www.medscape.com:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/516567?src=mpGamma-Linolenic Acid Suppresses Breast Cancer Gene Expression in Vitro
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 11 - A component of evening primrose oil can suppress the cancer-promoting gene Her-2/neu, and also appears to increase breast cancer cells' responsiveness to the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin).
In a series of in vitro experiments, Dr. Ruth Lupu of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute in Illinois and colleagues showed that gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) reduced Her-2/neu protein levels in several types of human cancer cell lines.
Evening primrose oil is a traditional herbal medicine used to treat a variety of illnesses, Dr. Lupu and her team note in the November 2nd issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. GLA has been shown to be toxic to cancer cells without affecting healthy cells, they add, although its mechanism of action remains unclear.
In a previous study, the researchers had demonstrated that GLA reduced activation of a Her-2/neu-coded oncoprotein in breast cancer cell lines. They conducted the current investigation to determine whether this effect was due to changes in Her-2/neu gene expression, and whether effects would be seen in other types of cancers overexpressing the gene.
They tested the effect of GLA in three different Her-2/neu overexpressing breast cancer cell lines, as well as an ovarian cancer cell line and a gastrointestinal tumor cell line engineered to overexpress the gene. In all of the cell lines, the researchers found, GLA led to a "dramatic decrease" in activity of the Her-2/neu promoter. At the same time, expression of a gene responsible for repressing Her-2/neu, polyomavirus enhancer activator 3, increased.
Treating breast cancer cells with a combination of GLA and trastuzumab, the researchers found, increased apoptosis synergistically. Adding GLA boosted the cells' sensitivity to the drug by 30- to 40-fold.
"Although extensive preclinical and clinical studies are necessary before GLA can enter clinical trials, our findings suggest that future studies assessing the clinical relevance of GLA-regulated Her-2/neu promoter activity are warranted," the researchers conclude.
J Natl Cancer Inst 2005;97:1611-1615.