Hormel Institute study reveals capsaicin can act as cocarcinogen

Research links chemical in widely consumed foods to skin cancer

2010-09-04

(Press-News.org) The September cover story of the nation's leading cancer journal, "Cancer Research," features a new study from The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, that links capsaicin, a component of chili peppers, to skin cancer. While the molecular mechanisms of the cancer-promoting effects of capsaicin are not clear and remain controversial, The Hormel Institute has shown a definite connection to formation of skin cancer through various laboratory studies.

Ann Bode, professor in the institute's Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Section, led the research team on this study along with colleagues Mun Kyung Hwang and Zigang Dong.

Capsaicin, widely consumed worldwide in foods that contain chili peppers, is also used in topical creams for pain relief and its role in cancer development is controversial. Capsaicin has been shown to induce apoptosis (cell death) in cancer cells. However, research findings have also shown that it can also act as a carcinogen, especially at the tumor promotion stage.

Bode says the possibility that capsaicin induces inflammation and may affect cancer development is a critical result of the study. "Most notably, the results raise concerns that a natural compound found in hot peppers used in over-the-counter topical pain remedies might increase skin cancer risk," Bode says.

The study's key findings include: The co-carcinogenic effect of capsaicin appears to be mediated through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and not the transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1), a known pain receptor. Topical application of capsaicin on the dorsal skin of wildtype or TRPV1 knockout mice induced tumors in both types but more and larger skin tumors in the knockout mice. A known inflammatory enzyme, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) was highly elevated following treatment with capsaicin.

INFORMATION: Other researchers working with Bode on this study included Sanguine Byun, Nu Ry Song, Hyong Joo Lee and Ki Won Lee.

Funding for this research was provided by The Hormel Foundation, National Cancer Institute and the Korean Research Foundation.

The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota (and its Mayo Clinic research partner), is a world-renowned cancer research center located in Austin, Minn. Specializing in research leading to cancer prevention and control, it currently has 11 cancer research departments and 130 faculty and staff.

For more information and to download photographs, visit www.hi.umn.edu.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

You say, 'bio-math,' I say, 'math-bio': Crossing science education divide

2010-09-04

BETHESDA, MD, SEPT 2, 2010⎯The old joke is a joke no more. In a special September issue of the ASCB's online journal, CBE—Life Sciences Education (CBE-LSE), the adage that biology is for science students who don't do math is laid to rest forever. "Bio-math" or "math-bio" is in the future for students of both disciplines, say the contributors of seven essays and 17 research articles on new ways to integrate mathematical thinking into biology education and introduce biological problems into math learning. "The national scientific and academic community has issued ...

K-State research project offers insight into superstitious behavior

2010-09-04

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- People who believe that fate and chance control their lives are more likely to be superstitious -- but when faced with death they are likely to abandon superstition altogether, according to a recent Kansas State University undergraduate research project. The project, led by Scott Fluke, a May 2010 K-State bachelor's graduate in psychology, Olathe, focuses on personality traits that lead to superstition. Fluke received a $500 Doreen Shanteau Undergraduate Research Fellowship in 2009 to work with the team of Russell Webster, graduate student in psychology, ...

Edible nanostructures

2010-09-04

Sugar, salt, alcohol and a little serendipity led a Northwestern University research team to discover a new class of nanostructures that could be used for gas storage and food and medical technologies. And the compounds are edible. The porous crystals are the first known all-natural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that are simple to make. Most other MOFs are made from petroleum-based ingredients, but the Northwestern MOFs you can pop into your mouth and eat, and the researchers have. "They taste kind of bitter, like a Saltine cracker, starchy and bland," said Ronald ...

Low grades in adolescence linked to dopamine genes

2010-09-04

The academic performance of adolescents will suffer in at least one of four key subjects –– English, math, science, history –– if their DNA contains one or more of three specific dopamine gene variations, according to a study led by renowned biosocial criminologist Kevin M. Beaver of The Florida State University. The research sheds new light on the genetic components of academic performance during middle and high school, and on the interplay of specific genes and environmental factors such as peer behavior or school conditions. "We believe that dopaminergic genes ...

GEN reports on the greening of the life sciences

2010-09-04

New Rochelle, NY, September 1, 2010—Biopharmaceutical firms and other life science organizations are taking definitive steps toward creating greener working environments and developing more sustainable operations, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). This promising trend was made clear through a series of presentations and panel discussions that took place at GEN's (www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/biopharma-s-going-green/3381), "GreenBioPharma" conference, which was recently held in Philadelphia. "The main message that emerged from our meeting was that ...

Sight-saving research halted by stem cell ruling

2010-09-04

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), a professional organization of member scientists, opposes the Federal District Court injunction that froze federal funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. ARVO is troubled by this barrier to research that has the potential to restore sight and mitigate eye damage. ARVO members investigate hESC therapies for treating diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and corneal disease, along with studies related to eye tissue transplantation, regeneration ...

Scientists identify molecules involved in touch and other mechanically activated systems

2010-09-04

LA JOLLA, CA – September 2, 2010 – Scripps Research Institute scientists have identified two proteins with potential to be important targets for research into a wide range of health problems, including pain, deafness, and cardiac and kidney dysfunction. The study was published in Science Express, the advanced, online edition of the journal Science, on September 2, 2010. In the study, the Scripps Research scientists identify two proteins, which they named Piezo1 and Piezo2 from the Greek meaning "pressure," involved in the cellular response to mechanical stimulation. ...

Test-tube calf embryos more likely to survive Texas summers

2010-09-04

Studies have shown that heat-stressed dairy cows suffer from damage to their ovarian follicles. Moreover, the eggs produced by the damaged follicles may also be damaged, said Dr. Todd Bilby, Texas AgriLife Extension Service dairy specialist. Worse, after becoming heat-stressed, other studies have shown the eggs she ovulates for the next 40 or 50 days are likely to be damaged as well, according to Bilby. Bilby and his graduate student, Brandi Stewart, have found a way to double pregnancy rates during the summer and increase the number of heifers born as compared with ...

Caltech chemists develop simple technique to visualize atomic-scale structures

2010-09-04

PASADENA, Calif.—Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have devised a new technique—using a sheet of carbon just one atom thick—to visualize the structure of molecules. The technique, which was used to obtain the first direct images of how water coats surfaces at room temperature, can also be used to image a potentially unlimited number of other molecules, including antibodies and other biomolecules. A paper describing the method and the studies of water layers appears in the September 3 issue of the journal Science. "Almost all surfaces have ...

LSUHSC pediatric weight expert provides obesity trinity answers

2010-09-04

New Orleans, LA – In a first person paper published in the August 27, 2010 issue of Childhood Obesity, Dr. Melinda Sothern, Director of Health Promotion and Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, provides three ways to de-program the 1950s obesity trinity underlying the current obesity epidemic in the United States and protect future generations from its health consequences. "The combination of prenatal tobacco use, infant formula, and frequent pregnancies— i.e., the obesity trinity—synergistically created the first generation of nutritionally ...

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Hormel Institute study reveals capsaicin can act as cocarcinogen

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: