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Effects of short‐chain fatty acids on growth and differentiation of the human colon‐cancer cell line HT29
Author(s) -
Gamet Laurence,
Daviaud Danièle,
DenisPouxviel Colette,
Remesy Christian,
Murat JeanClaude
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910520222
Subject(s) - butyrate , propionate , ornithine decarboxylase , polyamine , biochemistry , chemistry , cell culture , short chain fatty acid , cell growth , putrescine , alkaline phosphatase , metabolism , biology , enzyme , fermentation , genetics
Short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs), namely butyrate, acetate and propionate, originate from the bacterial fermentation of dietaiy fibers and are the predominant anions present in the large bowel. Our study was carried out to investigate the effects of SCFAs on growth of the human adenocarcinoma cell line, HT29. The results show that, under our culture conditions, both propionate and butyrate inhibit growth of HT29 cells, whereas acetate has no significant effect. The antiproliferative effect of propionate or butyrate is associated with an inhibition of FCS‐induced activation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme of polyamine metabolism. Inhibition of growth induced by either propionate or butyrate is not reversed by the addition of putrescine, which reveals that these SCFAs are not acting solely on the ODC/polyamine system. Our data show that propionate and butyrate, unlike acetate, induce an increase in alkaline phosphatase activity, which reflects a more differentiated phenotype than that of untreated control cells. Taken together, our results suggest that propionate, like butyrate, may play an important role in the physiology of the colon and could partially account for the protective effect of dietary fibers with respect to colon carcinogenesis. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.