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Metabolic control by dehydroascorbic acid: Questions and controversies in cancer cells
Author(s) -
Ferrada Luciano,
Salazar Katterine,
Nualart Francisco
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.28637
Subject(s) - dehydroascorbic acid , ascorbic acid , vitamin c , bystander effect , cancer cell , cancer , vitamin , cellular metabolism , chemistry , biochemistry , cancer research , biology , metabolism , medicine , immunology , food science
For a long time, the effect of vitamin C on cancer cells has been a controversial concept. From Linus Pauling's studies in 1976, it was proposed that ascorbic acid (AA) could selectively kill tumor cells. However, further research suggested that vitamin C has no effect on tumor survival. In the last decade, new and emerging functions for vitamin C have been discovered using the reduced form, AA, and the oxidized form, dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), independently. In this review, we summarized the latest findings related to the effects of DHA on the survival and metabolism of tumor cells. At the same time, we put special emphasis on the bystander effect and the recycling capacity of vitamin C in various cellular models, and how these concepts can affect the experimentation with vitamin C and its therapeutic application in the treatment against cancer.