据一篇发表于FASEB Journal三月版的研究报告，瑞典科学家发现，深海鱼中所富含的ω-3脂肪酸和二十二碳六烯酸(docosahexaenoic acid,DHA)及其衍生物在机体中能够杀死神经母细胞瘤癌细胞。这项发现或许为多种癌症——如神经母细胞瘤、髓母细胞瘤、结肠癌、乳腺癌和前列腺癌等提供新的治疗方法。
在该研究中，科学家使DHA从神经系统中转移到髓母细胞瘤中，当DHA在细胞内代谢后，再对细胞中的副产物进行分析。随后科学家研究了DHA及其衍生物对癌细胞生长的影响。研究结果表明，DHA杀死了所有的癌细胞，而且由DHA衍生物产生的毒性比DHA本身更能有效地杀死癌细胞。这表明，DHA或可成为一种新的治疗神经母细胞瘤或其他癌症的新药物。
FASEB杂志主编Gerald Weissmann称，这项研究对治疗癌症有重要意义，由于DHA在保护人体健康上的重要作用，未来可根据DHA及其衍生物研制一类新的抗癌药物。（生物谷Bioon.com）
相关研究：
JAMA：DHA有助于早产女婴神经系统发育
CMAJ：鱼油对人的作用因人而异
JAMA：欧米茄-3脂肪酸对端粒有保护作用
生物谷推荐原始出处：
The FASEB Journal. 2010;24:906-915. doi: 10.1096/fj.09-137919.
Docosahexaenoic acid metabolome in neural tumors: identification of cytotoxic intermediates
Helena Gleissman*,1, Rong Yang, Kimberly Martinod, Magnus Lindskog*, Charles N. Serhan, John Inge Johnsen* and Per Kogner*
* Childhood Cancer Research Unit, Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and
Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1 Correspondence: Childhood Cancer Research Unit, Q6:05, Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) protects neural cells from stress-induced apoptosis. On the contrary, DHA exerts anticancer effects, and we have shown that DHA induces apoptosis in neuroblastoma, an embryonal tumor of the sympathetic nervous system. We now investigate the DHA metabolome in neuroblastoma using a targeted lipidomic approach in order to elucidate the mechanisms behind the DHA-induced cytotoxicity. LC-MS/MS analysis was used to identify DHA-derived lipid mediators in neuroblastoma cells. Presence of the 15-lipoxygenase enzyme was investigated using immunoblotting, and cytotoxic potency of DHA and DHA-derived compounds was compared using the MTT cell viability assay. Neuroblastoma cells metabolized DHA to 17-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (17-HDHA) via 17-hydroperoxydocosahexaenoic acid (17-HpDHA) through 15-lipoxygenase and autoxidation. In contrast to normal neural cells, neuroblastoma cells did not produce the anti-inflammatory and protective lipid mediators, resolvins and protectins. 17-HpDHA had significant cytotoxic potency, with an IC50 of 3–6 μM at 72 h, compared to 12–15 μM for DHA. α-Tocopherol protected cells from 17-HpDHA-induced cytotoxicity. DHA inhibited secretion of prostaglandin-E2 and augmented the cytotoxic potency of the cyclooxygenase-2-inhibitor celecoxib. The cytotoxic effect of DHA in neuroblastoma is mediated through production of hydroperoxy fatty acids that accumulate to toxic intracellular levels with restricted production of its products, resolvins and protectins.—Gleissman, H., Yang, R., Martinod, K., Lindskog, M., Serhan, C. N., Johnsen, J. I., Kogner, P. Docosahexaenoic acid metabolome in neural tumors: identification of cytotoxic intermediates.
