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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Dietary Prevention of Obesity-related Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #247873
Title: Methylselenol, a Selenium Metabolite, Plays Common and Different Roles in Colonic Cancer and Nontumorigenic Colonic Cell Growth

Author
item Zeng, Huawei
item Briske Anderson, Mary
item MOYER, MARY - Incell Corporation

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2009
Publication Date: 4/24/2010
Citation: Zeng, H., Briske Anderson, M.J., Moyer, M.P. 2010. Methylselenol, a Selenium Metabolite, Plays Common and Different Roles in Colonic Cancer and Nontumorigenic Colonic Cell Growth. Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 24:916.5.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: There is increasing evidence for the efficacy of certain forms of selenium (Se) as cancer-chemopreventive compounds, and methylselenol has been hypothesized to be a critical selenium metabolite for anticancer activity in vivo. To determine differential chemopreventive effects of methylselenol on colon cancer cells versus normal colon cells, colon-cancer-derived HCT-116 cells and nontumorigenic colon NCM460 cells were exposed to methylselenol. We found that submicromolar methylselenol exposure inhibited cell growth and led to an increase in the G1 and G2 fractions with a concomitant drop in the S-phase. In addition, methylselenol inhibited the extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling and c-Myc expression. Importantly, methylselenol showed greater inhibition of cell growth, cell cycle, ERK1/2 signal and c-Myc expression in colon-cancer-derived HCT-116 cells, as compared to NCM460 colon cells. Similarly, submicromolar methylselenol induced higher apoptosis rate in HCT-116 cells (up to 3.2 fold of the control) than that in NCM460 colon cells (up to 1.4 fold of the control). Taken together, our data demonstrate that methylselenol’s stronger potential of inhibiting colon cancer cell proliferation when compared with normal colon cells, which may be a critical mechanism by which selenium exerts its anticancer property.