Cancers of the colon are most common in the Western world. In majority of these cases, there is no familial history and sporadic gene damage seems to play an important role in the development of tumors in the colon. Studies have shown that environmental factors, especially diet, play an important role in susceptibility to GI tract cancers. Consequently, environmental chemicals that contaminate food or diet during its preparation becomes important in the development of GI cancers. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one such family of ubiquitous environmental toxicants. These pollutants enter the human body through consumption of contaminated food, drinking water, inhalation of cigarette smoke, automobile exhausts, and contaminated air from occupational settings. Among these pathways, dietary intake of PAHs constitutes a major source of exposure in humans. Although many reviews and books on PAHs and their ability to cause toxicity and breast or lung cancer have been published, aspects on contribution of diet, smoking and other factors towards development of digestive tract cancers and strategies to assess risk from exposure to PAHs have received much less attention. This review, therefore, focuses on dietary intake of PAHs in humans, animal models, and cell cultures used for GI cancer studies along with epidemiological findings. Bioavailability and biotransformation processes, which influence the disposition of PAHs in body and the underlying causative mechanisms of GI cancers, are also discussed. The existing data gaps and scope for future studies is also emphasized. This information is expected to stimulate research on mechanisms of sporadic GI cancers caused by exposure to environmental carcinogens.

BACKGROUNDAs accessible diagnostic approaches fail to differentiate between ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s colitis (CC) in one-third of patients with predominantly colonic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), leading to inappropriate therapy, we aim to investigate the serum cytokine levels in these patients in search of molecular biometric markers delineating UC from CC.METHODSWe measured 38 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors using magnetic-bead-based multiplex immunoassay in 25 UC patients, 28 CC patients, and 30 controls. Our results are compared with those from a review of current literature regarding advances in serum cytokine profiles and associated challenges preventing their use for diagnostic/prognostic purposes.RESULTSUnivariate analysis showed statistically significant increases of eotaxin, GRO, and TNF-α in UC patients compared to controls (Ctrl); interferon γ, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-7 in CC group compared to Ctrl; and IL-8 in both UC and CC versus Ctrl. No cytokines were found to be different between UC and CC. A generalized linear model identified combinations of cytokines, allowing the identification of UC and CC patients, with area under the curve (AUC) = 0.936, as determined with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.CONCLUSIONSThe current knowledge available about circulating cytokines in IBD is often contradictory. The development of an evidence-based tool using cytokines for diagnostic accuracy is still preliminary.

The regulation of vitamin D receptor (VDR), a key mediator in the vitamin D pathway, in breast cancer etiology has long been of interest. We have shown here that the transcriptional repressor protein SLUG inhibits the expression of VDR in human breast cancer cells. To explore the possibility that SLUG regulates the VDR gene promoter, we cloned a 628 bp fragment (−613 to +15) of the human VDR gene promoter. This region contains three E2-box sequences (CAGGTG/CACCTG), the classical binding site of SLUG. SLUG specifically inhibited VDR gene promoter activity. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays revealed that SLUG is recruited on the native VDR gene promoter along with the co-repressor protein CtBP1 and the effector protein HDAC1. These data suggests that SLUG binds to the E2-box sequences of the VDR gene promoter and recruits CtBP1 and HDAC1, which results in the inhibition of VDR gene expression by chromatin remodeling. SLUG is a member of the SNAI family of C 2 H 2 -zinc finger family of transcriptional repressors [4][5][6]. It is involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition during development [5], acts as an inhibitor of apoptosis [7], and causes tubulogenesis during breast and kidney developments [4,5]. The genes inhibited by SLUG include E-cadherin [8], claudins [9], BRCA2 [10], and cytokeratins [11]. Our ChIP-DSL analysis of 20,000 human gene promoter array revealed that more than 150 promoters bind to SLUG at their promoters (Mittal, M.K. and Chaudhuri, G., unpublished data). VDR gene is one of the candidate SLUG-regulated genes. Here, we report that SLUG indeed binds in vivo to the VDR gene promoter in human breast cell nucleus and inhibits VDR gene expression by chromatin remodeling.

Human dietary exposure to benzo(a)pyrene [BaP] has generated interest with regard to the association of BaP with gastrointestinal carcinogenesis. Since colon cancer ranks third among cancer-related mortalities, it is necessary to evaluate the effect of phytochemicals on colon cancer initiation and progression. In this study we investigated the preventive effects of resveratrol (RVT) on BaP-induced colon carcinogenesis in ApcMin mouse model. For the first group of mice, 100 μg BaP/kg bw was administered to mice in peanut oil via oral gavage over a 60 day period. For the second group, RVT was co-administered with BaP at a dose of 45 μg/kg. For the third group, RVT was administered for 1 week prior to BaP exposure for 60 days. Jejunum, colon and liver, were collected at 60 days post-BaP & RVT exposure; adenomas in jejunum and colon were counted and subjected to histopathology. Resveratrol reduced the number of colon adenomas in BaP + RVT-treated mice significantly compared to mice that received BaP alone. While dysplasia of varying degrees was noted in colon of BaP-treated mice, the dysplasias were of limited occurrence in RVT-treated mice. To ascertain whether the tumor inhibition is a result of altered BaP-induced toxicity of tumor cells, growth, apoptosis and proliferation of adenocarcinoma cells were assessed post treatment with RVT and BaP. Co-treatment with RVT increased apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation to a greater extent than with BaP alone. Overall, our observations reveal that RVT inhibits colon tumorigenesis when given together with BaP and holds promise as a therapeutic agent.

Purpose We analyzed inflamed mucosal/submucosal layers of ulcerative colitis (UC=63) and Crohn’s colitis (CC=50) and unexpectedly we unveiled a pool of free-hemoglobin-alpha (Hb-α) chain. Patients with colitides have increased ROS, DNA-oxidation products, free-iron in mucosa, in pre-neoplastic, and in colitis-cancers and increased risks of developing colorectal-cancer (CRC). All IBD-related-CRC lesions are found in segments with colitis. Linking this information we investigated whether free-Hb-α is key transformational stepping that increases colitis-related-CRC vulnerability. Methods UC/CC samples were profiled using MALDI-MS; protein identification was made by LCM. Diverticulitis (DV) was used as control (Ctrl). The presence of Hb(n) (n=α, β and hemin)/Hb was validated by Western blotting (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). We tested for DNA-damage (DNAD) by exposing normal colonic-epithelial-cell-line, NCM460, to 10μM and 100μM of Hb(n)/Hb, individually for 2 h, 6 h, and 12 h. Quantification of Hb-α-staining was done by Nikon Elements Advance Research Analysis software. ROS was measured by the production of 8-OHdG. DNAD was assessed by Comet-assay. Colonic tissue homogenate antioxidants Nrf2-, CAT-, SOD- and GPx-expressions was analyzed densitometrically/ normalized by β-actin. Results IHC of CC/UC mucosal/submucosal-compartments stained strongly positive for Hb-α and significantly higher vs. Ctrl. NCM460 exposed to Hb(n)/Hb exhibited steadily-increasing ROS and subsequent DNAD. DNAD was higher in 10μM than 100μM in Hb-β/hemin the first 2 h then plateaued followed by DNAD-repair. This may be likely due to apoptosis in the later concentration. Nrf2 enzyme activities among UC, CC and UCAC were observed impaired in all IBD subjects. Decreased levels of Nrf2 among UC vs. CC patients with active disease was insignificant as well as vs. Ctrls but significantly lower in UCAC vs. Ctrl. SOD was decreased in UC and UCAC and GPx in CC but statistically not significant. Comparing CC vs. UC, SOD was significantly lower in CC (p< 0.05). CAT was observed increased among CC/UC/UCAC patients and GPx in UC and UCAC vs. Ctrl, respectively, and significantly increased in CC vs. Ctrl (p< 0.01) Conclusion In the colitides mucosal/submucosal tissue microenvironments demonstrated pool of free-Hb-α-chain. In vitro exposure of NCM460-cells to Hb(n)/Hb induced ROS and DNAD. Toxic effect of free-Hb-α, in colonic epithelial cells is therefore through production of ROS-formation modulated by impairment of antioxidant effects. Targeting reduction-oxidation-sensitive pathways and transcription factors may offer options for IBD-management and colitis-related-cancer prevention.