Background/aim: The antitumor effect of fucoxanthin, a marine carotenoid found in brown algae, was investigated on prostate cancer cells.
Materials and methods: LNCap prostate cancer cells were treated with fucoxanthin and the effects were evaluated in relation to cell proliferation, cell cycle, expression of growth arrest, DNA damage-inducible protein (GADD45) genes, and phosphorylation status of mitogen-activated protein kinases.
Results: Fucoxanthin inhibited the growth of LNCap prostate cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Growth-inhibitory effects were accompanied by the induction of GADD45A expression and G(1) cell cycle arrest, but not apoptosis. Furthermore, fucoxanthin activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK), while the inhibition of SAPK/JNK attenuated the induction of G(1) arrest and GADD45A expression by fucoxanthin.
Conclusion: These results show that fucoxanthin induces G(1) cell cycle arrest in prostate cancer cells, and suggest that ADD45A and SAPK/JNK might be involved in these effects.