Avenue Vine

While this study, published this month in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, looked at the way the antioxidant may aid pancreatic cancer treatment, it also contributes to the growing knowledge on the health benefits arising from ingredients of red wine.

As well as disabling the function of the cancer cells by reaching and reacting with the mitochondria (the cell's energy source), researchers found that when they were pre-treated with resveratrol before being irradiated, it resulted in a type of cell death called apoptosis. This is an important goal of cancer therapy.

"Antioxidant research is very active and very seductive right now," said Paul Okunieff, chief of radiation oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Centre.

"The challenge lies in finding the right concentration and how it works inside the cell. Resveratrol seems to have a therapeutic gain by making tumour cells more sensitive to radiation and making normal tissue less sensitive."

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The study:
To build on such findings, Okunieff began studying resveratrol as a tumour sensitizer, which is when the link to the mitochondria was uncovered.

Researchers divided pancreatic cancer cells into two groups: cells treated without resveratrol then iodised, and ones treated with resveratrol at a relatively high dose of 50mg per ml before being iodised.

The amount of resveratrol in red wine can vary between types of grapes and growing seasons, and ranges can be as high as 30 mg per ml. But the researchers said higher doses are expected to be safe as long as a physician monitors the patient.

The study found that resveratrol reduced the function of proteins in the pancreatic cancer cell membranes responsible for pumping chemotherapy out of the cell, therefore making them more sensitive to the treatment.

Additionally, the antioxidant triggered the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing apoptosis, and depolarised the mitochondrial membranes, indicating a decrease in the cell's potential to function.

The researchers said the discovery is important because the mitochnodria contains its own DNA and can continuously supply the cell with energy when functioning fully. Stopping the energy flow can therefore help stop cancer.

In investigating why the pancreatic cancer cells are particularly resistant to chemotherapy and therefore reactive to the inclusion of resveratrol, the team found that the natural pumping of digestive enzymes to the duodenum actually flushes out chemotherapy from pancreas cells.

But as resveratrol interferes with the cancer cells' energy source, it also may decrease the power available to pump the treatment out of the cell.

Okunieff said: "While additional studies are needed, this research indicated that resveratrol has a promising future as part of the treatment for cancer." (*1.)

Key to why cancer kills so often, Pancreatic cancer can be difficult to spot

Scientists have pinpointed a possible reason why pancreatic cancer is such an aggressive disease.
A University of Liverpool team found a family of proteins involved in controlling cell movement could be key.

The study, which appears in the journal Gut, could offer a new lead on a disease which is hard to treat.

There are around 7,000 cases of pancreatic cancer in the UK each year. It can be hard to spot as the pancreas is located deep inside the body.

As a result, although surgery can potentially cure the disease, only 9% of patients go under the knife.

The Liverpool team were able to track the proteins, called CapG and Gelsolin, in tissue samples from normal and cancerous cells.

They found abnormally high concentrations of both proteins in the tumour tissue.

As both CapG and Gelsolin are known to have roles in regulating cell movement, the study suggests they may facilitate the spread of pancreatic cancer cells to other areas of the body

Spread curbed:
The researchers reduced the amounts of CapG and Gelsolin in pancreatic cancer cells in the laboratory - and found this limited the cells' ability to spread.

They also found pancreatic cancer patients had better prospects when the level of Gelsolin protein was low or undetectable.

The research also showed the amount of CapG found in the nucleus of the cancerous cells was proportional to the size of the tumour.

This could mean that this protein is closely linked to aggressive tumour growth as well as spread.

Lead researcher Dr Eithne Costello said: "These proteins may play a fundamental role in the aggressive spread and growth of pancreatic tumours.

"We now have a good idea about CapG's and Gelsolin's involvement in tumour spread, but we need to find out their precise contributions to provide us with important leads for new approaches to treatment."

Dr Lesley Walker, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said: "Pancreatic cancer is often detected at an advanced stage, and there is an urgent need for effective treatment.

"More research is needed on the basic science, and this work should provide some important leads for new approaches."

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and the North West Cancer Research Fund. (*2.)

(*1.) Sources: “Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology,” 2008;614:179-86; "Anti-cancer effect of resveratrol is associated with induction of apoptosis via a mitochondrial pathway alignment," Authors: Paul Okunieff, Weimin Sun, Wei Wang, Jung Kim, Shanmin Yang–“Red wine antioxidant may kill cancer cells,” Laura Crowley, BeverageDaily; (*2.) “Key to why cancer kills so often,“ BBC NEWS, March 27, 2008