Exp Mol Med.  2017 Apr;49(4):e318. 10.1038/emm.2017.15.

Inhibition of glutathione metabolism attenuates esophageal cancer progression

• Peng L
• Linghu R
• Chen D
• Yang J
• Kou X
• Wang XZ
• Hu Y
• Jiang YZ
• Yang J

• KMID: 2382709
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2017.15

Abstract

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a deadly malignancy with regard to mortality and prognosis, and the 5-year survival rate for all patients diagnosed with ESCC remains poor. A better understanding of the biological mechanisms of ESCC tumorigenesis and progression is of great importance to improve treatment of this disease. In this study, we demonstrated that the glutathione metabolism pathway is highly enriched in ESCC cells compared with normal esophageal epithelial cells in an in vivo mouse model. In addition, treatment with L-buthionine-sulfoximine (BSO) to deplete glutathione decreased the ESCC tumor burden in mice, thus demonstrating the critical role of glutathione metabolism in ESCC progression. BSO treatment also led to decreased cell proliferation and activation of cell apoptosis in ESCC. Finally, BSO treatment blocked NF-κB pathway activation in ESCC. Our study reveals a new pathway that regulates ESCC progression and suggests that inhibition of glutathione metabolism may be a potential strategy for ESCC treatment.

MeSH Terms

Animals
Apoptosis
Carcinogenesis
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Cell Proliferation
Epithelial Cells
Esophageal Neoplasms*
Glutathione*
Humans
Metabolism*
Mice
Mortality
Prognosis
Survival Rate
Tumor Burden
Glutathione