Stiffening of Cancer Cell Membranes Is a Key Biophysical Mechanism of Primary and Tertiary Cancer Prevention with Green Tea Polyphenols
- PMID: 33268644
- DOI: 10.1248/cpb.c20-00300
Stiffening of Cancer Cell Membranes Is a Key Biophysical Mechanism of Primary and Tertiary Cancer Prevention with Green Tea Polyphenols
Abstract
Over the past 30 years, research of green tea polyphenols, especially (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), has revealed that consumption of green tea is a practical and effective primary cancer prevention method for the general population. More recently, we believe that green tea polyphenols are beneficial for tertiary cancer prevention using green tea alone or combined with anticancer drugs because EGCG has the potential to inhibit metastatic progression and stemness, and enhance antitumor immunity. In an effort to identify a common underlying mechanism responsible for EGCG's multifunctional effects on various molecular targets, we studied the biophysical effects of EGCG on cell stiffness using atomic force microscopy. We found that EGCG acts to stiffen the membranes of cancer cells, leading to inhibition of signaling pathways of various receptors. Stiffening of membranes with EGCG inhibited AXL receptor tyrosine kinase, a stimulator of cell softening, motility and stemness, and expression of programmed cell death-ligand 1. This review covers the following: i) primary cancer prevention using EGCG or green tea, ii) tertiary cancer prevention by combining EGCG and anticancer drugs, iii) inhibition of metastasis with EGCG by stiffening the cell membrane, iv) inhibition of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase, a stimulator of cell softening and motility, with EGCG, v) inhibition of stemness properties with EGCG, and vi) EGCG as an alternative chemical immune checkpoint inhibitor. Development of new drugs that enhance stiffening of cancer cell membranes may be an effective strategy for tertiary cancer prevention and treatment.
Keywords: (−)-epigallocatechin gallate; AXL; Young’s modulus; cancer stem cell; motility.
Similar articles
-
Cancer Prevention with Green Tea and Its Principal Constituent, EGCG: from Early Investigations to Current Focus on Human Cancer Stem Cells.Mol Cells. 2018 Feb 28;41(2):73-82. doi: 10.14348/molcells.2018.2227. Epub 2018 Jan 31. Mol Cells. 2018. PMID: 29429153 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Novel mechanisms of anticancer activities of green tea component epigallocatechin- 3-gallate.Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2014;14(6):779-86. doi: 10.2174/1871520614666140521114327. Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2014. PMID: 24851882 Review.
-
Green tea phenolics inhibit butyrate-induced differentiation of colon cancer cells by interacting with monocarboxylate transporter 1.Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013 Dec;1832(12):2264-70. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2013.08.009. Epub 2013 Aug 28. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013. PMID: 23994611 Free PMC article.
-
Recent advances on tea polyphenols.Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2012 Jan 1;4(1):111-31. doi: 10.2741/363. Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2012. PMID: 22201858 Free PMC article. Review.
-
EGCG, green tea polyphenols and their synthetic analogs and prodrugs for human cancer prevention and treatment.Adv Clin Chem. 2011;53:155-77. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-385855-9.00007-2. Adv Clin Chem. 2011. PMID: 21404918 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Alleviation effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate against acute kidney injury following severe burns.Clin Exp Nephrol. 2024 Feb;28(2):136-143. doi: 10.1007/s10157-023-02414-1. Epub 2023 Oct 17. Clin Exp Nephrol. 2024. PMID: 37847436 Free PMC article.
-
Rowanberry-A Source of Bioactive Compounds and Their Biopharmaceutical Properties.Plants (Basel). 2023 Sep 11;12(18):3225. doi: 10.3390/plants12183225. Plants (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37765389 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Research Materials
Miscellaneous