Milk protein reduces cancer cells ‘growth’
Swedish scientists have discovered that a milk protein with known health effects can significantly reduce the growth rate of colon cancer cells.
Researchers from the University of Lund, Sweden found that lactoferricin4-14 (Lfcin4-14) can lower growth rate of colon cancer cells over time by prolonging the period of the cell cycle before chromosomes are replicated.
In the study, treatment with Lfcin4-14 reduced DNA damage in colon cancer cells exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. “We previously hypothesised that the prolongation of the cell cycle in colon cancer cells as a result of Lfcin4-14 treatment may give the cells extra time for DNA repair,” said one of the lead investigators, Professor Stina Oredsson.
“Indeed, UV light-induced damage was decreased in colon cancer cells treated with Lfcin4-14 compared with controls. The differences were small but significant,” Oredsson said in a statement.
Investigators exposed colon cancer cells to UV light that caused DNA damage and then grew the cells in the absence or presence of Lfcin4-14. They evaluated DNA damage using a sensitive technique known as comet assay.
After the cells are processed, the cells with DNA damage resemble a comet with a tail, and the intensity of the tail compared to the comet head indicates the number of DNA breaks.
UV light exposure resulted in an increase in the number of comets while treatment with Lfcin4-14 reduced the number of comets in UV light-exposed cells.
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