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The Cancer-Suppressing and -Promoting Actions of Capsaicin

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Role of Capsaicin in Oxidative Stress and Cancer

Part of the book series: Diet and Cancer ((DICA,volume 3))

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Abstract

Cancer chemoprevention is employed to block or reverse the progression of malignancies. To date, several thousand agents have been found to possess chemopreventive activity. One such compound is capsaicin, a component of chili peppers that exhibits anti-growth activity against various cancer cell lines. Capsaicin exerts its cytotoxic action by activating an array of signaling mechanisms, including generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as messengers to initiate apoptosis, a type I programmed cell death. However, numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that capsaicin also possesses tumor-promoting activity; possibly in part, reflecting activation of autophagy, an alternative (type II) programmed death process. This article reviews the recent literature on the paradoxical effects of capsaicin on cancer growth and the diverse capsaicin-induced signaling pathways that lead to cell death or tumorigenesis. Some of the most common cellular targets of capsaicin are also discussed.

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Abbreviations

ATM:

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated

C/EBP:

CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein

DHC:

Dihydrocapsaicin

DISC:

Death-inducing signaling complex

EGFR:

Epidermal growth factor receptor

EMT:

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition

ER:

Endoplasmic reticulum

ERK:

Extracellular signal-regulation kinase

G153ADD153/CHOP:

Growth arrest and DNA damage inducible gene

GFP:

Green fluorescent protein

IL:

Interleukin

JNK1:

c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1

MAPKs:

Mitogen-activated protein kinases

MEFs:

Mouse embryo fibroblasts

NF-κB:

Nuclear transcription factor κB

NO:

Nitric oxide

PI3K:

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase

PKCα:

Protein kinase Cα

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

shRNA:

Small interfering (hairpin) RNA

STAT:

Signal transducer and activator of transcription

TNFα:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

tNOX; ENOX2:

Tumor-associated NADH oxidase

TPA:

Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate

TRAIL:

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand

TRPV1:

Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1

VEGF:

Vascular endothelial growth factor

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Science Council (NSC 100-2320-B-005-005) and the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, Republic of China under the ATU plan.

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  1. Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, No. 250 Kuo-Kung Rd., Taichung, 40227, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Pin Ju Chueh

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    Sanjay K. Srivastava

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Chueh, P.J. (2013). The Cancer-Suppressing and -Promoting Actions of Capsaicin. In: Srivastava, S. (eds) Role of Capsaicin in Oxidative Stress and Cancer. Diet and Cancer, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6317-3_7

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