Abstract
The fecal β-glucuronidase activity of patients with colon cancer and healthy controls were measured to determine the relationship between the fluctuation of intestinal bacterial β-glucuronidase and colon cancer. The fecal β-glucuronidase activity of patients with colon cancer was 1.7 times higher than that of the healthy controls. However, when these fecal specimens were sonicated, the enzyme activity of patients with colon cancer was 12.1 times higher than that of the healthy controls. The fecal β-glucuronidase activity of human intestinal bacteria was drastically induced by its substrate or the bile secreted after a subcutaneous injection of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) and benzo[a]pyrene into rats. DMH-and benzo[a]pyrene-treated biles induced β-glucuronidase activity in the human intestinal microflora by approximately 1.5- and 2.3-fold, respectively. They also induced β-glucuronidase inE. coli HGU-3, which is a β-glucuronidase-producing bacterium from the human intestine. D-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone similarly inhibited fecal β-glucuronidase in several patients with colon cancer in addition to the healthy controls. This suggests that potent β-glucuronidase activity is a prime factor in the etiology of colon cancer.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fiala, E. S., Investigations into the metabolism and mode of action of the colon carcinogen 1,2-dimethylhydrazine.Cancer, 36, 2407–2412 (1975).
Fiala, E. S., Investigation into the metabolism and mode of action of the colon carcinogen 1,2-dimethylhydrazine and azoxymethane.Cancer, 40, 2436–2445 (1977).
Goldin, B. and Gorbach, S. L., The relationship between diet and rat fecal bacterial enzymes implicated in colon cancer.J. Natl. Cancer Ints., 57, 371–375 (1976).
Hill, M. J., Metabolic epidemiology of dietary factors in large bowel cancer.Cancer Res., 35, 3398–3402 (1975).
Kim, D. -H., Kang, H. -J., Park, S. -H. and Kobashi, K., Characterization of β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase of alkalotolerant intestinal bacteria.Biol. Pharm. Bull., 17, 423–426 (1994).
Kim, D. -H., Jang, I. -S., Park, J. -B. and Lee, S. -W., Protective roles of mushrooms in experimental colon carcinogenesis.Arch. Pharm. Res., 18, 79–83 (1995)
McLellan, E. A. and Bird, R. P., Aberrant Crypts: potential preneoplastic lesions in the murine colon.Cancer Res., 48, 6187–6192 (1988)
Reddy, B. S., Narisawa, T., Wright, P., Vukusich, D., Weiburger, J. H. and Wynder, E.L. Colon carcinogensis with azoxymethane and dimethylhydrazine in germfree rats.Cancer Res., 35, 287–290 (1975).
Reddy, B. S., Weiburger, J. H. and Wynder, E. L., Effects of high risk and low risk diets for colon carcinogenesis on fecal microflora and steroids in man.J. Nutr., 105, 878–884 (1975).
Thorton J. R., High colonic pH promotes colorectal cancer.Lancet, 16, 1081–1082 (1981).
Weiburger, J. H., Colon carcinogens and their mode of action.Cancer, 28, 60–70 (1971).
Weiburger, J. H., Reddy, B. S. and Wynder, E. L., Colon cancer: its epidemiology and experimental production.Cancer, 40, 2414–2420 (1977).
Wynder, E. L. and Reddy, B. S., Metabolic epidemiology of colorectal cancer.Cancer, 34, 801–806 (1974).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, DH., Jin, YH. Intestinal bacterial β-glucuronidase activity of patients with colon cancer. Arch Pharm Res 24, 564–567 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02975166
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02975166