Abstract
Omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids inhibit breast and prostate cancer cell growth. We previously
showed that N-acylethanolamine derivatives of n-3 (n-3-NAE) are endocannabinoids,
which regulate cancer cell proliferation. These n-3-NAE are synthesised in certain
cells/tissues, after supplementing with fatty acids, however, no one has assessed
whether and to what extent this occurs in cancer cells. We determined levels of endogenous
n-3-NAEs in hormone sensitive and insensitive prostate and breast cancer cells and
subsequent effects on other endocannabinoids (anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol),
before and after supplementing with DHA and EPA fatty acids, using HPLC tandem mass
spectrometry. This is the first study reporting that n-3-NAEs are synthesised from
their parent n-3 fatty acids in cancer cells, regardless of tumour type, hormone status
or the presence of fatty acid amide hydrolase. This could have important implications
for the use of n-3 fatty acids as therapeutic agents in breast and prostate cancers
expressing cannabinoid receptors.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 13, 2011
Accepted:
September 20,
2011
Received in revised form:
September 19,
2011
Received:
March 4,
2011
Footnotes
☆Sources of support: This work was supported by Grants from the National Institutes of Health (DA-009789), TENOVUS Scotland, and NHS Grampian Endowments fund.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
