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Molecular Mechanism of Anti-cancer Action of PUFAs with Particular Reference to GLA in Glioma

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Molecular Biochemical Aspects of Cancer

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Abstract

The manifold actions of bioactive lipids especially in the regulation of inflammation, immune response, mutagenesis, and carcinogenesis and their unique ability to modulate the actions of various cytokines and cell membrane structure and function and generation of ROS (including nitric oxide, NO) suggest that they may have a crucial role in the pathobiology of cancer. This is especially true of their ability to induce apoptosis/ferroptosis/necrosis and other forms of cell death. Our own studies and those of others clearly demonstrated that bioactive lipids especially GLA, AA, EPA, and DHA can selectively eliminate tumor cells when given in appropriate doses. T derive such an anti-cancer action bioactive lipids need to be delivered to the cancer cells. In vitro, in vivo, and limited clinical studies revealed that GLA can regress human glioma without any side effects. This selective tumoricidal action of GLA and other polyunsaturated fatty acids seems to reside in their ability to augment free radical generation (ROS, NO, PUFA radical, etc.) and consequent formation and accumulation of toxic lipid peroxides only in tumor but not in normal cells. In an extension of these studies, our recent studies showed that co-administration of these bioactive lipids in conjunction with high doses of vitamin C and conventional anti-cancer drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors can induce remission of other solid tumors in humans. Thus, it is possible that even drug-resistant cancers could be effectively treated using this bioactive lipid-based therapeutic approach.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BioScience Research Centre and Department of Medicine, GVP Medical College and Hospital, Visakhapatnam, India

    Undurti N. Das

  2. UND Life Sciences, Battle Ground, WA, USA

    Undurti N. Das

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Das, U.N. (2020). Molecular Mechanism of Anti-cancer Action of PUFAs with Particular Reference to GLA in Glioma. In: Molecular Biochemical Aspects of Cancer. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0741-1_5

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