Can Soy and Veggies Repair DNA?

Category: Diet and Nutrition

The cell study, published in the British Journal of Cancer (2006, vol. 94, no. 3), investigated the effect of I3C and genistein on two prostate cancer and two breast cancer cell lines. Researchers at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, DC, treated two prostate cancer and two breast cancer cell lines with increasing doses of I3C and genistein. The scientists measured levels of BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins, which repair damaged DNA. Cancer cells are known to have reduced levels of BRCA proteins, which blocks DNA repair and leads to the production of abnormal cells and cancer.

The researchers found that BRCA1 and BRCA2 levels increased with low doses of I3C or genistein, and became greater in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. The authors suggest that this result has potential relevance to cancer prevention. Findings also revealed a synergistic effect when I3C and genistein were administered together, with greater than expected BRCA levels.

"Here, we report that:

(1) both I3C and genistein, a soy isoflavone with cancer preventive activity for prostate cancer and other tumour types, upregulate both BRCA1 and BRCA2;
(2) the BRCA genes contribute to some functional activities of I3C and genistein; and
(3) BRCA induction may be due, in part, to stimulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress signalling," the study authors write.

"These findings have implications for understanding the mechanism(s) of action of these phytochemical cancer prevention agents."

Posted by Kristopher Foster on October 14, 2013 11:00 AM