Background::
Lung cancer is a life-threatening disease that is still prevalent worldwide.
This study aims to evaluate the effects of matricin, a sesquiterpene, on the carcinogenic
agent benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]-induced lung cancer in Swiss albino mice.
Methods::
Lung cancer was induced by oral administration of B(a)P at 50 mg/kg b. wt. in model
Swiss-albino mice (group II) as well in experimental group III, and treated with matricin (100
mg/kg b. wt.) in group III. Upon completion of treatment for 18 weeks, the changes in body
weight, tumor formation, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels (GSH, SOD, GPx, GR,
QR, CAT), lipid peroxidation (LPO) level, pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β),
immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgM), apoptosis markers (Bax, Bcl-xL), tumor markers (carcinoembryogenic
antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE)), and histopathological (H&E) alterations
were determined.
Results::
The results indicate that B(a)P caused a significant increase of tumor formation in the
lungs, increased tumor markers and inflammatory cytokines in serum, and depletion of enzymatic/
non-enzymatic antioxidants and immunoglobulins, compared to the untreated control group.
Matricin treatment significantly reversed the changes caused by B(a)P as evidenced by the biochemical
and histopathological assays.
Conclusion::
The changes caused by matricin clearly indicate the cancer-preventive effects of
matricin against B(a)P-induced lung cancer in animal models, which can be attributed to the antioxidant
activity, immunomodulation, and mitigation of the NF-kβ pathway.