Phytol is a branched, long-chain aliphatic alcohol which has various biological effects. In this study, we examined phytol as a tumor promoter in a mouse skin initiation-promotion model, and compared its promotion activity with that of 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Female ICR mice, 7 weeks of age, were initiated with 100 µ µ µ µg of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, and were then topically promoted twice a week for 16 weeks with 100 mg of phytol or with 2.5 µ µ µ µg of TPA.In this model 95% of animals treated with phytol developed skin tumors within 16 weeks. The average number of lesions per mouse treated with phytol was significantly lower than that in mice treated with TPA, and this significant difference continued up to 16 weeks after the end of promotion treatment. Characterization of hyperplasia 48 h after topical application of agents showed that epidermal thickness and vertical thickness following topical application of phytol were significantly increased compared with vehicle controls, but were significantly smaller than in animals treated with TPA. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity following topical application of phytol was increased in a dose-dependent manner and showed a weak, delayed induction (which was maximal 11-12 h after treatment) as compared with the case of TPA. The specific binding of [ 3 H]phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBU) by JB6 cells was not inhibited by phytol at concentrations up to 1 mM. These results indicate that phytol has a weak tumor promoter activity compared to TPA and is a non-TPA-type tumor promoter in this model of mouse skin carcinogenesis.
Key words:Phytol -Non-TPA-type tumor promoter -Two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesisOrnithine decarboxylase -Radioligand assay Mouse skin tumorigenesis can be divided into distinct stages of tumor initiation and promotion. According to carcinogenesis experiments, tumor development on mouse skin can be provoked by topical application of an initiator, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), followed by repeated treatment with a tumor promoter.1, 2) Our current understanding of responses to skin tumor promoters has been derived primarily from studies with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), which affects basal cells but not differentiating cells in mouse epidermis.3) While TPA is the strongest and most widely studied skin tumor promoter, other chemical compounds are known to possess tumorpromoting properties in mouse skin. There have been many reports which have described TPA-type promoters, such as Roussin red methyl ester, 4) and teleocidin, 5) and non-TPA-type promoters, such as okadaic acid, 6) thapsigargin, 7,8) and mirex.
9)Phytol (3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol), the fatty acid side chain of tocopherol, is a branched, longchain aliphatic alcohol contained in large quantities in plants and is a component of chlorophyll. In recent extensive studies, various cellular and biological effects of phytol have been demonstrated, such as its action as an agonist in hypox...