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. 1995 Mar 14;92(6):1831–1835. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.6.1831

Capsaicin inhibits preferentially the NADH oxidase and growth of transformed cells in culture.

D J Morré 1, P J Chueh 1, D M Morré 1
PMCID: PMC42376  PMID: 7892186

Abstract

A hormone- and growth factor-stimulated NADH oxidase of the mammalian plasma membrane, constitutively activated in transformed cells, was inhibited preferentially in HeLa, ovarian carcinoma, mammary adenocarcinoma, and HL-60 cells, all of human origin, by the naturally occurring quinone analog capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-noneamide), compared with plasma membranes from human mammary epithelial, rat liver, normal rat kidney cells, or HL-60 cells induced to differentiate with dimethyl sulfoxide. With cells in culture, capsaicin preferentially inhibited growth of HeLa, ovarian carcinoma, mammary adenocarcinoma, and HL-60 cells but was largely without effect on the mammary epithelial cells, rat kidney cells, or HL-60 cells induced to differentiate with dimethyl sulfoxide. Inhibited cells became smaller and cell death was accompanied by a condensed and fragmented appearance of the nuclear DNA, as revealed by fluorescence microscopy with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, suggestive of apoptosis. The findings correlate capsaicin inhibition of cell surface NADH oxidase activity and inhibition of growth that correlate with capsaicin-induced apoptosis.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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