Resveratrol Inhibits N-nitrosodiethylamine-Induced Ornithine Decarboxylase and Cyclooxygenase in Mice

Increased levels or overexpression of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis pathway, is characteristic of tumor cells. Similarly, prostaglandins (PGs) appear to be important in the pathogenesis of cancer because these affect mitogenesis, cellular adhesion, immune surveillance and apoptosis. Cancers form much more PGs than the original tissue from which they have arisen. This study has revealed that pretreatment of mice with resveratrol at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight for two weeks blocked the N-nitrosodiethylamine(NDEA)-induced cytosolic ODC levels in the liver and lungs. The blockage was pronounced in hepatic tissue compared to pulmonary tissue. Resveratrol feeding caused a significant reduction in microsomal cyclooxygenase (COX) activities in the liver and lungs, while the dosage of NDEA (200 mg/kg body weight) induced COX activity 24 h after its administration. In any case, resveratrol pretreatment turned out to effectively block the induction of COX activity in the lungs by NDEA.