Abstract 5665: Zerumbone inhibits phorbol ester-induced intracellular ROS accumulation and neoplastic transformation by inducing Nrf2-driven heme oxygenase-1 expression in mouse epidermal cells
Authors: Shin Jun-Wan , Murakami Akira , Ohigashi Hajime , Na Hye-Kyung , Surh Young-Joon 
Published: February 2011

Zerumbone, derived from tropical ginger (Zingibers zerumbet, Zingiberaceae), was found to suppress chemically-induced skin tumor formation in mice. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the chemopreventive effects of zerumbone on mouse skin carcinogenesis are poorly understood. Here, we report that topical application of zerumbone onto dorsal skin of HR-1 hairless mice induced expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) through activation of Nrf2, a major transcription factor that plays a pivotal role in regulating expression of several antioxidant/detoxifying enzymes. To verify the possible involvement of Nrf2 in zerumbone-derived induction of HO-1, we compared HO-1 protein levels in the zerumbone-treated skin of Nrf2 wild-type (+/+) and Nrf2 knock out (−/−) mice. Nrf2-deficient mice expressed HO-1 in the skin to a much lesser extent than did the wild-type animals following topical application of zerumbone (10 μmol). Moreover, zerumbone (10 μM) inhibited anchorage-independent growth as well as ROS production in mouse epidermal JB6 cells stimulated with 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA; 10 ng/ml). Likewise, treatment of JB6 cells with zerumbone resulted in a markedly increased nuclear translocation of Nrf2 as well as the promoter activity of HO-1. In addition, siRNA knock down of nrf2 in JB6 cells diminished the zerumbone-induced expression of HO-1. Using a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, we confirmed that zerumbone induced the direct binding of Nrf2 to antioxidant response element (ARE). We hypothesized that the electrophilic α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moiety present in zerumbone could modify critical cysteine thiols of Keap1, a cytosolic repressor of Nrf2, thereby facilitating its dissociation from Keap1 for nuclear translocation. α-Humulene and 8-hydroxy-α-humulene, structural derivatives of zerumbone that lack the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl group, were unable to activate Nrf2 and induce HO-1 expression in both mouse skin in vivo and cultured mouse epidermal cells. Unlike zerumbone, these non-electrophilic analogs failed to suppress TPA-induced JB6 cell transformation and ROS accumulation. Interestingly, treatment of JB6 cells with 50 μM carbon monoxide-releasing molecule (CORM) markedly reduced ROS accumulation indicating that carbon monoxide formed as a consequence of zerumbone-induced HO-1 expression has an important role in abolishing TPA-induced ROS generation. Taken together, the above findings suggest that up-regulation of HO-1 by zerumbone is mediated via the Nrf2 signaling pathway, which provides a mechanistic basis for the anti-tumor promoting effects of this sesquiterpene on mouse skin carcinogenesis.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5665.