Study capsaicin slowed growth of breast cancer cells

Capsaicin, an ingredient of harsh substances such as pepperoni or pepper, inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells. This is reported by a team around the Bochum scent researcher Prof. Dr. med. Dr. Dr. habil. Hanns Hatt and dr. Lea Weber after experiments on cultured cells. The experiments were carried out with the cell line SUM149PT, which is a model system for a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, the triple-negative type. For this type of cancer, chemotherapy is currently the only treatment possible.

Especially common receptor
In the cultured cells, the team found a number of classical olfactory receptors. However, especially frequently represented was a receptor, which otherwise occurs in the fifth cranial nerve, the nervus trigeminus. It belongs to the so-called Transient Receptor Potential channels and is called TRPV1. Helional - a scent of fresh sea breeze - activates this receptor in addition to the harsher molecule capsaicin.

Sharpness substances against breast cancer. Image: artjazz-fotolia

Cancer cells die
The researchers activated the TRPV1 receptor in cell culture with capsaicin or helional by adding the substances to the culture for several hours or days. As a result, the cancer cells increased more slowly. In addition, the treatment increased the death of tumor cells. The surviving cells were also unable to move as fast as before; this suggests that they may form poorer metastases in the body.

"If we could target the TRPV1 receptor with drugs, a new approach to the treatment of this cancer could emerge," says Hanns Hatt. Ingestion through food or inhalation is not enough. (Pm)