Quantification of p21 gene expression in Caco-2 cells treated with sodium butyrate using real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay.

Butyric acid, a short chain fatty-acid derived from bacterial fermentation of complex carbohydrates in the large intestine has been shown to be a growth inhibitory in many colon cancer cell lines. Butyrate induced inhibition of cellular proliferation is considered to result from the induction of P21 gene expression through the activation of this gene transcription. P21 is an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent protein kinases that are required for the cells to enter the DNA synthesis phase.