Cell-type specific anti-cancerous effects of nitro-oleic acid and its combination with gamma irradiation.

Nitro-fatty acids (NFAs) are endogenous lipid mediators capable of post-translational modifications of selected regulatory proteins. Here, we investigated the anti-cancerous effects of nitro-oleic acid (NOOA) and its combination with gamma irradiation on different cancer cell lines. The effects of NOOA on cell death, cell cycle distribution, or expression of p21 and cyclin D1 proteins were analyzed in cancer (A-549, HT-29 and FaDu) or normal cell lines (HGF, HFF-1). Dose enhancement ratio at 50 % survival fraction (DER) was calculated for samples pre-treated with NOOA followed by gamma irradiation. NOOA suppressed viability and induced apoptotic cell death. These effects were cell line specific but not in general selective for cancer cells. HT-29 cell line exerted higher sensitivity toward NOOA treatment among cancer cell lines tested: induction of cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase was associated with an increase in p21 and a decrease in cyclin D1 expression. Pre-treatment of HT-29 cells with NOOA prior irradiation showed a significantly increased DER, demonstrating radiosensitizing effects. In conclusion, NOOA exhibited potential for combined chemoradiotherapy. Our results encourage the development of new NFAs with improved features for cancer chemoradiation.