Green tea catechin controls apoptosis in colon cancer cells by attenuation of H2O2-stimulated COX-2 expression via the AMPK signaling pathway at low-dose H2O2.

This study investigated the apoptotic regulation by green tea catechin epigallcatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on colon cancer cells in the presence of low-dose H(2)O(2) known to exert the activation of signal pathways leading to cell proliferation. In the presence of low-dose H(2)O(2), EGCG induced apoptosis and abolished the cell-proliferative effect exhibited by low-dose H(2)O(2). This reduction of growth was accompanied by an activation of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK), a decrease in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) levels, and the induction of apoptotic markers such as p53 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage. The low-dose H(2)O(2) stimulated COX-2 expression, and treating cells with synthetic AMPK activator AICAR (5-aminoimiazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-d-ribofuranoside) resulted in greater suppression of COX-2 expression and PGE(2). By treating cells with high concentrations of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger NAC (N-acetyl-1-cysteine), the apoptotic effect of EGCG was abolished and led to suppression of AMPK and COX-2, indicating that the liberation of excessive ROS might be the upstream signal of the AMPK-COX-2 signaling pathway even in the presence of low-dose H(2)O(2).