Inhibitory effects of carotenoids on the invasion of rat ascites hepatoma cells in culture

The effects of carotenoids – α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, canthaxanthin, astaxanthin – on the invasion of rat ascites hepatoma AH109A cells were investigated by co-culturing the hepatoma cells with rat mesentery-derived mesothelial cells (M-cells). All the carotenoids examined inhibited AH109A invasion in a dose-dependent manner up to 5 μM. Cancer cells previously cultured with hypoxanthine (HX) and xanthine oxidase (XO) showed a highly invasive activity. Carotenoids, 5 μM of β-carotene and astaxanthin, suppressed this reactive oxygen species-potentiated invasive capacity by simultaneously treating AH109A cells with the carotenoids, HX and XO. These results suggest that the antioxidative property of these carotenoids may be involved in their anti-invasive action.