Chapter 67 - The Effect of Tea Polyphenols on Microsatellite Instability in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Microsatellite instability (MSI) in colorectal cancer is caused by the mutation of mismatch repair genes, and is characterized by multiple gene mutations in cancer cells. Studies have shown that tea polyphenols can inhibit colorectal cancer and decrease mutation rates. Do tea polyphenols inhibit the MSI colorectal cancer via specific pathways? In vivo and in vitro studies show that tea polyphenols inhibit cancer and cause colorectal cancer cell apoptosis. Expression array experiments showed that the HES1, JAG1, MT2A and MAFA genes were down-regulated in LoVo colorectal cancer cell lines. Detection of MSI in LoVo and SW480 cell lines by multiplex fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (PCR) showed that changes of MSI tended to become stable after treatment with tea polyphenols, meaning that the tea polyphenols keep the microsatellite markers stable in MSI colorectal cancer.