Abstract
We investigated the chemopreventive effects of beer, nonalcoholic beers (NABs), and beer-components (glycine betaine (GB)) on NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis in A/J mice, and the possible mechanisms underlying the antitumorigenic effects of beer, NABs, and beer-components. Beer, NABs, and GB reduced NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis. We investigated the antimutagenicity of beer, NABs and beer-components (GB and pseudouridine (PU)) toward the mutagenicity of 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Beer, NABs, and beer components were antimutagenic toward MNNG and NNK in the Ames test using S. typhimurium TA1535. In contrast, MNNG and NNK mutagenicity detected in S. typhimurium YG7108, a strain lacking O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferases (ogtST and adaST) did not decrease in the presence of beer, NABs, or beer components, suggesting that they may mediate its antimutagenic effect by enhancing DNA damage repair. Phosphorylation of Akt and STAT3, with or without epidermal growth factor stimulation, in lung epithelial-like A549 cells were significantly decreased following beer, NABs, GB and PU. They targeted both the initiation and growth/progression steps of carcinogenesis, specifically via antimutagenesis, stimulation of alkyl DNA-adduct repair, and suppression of Akt- and STAT3- mediated growth signaling. GB and PU may contribute, in part, to the biological effects of beer and NABs via the suppression of Akt and STAT3 phosphorylation.