INTRODUCTION The beneficial effects of oleic acid in cancer processes can no longer be doubted, but little is known about the mechanisms of action behind this phenomenon. AIM The aim of the present review is to clarify whether oleic acid has an effect on important mechanisms related to the carcinogenic processes. METHODS We searched electronic databases and bibliographies of selected articles were inspected for further reference. We focused our research on two cellular transformations characterizing cancer development: proliferation and cell death or apoptosis. RESULTS Numerous studies have reported an inhibition in cell proliferation induced by oleic acid in different tumor cell lines. Herein, oleic acid could suppress the over-expression of HER2 (erbB-2), a well-characterized oncogene which plays a key role in the etiology, invasive progression and metastasis in several human cancers. In addition, oleic acid could play a role in intracellular calcium signaling pathways linked to the proliferation event. Regarding cell death, oleic acid has been shown to induce apoptosis in carcinoma cells. The mechanisms behind the apoptotic event induced by oleic acid could be related to an increase in intracellular ROS production or caspase 3 activity. Several unsaturated fatty acids have been reported to induce apoptosis through a release of calcium from intracellular stores. However, evidence regarding such a role in oleic acid is lacking. CONCLUSIONS Oleic acid plays a role in the activation of different intracellular pathways involved in carcinoma cell development. Such a role could be the root of its antitumoral effects reported in clinical studies.

中文翻译：

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油酸的抗肿瘤作用；作用机制：综述。

引言人们不再怀疑油酸在癌症过程中的有益作用，但对该现象背后的作用机理知之甚少。目的本综述的目的是阐明油酸是否对与致癌过程有关的重要机制有影响。方法我们搜索了电子数据库，并检查了所选文章的书目，以供进一步参考。我们的研究集中在表征癌症发展的两种细胞转化上：增殖和细胞死亡或凋亡。结果众多研究报道了油酸在不同肿瘤细胞系中对细胞增殖的抑制作用。在这里，油酸可以抑制HER2（erbB-2）的过表达，HER2是一种充分表征的致癌基因，在病因中起着关键作用，几种人类癌症的侵袭性进展和转移。此外，油酸可能在与增殖事件有关的细胞内钙信号传导途径中起作用。关于细胞死亡，油酸已显示出诱导癌细胞凋亡。油酸诱导的凋亡事件背后的机制可能与细胞内ROS产生或caspase 3活性的增加有关。据报道，几种不饱和脂肪酸可通过从细胞内储存物中释放钙来诱导细胞凋亡。但是，缺乏关于在油酸中这种作用的证据。结论油酸在涉及癌细胞发展的不同细胞内途径的激活中起作用。这种作用可能是其在临床研究中报道的抗肿瘤作用的根源。