Lund T et al. (2005) Garlic arrests MDA-MB-435 cancer cells in mitosis, phosphorylates the proapoptotic BH3-only protein BimEL and induces apoptosis. Br J Cancer 92: 1773–1781

Garlic has received considerable attention for its potential role in cancer prevention. A new study published in the British Journal of Cancer has looked into the mechanisms by which a garlic extract induces apoptosis in cancer cells in vitro.

Lund et al. prepared a water-soluble extract from garlic cloves and measured the concentration of thiosulfinates. They then used a standard MTS assay to measure the effect of the extract on the growth of MDA-MB-435 cells—a human cancer cell line that carries a mutated p53 gene. A 24 hour exposure to the extract of thiosulfinates at a concentration of 15 μg/ml produced a 50% reduction in the number of living cells. Further analysis confirmed that the extract arrested the cells mainly in mitosis and induced apoptosis.

The garlic extract was associated with a significant increase in a phosphorylated form of the proapoptotic protein BimEL (which is normally bound to the microtubule-associated dynein motor complex) and its enrichment in the mitochondrial fraction; the apoptotic effect of garlic, therefore, is likely to be due in part to the disruption of microtubules and the translocation of BimEL to mitochondria.