Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) is an isothiocyanate that has been found in cruciferous vegetables and has anticancer activity.1 It inhibits the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), reduces cellular glutathione (GSH) levels, and induces the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in T72 ovarian epithelial cells expressing H-RasV12 when used at a concentration of 10 µM.2 PEITC (10 µM) induces cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and apoptosis in PL45, MIA PaCa-2, and BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer cells.3 It decreases the number of tumor cells expressing Ki-67 or proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), markers of cell proliferation, and reduces tumor growth in a MIA PaCa-2 mouse xenograft model.
1.Gupta, P., Wright, S.E., Kim, S.-H., et al.Phenethyl isothiocyanate: A comprehensive review of anti-cancer mechanismsBiochim. Biophys. Acta1846(2)405-424(2014) 2.Trachootham, D., Zhou, Y., Zhang, H., et al.Selective killing of oncogenically transformed cells through a ROS-mediated mechanism by beta-phenylethyl isothiocyanateCancer Cell10(3)241-252(2006) 3.Stan, S.D., Singh, S.V., Whitcomb, D.C., et al.Phenethyl isothiocyanate inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in a MIAPaca2 xenograft animal modelNutr. Cancer66(4)747-755(2014)