Wheat germ extract decreases glucose uptake and RNA ribose formation but increases fatty acid synthesis in MIA pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells

The fermented wheat germ extract with standardized benzoquinone composition has potent tumor propagation inhibitory properties. The authors show that this extract induces profound metabolic changes in cultured MIA pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells when the [1,2-C-13(2)]glucose isotope is used as the s ingle tracer with biologic gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. MIA cells treated with 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/mL wheat germ extract showed a dose-dependen t decrease in cell glucose consumption, uptake of isotope into ribosomal RN A (2.4%, 9.4%, and 28.0%), and release of (CO2)-C-13. Conversely, direct gl ucose oxidation and ribose recycling in the pentose cycle showed a dose-dep endent increase of 1.2%, 20.7%, and 93.4%. The newly synthesized fraction o f cell palmitate and the C-13 enrichment of acetyl units were also signific antly increased with all doses of wheat germ extract. The fermented wheat g erm extract controls tumor propagation primarily by regulating glucose carb on redistribution between cell proliferation-related and cell differentiati on-related macromolecules. Wheat germ extract treatment is likely associate d with the phosphorylation and transcriptional regulation of metabolic enzy mes that are involved in glucose carbon redistribution between cell prolife ration-related structural and functional macromolecules (RNA, DNA) and the direct oxidative degradation of glucose, which have devastating consequence s for the proliferation and survival of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells in culture.