Findings from this pioneer study demonstrate that CF, which is unique to rice bran oil, is capable of triggering apoptosis in CRC cells at early stages of carcinogenesis. Furthermore, CF enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in metastatic CRC cells. This study provides clear evidence that the health-beneficial properties of whole grain consumption are not only limited by the presence of dietary fiber but also other molecules that can either act as a chemopreventive agent to directly induce tumor regression or a sensitizer to enhance TRAIL-induced apoptosis in metastatic cancer cells. / High intake of whole grain food has been suggested as an important factor for reducing the risk of colon cancer, owing to the abundance of indigestible fiber. Rice bran, which is a component of raw rice after removal of starchy endosperm in milling process, has been shown to be a rich source of some health-beneficial compounds for preventing cancer, hyperlipidaemia, fatty liver, hypercalciuria, kidney stones, and heart disease (Jariwalla, 2001). In the present study, proliferation-inhibitory effects of some rice bran polyphenolic compounds were investigated on a panel of human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines, including SW480 (stage B), SW620 (stage C) and Colo-201 (stage D) with increasing metastatic potential according to the Dukes' classification system. / Results from the MTT study revealed that, among the polyphenolic compounds tested, cycloartenyl ferulate (CF) showed the most prominent proliferation inhibition on the CRC cells. CF is one of the typical ferulic acid esters of triterpene alcohols present in rice bran oil. The cancer cell proliferation was reduced by 62, 31 and 21% of their control levels after 72 h of 200 muM CF treatment, respectively. CF seemed to possess higher ability to control proliferation of tumor cells at early stages of cancer development. In meanwhile, results from Toxilight study showed that CF had low toxicity on normal colon CCD-18-Co cells. The anticancer activity of CF was further illustrated by its ability to induce significant regression of SW480 xenograft in nude mice. CF was found to induce apoptosis in SW480 cells in vitro. DNA flow cytometric studies demonstrated that CF elevated dose- and time-dependently the sub G1 or apoptotic cells with fragmented DNA. The pro-apoptotic effect of CF was further confirmed using immunoblotting study showing cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), which is a hallmark feature of apoptosis. Besides, the executioner procaspase-3, -6 and -7 were found to be processed and activated. On the other hand, administration of pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK completely rescued the cells from PARP cleavage, indicating that CF elicited solely caspase-dependent apoptosis. Elevation of death receptors DR4 and DR5 with the CF treatment seems to originate the upstream activation of the initiator procaspase-8 and -10 of the extrinsic apoptosis pathway. Flow cytometric JC-1 studies further demonstrated that CF significantly altered the mitochondrial membrane potential in a dose-dependent manner together with cytochrome c and smac/DIABLO but not AIF release from mitochondria into the cytosol, as well as the activation of procaspase-9 of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Depletion of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and elevation of pro-apoptotic Bak were observed; meanwhile, Bid was found to be cleaved by caspase-8, so that the death receptor pathway might be exaggerated by the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. / Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising candidate for cancer therapeutics due to its ability to induce apoptosis selectively in cancer cells (Gura, 1997). Result from MTT study illustrated that SW620 was more resistant than SW480 to TRAIL treatment. It is recognized that SW620 is the metastatic form of SW480 derived from the same patient at a later time, so it is important to develop agents that are able to sensitize the cancer cells to TRAIL, or to recover TRAIL sensitivity. We show for the first time that CF sensitizes SW620 cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis and the mechanisms involved at least elevation of DR4, enhanced activation of caspase-8 and -3, as well as increase in DNA fragmentation. / Kong, Ka Lai. / Adviser: Wong Yum Shing. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-01, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-136). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.