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International Immunology, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 275-281, February 2004
© 2004 Japanese Society for Immunology

Allicin stimulates lymphocytes and elicits an antitumor effect: a possible role of p21ras

Miriam Patya1, Muayad A. Zahalka1, Alexey Vanichkin1, Aharon Rabinkov2, Talia Miron2, David Mirelman2, Meir Wilchek2, Harry M. Lander3 and Abraham Novogrodsky1

1 Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine–Tel Aviv University, Rabin Medical Center–Beilinson Campus, Petah-Tikva 49100, Israel 2 Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel 3 Department of Biochemistry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA

Correspondence to: A. Novogrodsky; E-mail: novog{at}post.tau.ac.il
Transmitting editor: M. Feldmann

Allicin, the main organic allyl sulfur component in garlic, exhibits immune-stimulatory and antitumor properties. Allicin stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation in mouse splenocytes and enhanced cell-mediated cytotoxicity in human peripheral mononuclear cells. Multiple administration (i.p.) of allicin elicited a marked antitumor effect in mice inoculated with B-16 melanoma and MCA-105 fibrosarcoma. The immune-stimulatory and antitumor effects of allicin are characterized by a bell-shaped curve, i.e. allicin at high, supra-optimal concentrations is less effective or inhibitory. Allicin induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) in human peripheral mononuclear cells, and also in wild-type Jurkat T-cells. Allicin failed to activate ERK1/2 in Jurkat T cells that express p21ras, in which Cys118 was replaced by Ser. These cells are not susceptible to redox-stress modification and activation. We postulate that the immune stimulatory effect of allicin is mediated by redox-sensitive signaling such as activation of p21ras. It is suggested that the antitumor effect of allicin is related to its immune-stimulatory properties.

Keywords: cancer immunotherapy, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, free radical, p21ras


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