Inflammaging and Cancer: A Challenge for the Mediterranean Diet

Nutrients

Rita Ostan²  Catia Lanzarini²  Elisa Pini²  Maria Scurti²  Dario Vianello²  Claudia Bertarelli²  Cristina Fabbri²  Massimo Izzi¹  Giustina Palmas¹  Fiammetta Biondi¹  Morena Martucci²  Elena Bellavista²  Stefano Salvioli²  Miriam Capri²  Claudio Franceschi² 

[1]Interdepartmental Centre “L. Galvani” (CIG) University of Bologna, Via San Giacomo 12, 40126 Bologna, Italy

[2] E-Mails:

[3]Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Via San Giacomo 12, 40126 Bologna, Italy

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关键词: aging;    inflammation;    inflammaging;    cancer;    mediterranean diet;    nutrients;    microRNAs;    NU-AGE project;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu7042589

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Aging is considered the major risk factor for cancer, one of the most important mortality causes in the western world. Inflammaging, a state of chronic, low-level systemic inflammation, is a pervasive feature of human aging. Chronic inflammation increases cancer risk and affects all cancer stages, triggering the initial genetic mutation or epigenetic mechanism, promoting cancer initiation, progression and metastatic diffusion. Thus, inflammaging is a strong candidate to connect age and cancer. A corollary of this hypothesis is that interventions aiming to decrease inflammaging should protect against cancer, as well as most/all age-related diseases. Epidemiological data are concordant in suggesting that the Mediterranean Diet (MD) decreases the risk of a variety of cancers but the underpinning mechanism(s) is (are) still unclear. Here we review data indicating that the MD (as a whole diet or single bioactive nutrients typical of the MD) modulates multiple interconnected processes involved in carcinogenesis and inflammatory response such as free radical production, NF-κB activation and expression of inflammatory mediators, and the eicosanoids pathway. Particular attention is devoted to the capability of MD to affect the balance between pro- and anti-inflammaging as well as to emerging topics such as maintenance of gut microbiota (GM) homeostasis and epigenetic modulation of oncogenesis through specific microRNAs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.