The Effect of Different Ozone Concentrations on the Expression of β-catenin and HIF-I Genes in the Colon Tissue of BALB/c Mice Treated with Azoxymethane/dextran Sodium Sulfate

Introduction: Colon cancer is known as one of the most current cancers in the world and Iran that high percentage of deadly caners in the world is related to colon cancer. The use of new method to treat and control of colon cancer in developed societies are on rise. Ozone is used as the new and effective method to treat of different diseases, infections and scars. In this study, the effects of different doses of ozone were investigated on the expression of HIF-I and β-catenin genes in the colon tissue of mice with colon cancer. Method: This study was performed on 35 male Balb/c mice in 5 groups. One group was randomly considered as healthy group and in the rest of the mice colon cancer was induced using Azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (AOM-DSS). One group was not treated and the other three groups were treated with 10, 20 and 40 μg/ml doses of O3, respectively. Then colon tissue was prepared and the change of the expression in HIF-I and β-catenin genes was investigated using Real-time PCR. Results: Treatment with AOM-DSS dramatically increased the expression of HIF-I and β-catenin genes in comparison to the healthy group (P < 0.001), while ozone decreased the expression of these genes in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Ozone in a specific dose has a therapeutic effect on colon cancer and can be used as a substantial method for colon cancer treatment.