Abstract: The mechanism of natural carotenoids（including canthaxanthin, β-carotene, lycopene）on inhibiting DMBA-induced neoplastic tranformation has been investigated. The mouse embryo fibroblast C3H10T1/2 cell was used as cell model and the method of microinjecting fluoresence probe transfer was used for analyzing gap junctional intercellular communication（GJIC）.The results showed that: carotenoids tested inhibited cell growth rate , proliferation and up-regulated GJIC siginificantly. There were no changes of chromosomal DNA of Cx 43 in different groups. It suggested that the effects of carotenoids on inhibiting proliferation and enhancing GJIC by regulating the protein gene Cx 43 might be one of the important mechanisms for inhibiting neoplastic transformation .

Key words: Natural carotenoids Neoplastic tranformation Proliferation GJIC Cx 43