Several studies have demonstrated that rosemary polyphenols exert changes in the lipid metabolism in adipose and hepatic cells. In this work, the effects of a polyphenol-enriched supercritical rosemary extract (SC-RE) and carnosic acid (CA) on the transcriptome and cholesterol metabolism in HT-29 colon cancer cells were examined using a Foodomics approach. Targeted metabolomics analysis indicated that the SC-RE treatment induced cholesterol accumulation after 24 h. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that most of the changes induced by the SC-RE and CA were orchestrated by unfolded protein response (UPR) and triggered by endoplasmic reticulum stress. Results suggested up-regulation of VLDLR gene as the principal contributor to the observed cholesterol accumulation in SC-RE-treated cells. In addition, the SC-RE attenuated the activity of E2F transcription factor, down-regulating several genes involved in G1-S transition of the cell cycle.

This work was supported by an AGL2011-29857-C03-01 project (Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia, Spain) and S2013/ABI-2728 (Comunidad de Madrid). A.V. thanks the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad for his FPI pre-doctoral fellowship (BES-2012-057014).

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