Role of phloretin as a sensitizer to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in colon cancer

Phloretin is one of the apple polyphenols with anticancer activities. Since tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) serves important roles in inducing apoptosis, the present study examined the effect of phloretin on TRAIL-induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Treatment with both phloretin and TRAIL markedly suppressed the survival of cancer cells from several colon cancer cell lines compared with that of cells treated with either TRAIL or phloretin. Additionally, decreased numbers of colonies were observed following addition of phloretin and TRAIL. Furthermore, TRAIL- and phloretin-treated HT-29-Luc cells exhibited decreased luciferase activity. Increased apoptosis was observed in phloretin- and TRAIL-treated HT-29-Luc colon cancer cells, accompanying elevated levels of cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and caspase-3, −8 and −9. The expression levels of MCL1 apoptosis regulator BCL2 family member (Mcl-1) were decreased following addition of phloretin in colon cancer cells. In addition, overexpression of Mcl-1 in phloretin- and TRAIL-treated HT-29-Luc cells resulted in increased cell survival. Treatment of HT-29-Luc cells with a combination of cycloheximide (CHX) and phloretin led to a more prominent decrease in Mcl-1 expression compared with that in cells treated with CHX alone, while Mcl-1 expression was recovered by treatment with MG132. Binding of ubiquitin with Mcl-1 was verified using immunoprecipitation. Intraperitoneal injection of both TRAIL and phloretin into tumor xenografts was associated with a decreased tumor volume compared with that following injection with either TRAIL or phloretin. Overall, the present results suggest a synergistic effect of phloretin on TRAIL-induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells.     

The roles of miR-200c in colon cancer and associated molecular mechanisms

The expression of miR-200c has been widely reported to be elevated in tumor tissues and sera of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and has been found to correlate with poor prognosis. However, how miR-200c regulates the apoptosis, survival, invasion, metastasis, and tumor growth in colon cancer cells remains to be fully elucidated. This study seeks to further investigate the role of miR-200c in colon cancer development. The expression of miR-200c in tumor and peritumoral tissues of 101 colon cancer patients was measured by real-time PCR. miR-200c expression in HCT-116 and HT-29 colon cancer cells was silenced by adenovirus-carried expression of antisense mRNA against miR-200c. The protein levels of PTEN, p53 Ser¹⁵, PP1, and activated caspase-3 in HCT-116 and HT-29 cells were measured by Western blot. This study demonstrated that the expression of miR-200c was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in peritumoral tissues of colon cancer patients. The elevated miR-200c expression significantly correlated with the TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and invasion of colon cancer. Silencing miR-200c expression significantly induced cell apoptosis, inhibited long-term survival, invasion, and metastasis, and delayed xenograft tumor growth. Importantly, silencing miR-200c expression sensitized the therapeutic effect of Ara-C (Cytarabine). The effects of silencing miR-200c expression were associated with upregulation of PTEN protein and p53 Ser¹⁵ phosphorylation levels in HCT-116 cells and PTEN protein expression in HT-29 cells. In conclusion, miR-200c functions as an oncogene in colon cancer cells through regulating tumor cell apoptosis, survival, invasion, and metastasis as well as xenograft tumor growth through inhibition of PTEN expression and p53 phosphorylation.     

Lovastatin augments apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic agents in colon cancer cells.

Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylglutaryl coA reductase inhibitors (HRIs) inhibit isoprenylation of several members of the Ras superfamily of proteins and therefore have important cellular effects, including the reduction of proliferation and increasing apoptosis. Significant toxicity at high doses has precluded the use of HRIs as a monotherapy for cancers. We therefore studied whether combinations of the HRI lovastatin with standard chemotherapeutic agents would augment apoptosis in colon cancer cells. In the colon cancer cell lines SW480, HCT116, LoVo, and HT29, lovastatin induced apoptosis with differing sensitivity. Pretreatment with lovastatin significantly increased apoptosis induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or cisplatin in all four cell lines. Lovastatin treatment resulted in decreased expression of the antiapoptotic protein bcl-2 and increased the expression of the proapoptotic protein bax. The addition of geranylgeranylpyrophospate (10 microM) prevented lovastatin-induced augmentation of 5-FU and cisplatin-induced apoptosis; mevalonate (100 microM) was partially effective, whereas cotreatment with farnesyl pyrophosphate (100 microM) had no effect. These data imply that lovastatin acts by inhibiting geranylgeranylation and not farnesylation of target protein(s). Our data suggest that lovastatin may potentially be combined with 5-FU or cisplatin as chemotherapy for colon cancers.     

Melatonin potentiates flavone-induced apoptosis in human colon cancer cells by increasing the level of glycolytic end products

Melatonin is a natural compound synthesized by a variety of organs. It has been described to possess cell protecting activity in normal cells but was shown to induce apoptotic cell death in cancer cells. We determined to which extent and based on which molecular mechanisms melatonin is able to cause apoptosis in HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Induction of apoptosis was assessed by caspase-3-like activity, nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation. Melatonin, when given alone at a concentration of 1 mM, did not affect any of the apoptosis markers. It potentiated apoptosis induced by the flavonoid flavone significantly. Whereas flavone alone at a concentration of 150 microM led to a 8-fold increase in caspase-3-like activity associated with around 40% of cells displaying DNA-fragmentation, a combination of flavone and melatonin increased caspase-3-like activity 30-fold and 80% of cells exhibited fragmentation of DNA when compared to untreated controls. Melatonin caused an increase in cytosolic lactate levels that most likely allows the flavone-induced activation of the mitochondrial pyruvate/lactate importer to deliver more substrates to mitochondrial respiration. The subsequent increased production of mitochondrial O2-* in the presence of flavone was further increased by melatonin. Scavenging mitochondrial O2-* by benzoquinone or blocking the lactate/pyruvate transporter by 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoate inhibited mitochondrial O2-* -generation and apoptosis execution mediated by flavone and melatonin. Our study provides evidence that melatonin potentiates flavone-induced apoptosis in HT-29 human colon cancer cells by enhancing the level of oxidizable substrates that can be transported into mitochondria in the presence of flavone.     

p38MAPK 在结肠癌细胞凋亡中的作用及与COX-2 的关系

 目的 探讨结肠癌细胞p38MAPK介导celecoxib（COX-2选择性抑制剂）抗肿瘤的作用及与COX-2的关系。方法 用MTT法检测celecoxib对人结肠癌HT-29细胞生长的作用，用Western blot法测定各组细胞COX-2和Phosph—p38MAPK蛋白表达量，采用流式细胞术检测celecoxib和SB203580（p38MAPK特异性抑制剂）作用后HT-29细胞凋亡和细胞周期分布。结果 p38MAPK和COX-2蛋白表达量与对照组（0．23±0.12）（0.95±0．14）相比，celecoxib可使p38MAPK蛋白表达水平明显升高（0．62±0．11），而使COX-2蛋白表达水平降低（0、44±0．11）；SB203580使p38MAPK（0.12±0．05）及COX-2蛋白（0、23±0．13）表达水平均降低；SB203580和celecoxib共同作用后，p38MAPK表达量介于celecoxib和SB203580作用之间（0．43±0．12），COX-2表达量下降最为显著（0．15±0．10））。celecoxib和eeleeoxib＋SB203580均可显著诱导HT-29细胞凋亡（P〈0．01和P〈0．05），与对照纽（4．31％）相比，其凋亡率分别为40．95％、26．24％。结论 在HT29细胞中，celecoxib可通过活化p38MAPK而诱导结肠癌细胞凋亡，p38MAPK是COX-2的上游激酶，COX-2的表达水平受p38MAPK调控，并且COX-2可能对p38MAPK有负反馈调节作用。celecoxib是通过COX-2及其以外的p38MAPK通路诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡而发挥抗肿瘤作用的。     

Inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, reactivation of DLC1, and modulation of other gene expression by dietary flavone in breast cancer cell lines

BACKGROUND: Dietary flavone was previously shown to increase the expression of deleted in liver cancer-1 gene (DLC-1) in HT-29 colon carcinoma cell line [Herzog A, Kindermann B, Doring F, Daniel H, Wenzel U. Pleiotropic molecular effects of the pro-apoptotic dietary constituent flavone in human colon cancer cells identified by protein and mRNA expression profiling. Proteomics 2004;4:2455-64]. DLC-1 that encodes a Rho GTPase-activating protein, functions as a tumor suppressor gene and is frequently inactivated or down-regulated in several common cancers. Restoration of DLC-1 expression suppresses in vitro tumor cells proliferation and tumorigenicity in vivo. METHODS: Here, the effect of flavone was examined in several DLC-1-deficient cell lines derived from different types human cancer using assays for cell proliferation, gene expression and transfer. RESULTS: We show that exposure to 150 microM flavone increased DLC1 expression in breast but not in liver or prostate carcinoma cells or a nonmalignant breast epithelial cell line. Flavone restored the expression of DLC1 in the breast carcinoma cell lines MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-361, and BT20 as well as in the colon carcinoma cell line HT-29 all of which are DLC-1-negative due to promoter hypermethylation. We further show that flavone inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell cycle arrest at G(2)-M, increased p21(Waf1) gene expression, and caused apoptosis. Microarray analysis of these aggressive and metastatic breast carcinoma cells revealed 29 flavone-responsive genes, among which the DNA damage-inducible GADD genes were up-regulated and the proto-oncogene STMN1 and IGFBP3 were down-regulated. CONCLUSIONS: Flavone-mediated alterations of genes that regulate tumor cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis contribute to chemopreventive and antitumoral effects of flavone. Alone or in combination with demethylating agents, flavone may be an effective adjunct to chemotherapy in preventing breast cancer metastasis.     

藤黄酸联合肿瘤坏死因子相关凋亡诱导配体诱导人结肠癌HT-29细胞凋亡的效果和机制

背景与目的：肿瘤坏死因子相关凋亡诱导配体（tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand,TRAIL）能选择性地杀伤肿瘤细胞,但多种肿瘤对其耐药。该研究旨在探讨藤黄酸（gambognic acid,GA）与TRAIL联合对人结肠癌HT-29细胞裸鼠移植瘤生长的影响及GA联合TRAIL抗结肠癌的作用机制。方法: 建立人结肠癌HT-29细胞裸鼠皮下移植瘤模型,测定TRAIL和（或）GA对裸鼠移植瘤的影响,采用H-E染色观察肿瘤组织形态结构改变,TUNEL法检测细胞凋亡状况;HT-29细胞经过siRNA干扰Nrf2表达后,通过AnnexinⅤ-FITC/PI双染检测细胞凋亡情况,流式细胞术检测细胞内活性氧（reactive oxygen species,ROS）含量,RT-PCR法检测Nrf2、Bcl-2、Bax和DR5 mRNA的表达水平。结果: 联合应用GA显著促进了TRAIL对裸鼠皮下移植瘤的生长抑制（抑瘤率达67.0%）和诱导凋亡作用,下调了组织中Nrf2、Bcl-2的表达,增强了Bax和DR5的表达;与阴性对照siRNA相比,Nrf2干扰能明显上调TRAIL诱导HT-29细胞的凋亡率,提高ROS含量,下调Nrf2和Bcl-2表达,上调Bax和DR5表达。结论: GA可能是通过下调Nrf2表达,使ROS水平升高而激活线粒体凋亡途径与死亡受体途径,从而逆转人结肠癌HT-29细胞体内外对TRAIL的耐药性。     

p-HPEA-EDA, a phenolic compound of virgin olive oil, activates AMP-activated protein kinase to inhibit carcinogenesis

Phenolic constituents of virgin olive oil are reported to have antitumor activity. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and specific target proteins of virgin olive oil remain to be elucidated. Here, we report that dialdehydic form of decarboxymethyl ligstroside aglycone (p-HPEA-EDA), a phenolic compound of virgin olive oil, inhibits tumor promoter-induced cell transformation in JB6 Cl41 cells and suppress cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and tumorigenicity by adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in HT-29 cells. p-HPEA-EDA inhibited 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 and p90RSK in JB6 Cl41 cells, resulting in the inhibition of cell proliferation, activator protein-1 transactivation and cell transformation promoted by TPA. Moreover, p-HPEA-EDA strongly inhibited the cell viability and COX-2 expression by activation of AMPK activity in HT-29 cells, resulted from depletion of intracellular adenosine triphosphate. p-HPEA-EDA-induced activation of caspase-3 and poly-adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase, phosphorylation of p53 (Ser15) and DNA fragmentation in HT-29 cells, leading to apoptosis. Importantly, p-HPEA-EDA suppressed the colony formation of HT-29 cells in soft agar. In contrast, Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, and Z-DEVD-FMK, a caspase-3 inhibitor, blocked the p-HPEA-EDA-inhibited colony formation in HT-29 cells. In vivo chorioallantoic membrane assay also showed that p-HPEA-EDA-inhibited tumorigenicity of HT-29 cells. These findings revealed that targeted activation of AMPK and inhibition of COX-2 expression by p-HPEA-EDA contribute to the chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic potential of virgin olive oil against colon cancer cells.     

Digalloylresveratrol, a new phenolic acid derivative induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human HT-29 colon cancer cells

Digalloylresveratrol (DIG) is a new synthetic ester of the naturally occurring polyhydroxyphenolic substances gallic acid and resveratrol which both exert anti-cancer activity in a number of tumor cell lines. The aim of the study was to identify the biochemical effects of DIG in HT-29 human colon cancer cells. DIG induced dose-dependently apoptosis after treatment for 72 h (40 microM DIG caused apoptosis in 45% of cells). DIG led to a substantial imbalance of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs), the products of the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase (RR) and directly inhibited RR as it significantly reduced the incorporation of (14)C-labeled cytidine into the DNA of tumor cells. Furthermore, DIG affected the cell division and inhibited the transition from S to G2/M phase of the cell cycle. In contrast to resveratrol or gallic acid, DIG did not inhibit cyclooxygenases I and II. When HT-29 cells were simultaneously treated with DIG and 5-FU, the standard chemotherapeutic substance for colon cancer, additive growth inhibitory effects could be observed. With respect to the various biochemical and anti-proliferative effects of DIG in HT-29 cells, we regard DIG as a potential candidate for future treatment options of colon cancer and conclude that further preclinical and in vivo studies are warranted.     

结肠癌T-cadherin表达水平分析与5-Aza-CdR对其表达和结肠癌细胞增殖、侵袭及凋亡的影响

背景与目的：结肠癌是临床常见恶性肿瘤,探讨抑癌蛋白T-cadherin在结肠癌中的表达情况及其与患者临床病理学特征的关系,并分析5-Aza-CdR对T-cadherin表达和结肠癌细胞增殖、侵袭及凋亡的影响。方法：收集福建医科大学附属第二医院2015—2016年40例手术切除的结肠癌组织及癌旁组织新鲜样本,并经过病理学检查验证,分别提取总RNA和总蛋白质。采用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应（real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction,RTFQ-PCR）分析T-cadherin mRNA的表达,采用蛋白质印迹法（Western blot）分析T-cadherin蛋白水平,并分析T-cadherin的mRNA表达变化与患者临床病理学特征的关系。进一步以人结肠癌细胞系HT-29为研究对象,采用甲基化抑制剂5-Aza-CdR处理HT-29细胞,分别采用RTFQ-PCR和Western blot分析T-cadherin表达变化,采用细胞计数试剂盒（cell counting kit-8,CCK-8）分析细胞增殖,采用Transwell实验验证细胞侵袭能力,采用流式细胞术分析细胞凋亡。结果：T-cadherin在结肠癌组织的蛋白水平和mRNA表达均明显低于癌旁组织,其mRNA表达与淋巴结转移（F=5.316,P=0.009 3）和分化程度（F=5.807,P=0.006 4）明显相关,而与其他病理变量（包括性别、年龄、肿瘤大小和肿瘤浸润深度）无明显相关。药物5-Aza-CdR可以显著上调HT-29细胞中T-cadherin的表达水平,抑制HT-29细胞增殖、侵袭并促进细胞凋亡。结论：T-cadherin表达可能与结肠癌恶性程度密切相关,药物5-Aza-CdR处理可上调结肠癌细胞T-cadherin的表达,并抑制结肠癌细胞的增殖、迁移,促进结肠癌细胞凋亡,提示T-cadherin可能是结肠癌患者使用甲基化抑制剂5-Aza-CdR治疗的靶点。     

戊地昔布对人结肠癌HT-29细胞凋亡的影响

目的 观察戊地昔布（Valdecoxib）对COX-2高表达的人结肠癌HT-29细胞凋亡的影响。方法 将体外培养HT-29细胞分为正常组（C）、药物处理组（V）及溶剂对照组（S）。采用流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡,Western blot检测COX-2、caspase-3、cleaved caspase-3、Bcl-2、p38 MAPK、p-p38MAPK。结果 与正常组相比,药物处理组细胞凋亡明显增加(P<0.05),cleaved caspase-3和p-p38MAPK表达增高,Bax/Bcl-2比率明显升高(P<0.05)。Valdecoxib干预能够显著促进HT-29细胞凋亡,上调cleaved caspase-3和p-p38 MAPK的表达,增加Bax/Bcl-2比率。 结论 COX-2选择性抑制剂Valdecoxib能够促进HT-29细胞凋亡部分可能是通过激活p38MAPK信号通路而实现的。     

siRNA沉默livin的表达对人结肠癌HT-29细胞增殖、凋亡及侵袭的影响

目的:探讨小干扰RNA(small interference RNA,siRNA)沉默人结肠癌HT-29细胞livin表达对HT-29细胞增殖、凋亡和侵袭的影响。方法:合成靶向livin的双链siRNA(livin-siRNA),转染HT-29细胞,RT-PCR及Western blotting检测HT-29细胞中livin mRNA及蛋白的表达,MTT实验检测HT-29细胞的增殖,流式细胞术检测HT-29细胞周期分布及凋亡,细胞侵袭实验检测HT-29细胞侵袭性的变化,caspase-3活性检测试剂盒检测caspase-3活性的变化。结果:Livin-siRNA转染后48 h,与空白组、阴性对照组及脂质体组相比,livin-siRNA转染组HT-29细胞中livin mRNA水平明显下降(0.073±0.007 vs 0.395±0.082、0.423±0.025、0.418±0.032,P<0.05),其蛋白表达也明显下调(0.106±0.003 vs 0.456±0.065、0.473±0.078、0.491±0.045,P<0.05)。转染96 h后,livin-siRNA组HT-29细胞增殖能力明显低于对照组及脂质体组(0.564±0.102 vs0.833±0.127、0.860±0.153,P<0.05),且细胞凋亡率升高[(16.5±2.8)%vs(2.4±0.5)%、(3.7±1.0)%,P<0.05]。侵袭实验显示,livin-siRNA转染后,穿过Matrigel膜的HT-29细胞数量明显少于对照组及脂质体组[(31.3±4.5)vs(101.3±8.6)、(97.4±7.8)个,P<0.05)]。livin-siRNA组HT-29细胞的caspase-3活性低于对照组(0.160±0.023 vs 0.347±0.058,P<0.05)。结论:siRNA沉默livin的表达可抑制HT-29细胞的增殖,诱导细胞凋亡,抑制细胞的侵袭。     

Colon cancer cells with high invasive potential are susceptible to induction of apoptosis by a selective COX-2 inhibitor

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression has been shown to correlate with the invasiveness of colon cancer cells. To further investigate this positive correlation and its possible therapeutic implications, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, etodolac, was tested on three variants of HT-29 colon cancer cell lines, HT-29/lnv1, HT-29/ Inv2 and HT-29/lnv3, with graded increases of in vitro Matrigel invasive potential and COX-2 expression levels. HT-29 variants with higher invasive potential were found to be more sensitive to etodolac by in vitro growth inhibition assays, the estimated LD₅₀ being 0.5 m M for highly invasive HT-29/lnv2 and HT-29/lnv3 cells, 0.6 m M for slightly less invasive HT-29/lnv1, and 1.8 m M for the parental HT-29. Treatment of the highly invasive HT-29/lnv2 and Inv3 variants with as little as 0.1 m M etodolac in the growth medium produced signs of apoptosis, as detected by DNA fragmentation and TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP-biotin nick end labeling) assay. In vivo experiments in SCID mice showed that etolodac inhibited the growth of subcutaneous tumors induced by HT-29/lnv3 cells significantly more than those by the parental HT-29 cells. These results suggest that COX-2 inhibitors have a potential role in prevention of tumor invasion in colon cancer patients. (Cancer Sci 2003; 94: 253–258)     

免疫球蛋白在结肠癌HT-29细胞中的表达及其生物学活性探讨

目的明确免疫球蛋白（Ig）在人大肠癌传代细胞系HT-29细胞中的表达情况,并探讨其对肿瘤细胞生物学活性的影响。方法用RT-PCR方法检测Ig重链可变区转录本在HT-29细胞中的表达,并构建含有HT-29特异的CDR3片段的反义重组载体,电穿孔法将其转染入HT-29细胞,观察其对HT-29细胞生长增殖及凋亡等基本生命活动的影响。结果在HT-29细胞内检测到人Ig重链转录本,且测序显示为单一性克隆;含有HT-29特异的CDR3片段的反义重组载体能够有效地抑制HT-29细胞Ig分子的表达,且能够有效的诱导细胞的凋亡（P〈0．01）和生长抑制（P〈0．05）。结论肿瘤细胞来源的Ig可促进肿瘤细胞的生存和生长。     

Endothelin-receptor antagonists are proapoptotic and antiproliferative in human colon cancer cells

Endothelin (ET)-1 can act as an autocrine/paracrine growth factor or an antiapoptotic factor in human cancers. To study the role of ET-1 in human colon cancer, proliferation and apoptosis of colon carcinoma cells was investigated using human HT-29 and SW480 colon carcinoma cells. ET-1 was secreted by these cells. Treatment of cells with bosentan, a dual ET(A/B)-receptor antagonist, decreased cell number. Inhibition of DNA synthesis by bosentan was observed only in the presence of serum. Exogenously added ET-1 did not increase DNA synthesis in serum-deprived cells. SW480 cells were sensitive and HT-29 cells were resistant to FasL-induced apoptosis. Bosentan sensitised resistant HT-29 cells to FasL-induced, caspase-mediated apoptosis, but not to TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. Bosentan and/or FasLigand (FasL) did not modulate the expression of caspase-8 or FLIP. Bosentan sensitisation to apoptosis was reversed by low concentrations (10(-13)-10(-10) M), but not by high concentrations (10(-9)-10(-7) M) of ET-1. These results suggest that the binding of ET-1 to high-affinity sites inhibits FasL-induced apoptosis, while the binding of either ET-1 or receptor antagonists to low-affinity sites promotes FasL-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, endothelin signalling pathways do not induce human colon cancer cell proliferation, but are survival signals controling resistance to apoptosis.     

Lunasin promotes apoptosis in human colon cancer cells by mitochondrial pathway activation and induction of nuclear clusterin expression

Lunasin is a naturally occurring peptide with arginine–glycine–aspartic acid motif associated to its reported biological activity. We aimed to determine the potential of lunasin from soybean to stimulate apoptosis in HT-29 colon cancer cells. Lunasin caused cytotoxicity to HT-29 cells and induced G2/M cell cycle arrest with simultaneous increased in p21 expression. Lunasin-induced apoptosis as evidenced by a twofold increase in the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis, decreased Bcl-2:Bax ratio from 8.5 to 0.4, increased caspase-3 activity by 77% and increased expression of pro-apoptotic nuclear clusterin by five fold when compared to untreated cells. In conclusion, lunasin stimulated apoptosis in HT-29 cells by activating apoptotic mitochondrial pathways and inducing expression of the pro-apoptotic nuclear clusterin.     

1,1-Bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-substitutedphenyl)methanes induce peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-mediated growth inhibition, transactivation, and differentiation markers in colon cancer cells

1,1-Bis(3'indolyl)-1-(p-substitutedphenyl)methanes containing p-trifluoromethyl (DIM-C-pPhCF)), p-t-butyl (DIM-C-pPhtBu), and p-phenyl (DIM-C-pPhC6H5) groups induce peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma)-mediated transactivation in HT-29, HCT-15, RKO, and SW480 colon cancer cell lines. Rosiglitazone also induces transactivation in these cell lines and inhibited growth of HT-29 cells, which express wild-type PPARgamma but not HCT-15 cells, which express mutant (K422Q) PPARgamma. In contrast, DIM-C-pPhCF3, DIM-C-pPhtBu, and DIM-C-pPhC6H5 inhibited growth of both HT-29 and HCT-15 cells with IC50 values ranging from 1 to 10 micromol/L. Rosiglitazone and diindolylmethane (DIM) analogues did not affect expression of cyclin D1, p21, or p27 protein levels or apoptosis in HCT-15 or HT-29 cells but induced keratin 18 in both cell lines. However, rosiglitazone induced caveolins 1 and 2 in HT-29 but not HCT-15 cells, whereas these differentiation markers were induced by DIM-C-pPhCF3 and DIM-C-pPhC6H5 in both cell lines. Because overexpression of caveolin 1 is known to suppress colon cancer cell and tumor growth, the growth inhibitory effects of rosiglitazone and the DIM compounds are associated with PPARgamma-dependent induction of caveolins.     

Boswellic acids trigger apoptosis via a pathway dependent on caspase-8 activation but independent on Fas/Fas ligand interaction in colon cancer HT-29 cells

Boswellic acids are the effective components of gum resin of Boswellia serrata, which has anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies on brain tumors and leukemic cells indicate that boswellic acids may have antiproliferative and apoptotic effects with the mechanisms being not studied in detail. We studied their antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on colon cancer cells and the pathway leading to apoptosis. HT-29 cells were treated with beta-boswellic acid (BA), keto-beta-boswellic acid (K-BA) and acetyl-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AK-BA), respectively. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry, by cytoplasmic DNA-histone complex and the activity of caspase-3. The cleavage of poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase (PARP) and expression of Fas were examined by western blot. Specific caspase inhibitors, polyclonal Fas antibody, and antagonistic Fas antibody ZB4 were employed to elucidate apoptotic pathways. DNA synthesis and cell viability were examined. Both K-BA and AK-BA increased cytoplasmic DNA-histone complex dose-dependently and increased pre-G(1) peak in flow cytometer analysis, with the effects of AK-BA being stronger than K-BA. BA only increased the formation of DNA-histone complex at a high concentration. K-BA and AK-BA increased caspase-8, caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities accompanied by cleavage of PARP. The effects of AK-BA on formation of cytoplasmic DNA histone and on caspase-3 activation were 3.7- and 3.4-fold, respectively, more effective than those induced by camptothecin. The apoptosis induced by AK-BA was inhibited completely by caspase-3 or caspase-8 inhibitor and partially by caspase-9 inhibitor. ZB4 blocked exogenous Fas ligand-induced apoptosis, but had no effect on AK-BA-induced apoptosis. AK-BA had no significant effect on expression of Fas. Apart from apoptotic effect, these acids also inhibited [(3)H]thymidine incorporation and cell viability to different extent. In conclusion, boswellic acids, particularly AK-BA and K-BA have antiproliferative and apoptotic effects in human HT-29 cells. The apoptotic effect is mediated via a pathway dependent on caspase-8 activation but independent of Fas/FasL interaction.     

MicroRNA-99a促进结肠癌细胞的增殖和迁移及其可能机制

目的:探讨结肠癌患者组织中microRNA-99a表达水平以及对结肠癌细胞增殖和迁移的影响.方法:取南京医科大学附属常州二院胃肠病中心49例结肠癌患者肿瘤组织、癌旁组织(癌旁5cm)标本以及结肠癌细胞HCT-116、HT-29、SW-480、Caco-2和正常结肠上皮细胞HCoePic,采用实时荧光定量PCR检测结肠癌患者肿瘤组织和结肠癌细胞中microRNA-99a表达水平;结肠癌细胞株HT-29转染microRNA-99a抑制剂后,CCK-8法检测microRNA-99a对结肠癌细胞增殖的变化;transwell法观察microRNA-99a对结肠癌细胞迁移的影响;Western blotting检测了HT-29中FGFR-3的表达水平.结果:microRNA-99a表达在结肠癌组织中明显高于癌旁组织(6.27±0.48 vs 1.34±0.54,P＜0.05)、在肿瘤细胞中明显高于正常结肠上皮细胞(5.48±0.34,7.67±0.24,5.78±0.22,6.28±0.44 vs 1.45±0.37,P＜0.05).转染microRNA-99a抑制剂后,HT-29细胞的增殖和迁移能力均明显下降(P＜0.05);同时,HT-29中FGFR-3显著降低(P＜0.05).结论:microRNA-99a在结肠癌组织中高表达,低表达microRNA-99a可减弱结肠癌细胞的增殖和迁移能力,且可能通过FGFR-3信号通路发挥作用.     

瘦素和瘦素受体在结肠癌组织中的表达及瘦素对结肠癌细胞株HT-29增殖及凋亡的影响

探讨瘦素和瘦素受体在结肠癌组织中的表达及其与结肠癌临床病理特征的关系,及外源性瘦素对结肠癌细胞株HT-29细胞增殖、凋亡的影响。方法 采用流式细胞分析仪检测瘦素和瘦素受体在结肠癌组织中的表达情况;MTT法和流式细胞分析仪检测外源性瘦素对结肠癌细胞株HT-29细胞生长、凋亡及细胞周期的影响。结果 瘦素在结肠癌及正常肠黏膜组织中的阳性表达率分别为（80.30±1.83）%和（59.83±1.12）%,差异具有统计学意义（P<0.01）;瘦素受体在结肠癌及正常肠黏膜组织中的阳性表达率分别为（82.14±1.63）%和（65.21±1.45）%,差异具有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结肠癌组织中瘦素和瘦素受体的表达与结肠癌患者的性别、年龄、肿瘤分化程度、淋巴结、远处转移及临床分期无相关性（P＞0.05）。浓度为50、100和200 ng/ml的外源性瘦素可明显促进结肠癌细胞株HT-29细胞的增殖（P<0.05）,细胞在S期累积明显（P<0.05）,但对HT-29细胞的凋亡无明显影响（P＞0.05）。结论 瘦素和瘦素受体可能通过促进细胞增殖的方式在结肠癌发生过程中发挥重要作用。