Determination of β-glucuronidase in human colorectal carcinoma cell lines

IM To study the relationship between βglucuronidase and the invasiveness of human colorectal carcinoma cell lines.METHODS Six colorectal carcinoma cell lines including three welldifferentiated (CX1, CCL 187, CCL 229) and three poorlydifferentiated ones (CCL 227, CCL 228, Clone A) were analyzed for βglucuronidase in the medium by Fischman′s method.RESULTS Low levels of βglucuronidase (activity range, 129 to 196μg/106 cells·h) were associated with the poorly invasive cells. This was in contrast to the elevated levels of the enzyme (246337μg/106·h) present in the medium derived from the more aggressive cells (CCL 227, CCL 228, Clone A, CCL 229).CONCLUSION The highly invasive colorectal carcinoma cells secreted higher levels of βglucuronidase than the poorly invasive ones, and the determination of secreted βglucuronidase might provide a useful in vitro measurement of the invasiveness of colorectal carcinoma.