The promoting molecular mechanism of alphafetoprotein on the growth of human hepatoma Bel7402 cell line

AIM: The goal of this study was to characterize the AFP receptor, its possible signal transduction pathway and its proliferative functions in human hepatoma cell line Bel 7402. METHODS: Cell proliferation enhanced by AFP was detected by MTT assay, 3H-thymidine incorporation and S-stage percentage of cell cycle analysis. With radioactive labeled 125I-AFP for receptor binding assay; cAMP accumulation, protein kinase A activity were detected by radioactive immunosorbent assay and the change of intracellular free calcium (Ca2+i) was monitored by scanning fluorescence intensity under TCS-NT confocal microscope. The expression of oncogenes N- ras, p 53, and p21( ras ) in the cultured cells in vitro were detected by Northern blotting and Western blotting respectively. RESULTS: It was demonstrated that AFP enhanced the proliferation of human hepatoma Bel 7402 cell in a dose dependent fashion as shown in MTT assay, (3)H-thymidine incorporation and S-phase percentage up to 2-fold. Two subtypes of AFP receptors were identified in the cells with Kds of 1.3 x 10(-9)mol.L(-1) and 9.9 x10(-8)mol. (-1)L respectively. Pretreatment of cells with AFP resulted in a significant increase (625%) in cAMP accumulation. The activity of protein kinase A activity were increased up to 37.5, 122.6, 73.7 and 61.2% at treatment time point 2, 6, 12 and 24 hours. The level of intracellular calcium were elevated after the treatment of alpha-fetoprotein and achieved to 204% at 4 min. The results also showed that AFP(20mg.L(-1)) could upregulate the expression of N- ras oncogenes and p 53 and p21( ras ) in Bel 7402 cells. In the later case,the alteration were 81.1%(12h) and 97.3%(12h) respectively compared with control. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that AFP is a potential growth factor to promote the proliferation of human hepatoma Bel 7402 cells. Its growth-regulatory effects are mediated by its specific plasma membrane receptors coupled with its transmembrane signaling transduction through the pathway of cAMP-PKA and intracellular calcium to regulate the expression of oncogenes.

The intracellular mechanism of alpha-fetoprotein promoting the proliferation of NIH 3T3 cells

AIM: The existence and properties of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) receptor on the surface of NIH 3T3 cells and the effects of AFP on cellular signal transduction pathway were investigated. METHODS: The effect of AFP on the proliferation of NIH 3T3 cells was measured by incorporation of 3H-TdR. Receptor-binding assay of 125I-AFP was performed to detect the properties of AFP receptor in NIH 3T3 cells. The influences of AFP on the [cAMP]i and the activities of protein kinase A (PKA) were determined. Western blot was used to detect the change of K-ras P21 protein expression. RESULTS: The proliferation of NIH 3T3 cells treated with 0-80 mg/L of AFP was significantly enhanced. The Scatchard analysis indicated that there were two classes of binding sites with KD of 2.722 x 10(-9)M (Bmax=12810 sites per cell) and 8.931 x 10(-8)M (Bmax=119700 sites per cell) respectively. In the presence of AFP (20 mg/L), the content of cAMP and activities of PKA were significantly elevated . The level of K-ras P21 protein was upregulated by AFP at the concentration of 20 mg/L. The monoclonal antibody against AFP could reverse the effects of AFP on the cAMP content, PKA activity and the expression of K-ras p21 gene. CONCLUSION: The effect of AFP on the cell proliferation was achieved by binding its receptor to trigger the signal transduction pathway of cAMP-PKA and alter the expression of K- ras p21 gene.

Growth inhibition of colon cancer cells by compounds affecting AMPK activity

AIM:To determine if other molecules reported to modulate AMP-dependent protein kinase(AMPK)activ-ity would have effects resembling those of metformin and phenformin on colon cancer cell proliferation and metabolism.METHODS:Studies were performed with four hu-man colon cancer cell lines,Caco-2,HCT116,HT29 and SW1116.The compounds that were studied included A-769662,5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-ribofu-ranoside,butyrate,(-)-epigallocatechin gallate(EGCG),KU-55933,quercetin,resveratrol and salicylates.The parameters that were measured were cell proliferation and viability,glucose uptake,lactate production and acidification of the incubation medium.RESULTS:Investigations with several molecules that have been reported to be associated with AMPK activa-tion(A-769662,5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-b-D-ribofuranoside,EGCG,KU-55933,quercetin,resve-ratrol and salicylates)or AMPK inhibition(compound C)failed to reveal increased medium acidification and increased glucose uptake in colon cancer cells as previ-ously established with metformin and phenformin.The only exception was 5-aminosalicylic acid with which there were apparently lower glucose levels in the me-dium after incubation for 72 h.Further study in the absence of cells revealed that the effect was an artifact due to inhibition of the enzyme-linked glucose assay.The compounds were studied at concentrations that inhibited cell proliferation.CONCLUSION:It was concluded that treatment with several agents that can affect AMPK activity resulted in the inhibition of the proliferation of colon cancer cells under conditions in which glucose metabolism is not enhanced,in contrast to the effect of biguanides.

Role of β-Adrenergic Signal Transduction Pathway on Myocardial Ischemic Preconditioning of Rats

To study the changes in every part of the β-adrenergic signal transduction pathway and their effects on ischemic preconditioning of rat myocardium in vivo. SD rats were divided into three groups： IP group, I/R group and CON group. The IP group was further divided into PC1-, 2-, 3-, and PC1＋, 2＋, 3＋ groups according to preconditioning procedure. The rats received surgical procedure and underwent left coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion. We analyzed the infarct size by TTC staining, measured serum myocardial enzymes, studied the β-AR Bmax and Kd by radioligand binding assay of receptors, checked the activity of AC and PKA by the method of biochemistry and examined the content of cAMP by radioimmunoassay. The infarct area was much smaller in the IP group than in the I/R group （P〈0. 001）, while the enzymes were significantly higher in I/R （P〈0. 001）. The Bmax of β-AR in IP was much higher than that in I/R （P〈0. 001）, but no difference in Kd could be seen between IP and I/R groups. In IP, the activity of AC and PKA and the content of cAMP were higher than those in I/R （P〈0.05, 0. 002 and 0. 001, respectively）. In the procedure of preconditioning, the content of cAMP and the activity of PKA showed the characteristic of cyclic fluctuation. Ischemic preconditioning can protect the heart from necrosis and reduce endo-enzyme leakage. The system of β-adrenergic signal transduction pathway probably takes part in the protection effect of the IP, which might be elicited by the PKA .