Activated Notch1 signaling inhibits growth of EC109 cell line and its mechanism / 中国癌症杂志

ABSTRACT

Background and purpose: It has been reported that activation of Notch1 could strongly inhibit proliferation of HPV (human papilloma virus)-positive HeLa cells by down-regulation of the E6 and E7 genes. The aim of this paper was to investigate the role of the Notch signaling pathway in growth arrest of EC109 cells in vitro and the molecular mechanism. Methods: EC109 cell lines, a well differentiated human ESCC (esophageal squamous cell carcinoma) cell line with HPV18-positive, was used in the study. Exogenous intracellular domain of Notch1(ICN) was transfected into cultured EC109 cells by lipofectamine transfection, the proliferation of the transfected cells was measured by an MTT assay. Cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry. Human papilloma virus type 18 (HPV18) E6/E7 mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR, and p53 protein expression was detected by Western blot.Results: Activation of Notchl signaling resulted in inhibition of EC109 cell proliferation with the induction of G_2/ M arrest. There was a significant difference in terms of the percentage of G_2/M phase cells among the ICN-transfected group (42.57±1.57)% and the non-transfected group (1.88±0.66)% or the empty plasmid transfected group (1.99±1.02)% (P<0.01). Down modulation of HPV18 E6/E7 gene expression and upregulation of p53 expression was (2.15±0.23) in ICN-transfected group higher than non- transfected group (0.45±0.07) and empty plasmid transfected group (0.46±0.02) (P<0.01). Conclusion: Repression of HPV18 E6/E7 expression by Notch1 signaling results in growth suppression of HPV18-positive EC109 cells with concomitant activation of p53-mediated pathways.