Heterogeneity in the induction and expression of carcinoembryonic antigen-related antigens in human colon cancer cell lines.

Abstract

Sodium butyrate induces morphological and biochemical changes consistent with a more differentiated phenotype in some colon cancer cell lines. These changes include increased expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and other oncodevelopmental markers. We utilized domain-specific probes and polyclonal antibodies against CEA-related antigens to study sodium butyrate-induced expression of the CEA gene family in a villous adenoma-derived cell line, which is nontumorigenic in nude mice (VACO 235), and two colonic carcinoma cell lines known to respond to sodium butyrate exposure by phenotypic differentiation (HT-29 and LS 174T). The induction begins as quickly as 24 h after exposure and occurs primarily at a transcriptional level, although some translational control is also evident. No evidence was found for gene amplification, rearrangement, or methylation to account for the mechanism of this transcriptional control. [35S]Cysteine pulse-labeled cell lysate immunoblots and polyadenylated RNA blot hybridization suggest that increases in mRNA transcript and CEA-related glycoprotein levels are primarily due to increased synthesis rather than decreased degradation. A considerable amount of heterogeneity is seen in the biosynthesis of the CEA-related glycoproteins, with each cell line showing a distinct pattern of CEA-related antigen expression from a limited number of mRNA transcripts.

• Authors: N W Toribara, T L Sack, J R Gum, S B Ho, J E Shively, J K Willson, Y S Kim
• Journal: Cancer research (Cancer Res) Vol. 49 Issue 12 Pg. 3321-7 (Jun 15 1989) ISSN: 0008-5472 [Print] United States
• PMID: 2720685 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Butyrates
• Carcinoembryonic Antigen
• DNA, Neoplasm
• RNA, Neoplasm
• Butyric Acid

Topics

• Adenocarcinoma (immunology)
• Blotting, Northern
• Blotting, Southern
• Blotting, Western
• Butyrates (pharmacology)
• Butyric Acid
• Carcinoembryonic Antigen (genetics, isolation & purification)
• Cell Line
• Colonic Neoplasms (immunology)
• DNA, Neoplasm (genetics, isolation & purification)
• Humans
• Molecular Weight
• RNA, Neoplasm (genetics, isolation & purification)