title: Increased choline kinase activity and elevated phosphocholine levels in human colon cancer.
abstract: Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has detected elevated phosphocholine levels in human tumor tissues and cells, and in cells that were transformed with the activated Ha-ras gene and stimulated in vitro with growth-promoting factors such as platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and phorbol ester. However, the mechanism of the elevation and the function of the increased phosphocholine levels have not been clearly demonstrated. We studied phosphocholine levels enzymatically and analyzed the activity of choline kinase, which catalyzes the phosphorylation of choline to produce phosphocholine, in human colon cancer and adenoma. Both choline kinase activity and phosphocholine levels were increased in colon cancer and adenoma tissue. The activation of choline kinase and the increased levels of choline kinase alpha were partly responsible for the elevated phosphocholine levels. This study suggests that choline kinase might play a role in growth promotion or signal transduction in carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Gunma University School of Medicine, Maebashi.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakagami
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohwada
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koibuchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morishita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015153:Blotting, Western; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002797:Choline Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; D002797:Choline Kinase