title: Protein phosphatase inhibitor-1 mRNA expression correlates with neoplastic transformation of epithelial liver cells and progression of hepatocellular carcinomas.
abstract: Protein phosphatase inhibitor-1 plays an important role in the regulation of glycogen metabolism through inhibition of protein phosphatase-1 activity, and it has been implicated in the regulation of cell growth. Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR, we studied the mRNA expression of inhibitor-1 in hepatocellular carcinomas induced in rats by oral administration of N-nitrosomorpholine, and in a non-tumorigenic liver cell line (C1I), that stores glycogen in excess during early passages. In late passages, glycogen is gradually lost concomitant with cell transformation. Our in vitro model included a tumorigenic subline of C1I cells that was obtained by chemically-induced neoplastic transformation using N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (C1Ict), and does not store glycogen, as well as Morris hepatoma 3924A (MH3924A) cells. We found that in hepatocellular carcinomas, in the late glycogen-poor passages (C1I(late)), and in the tumorigenic subline (C1Ict) of C1I cells, and in MH3924A cells the mRNA expression of inhibitor-1 is significantly increased. This increase in expression varied from 15 to 290-fold of that observed in normal liver. In contrast, in the early glycogen-storing passage of C1I cells (C1I(early)) the level of inhibitor-1 mRNA was found to be slightly less than that of normal liver. Inhibitor-1 mRNA levels correlated with the degree of differentiation of HCCs. These results indicate that the expression of inhibitor-1 mRNA is tightly linked to tumor progression and to the process of liver cell transformation in vitro and is inversely correlated with the glycogen content of the cell.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Pathology, Deutsche Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Eiman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aleem
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Flohr
authors.forename: Heinz Walter
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Thielmann
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bannasch
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mayer
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D018450:Disease Progression; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008112:Liver Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009602:Nitrosamines / Q000633:toxicity; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008112:Liver Glycogen; D009602:Nitrosamines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C021042:protein phosphatase inhibitor-1; C002741:N-nitrosomorpholine