title: Type II gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulates p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells.
abstract: Recent results indicate that a novel second form of GnRH, GnRH-II, has an antiproliferative effect on ovarian and endometrial cancer cells and might be considered as a possible therapy for gynecological tumors. However, the mechanism of the GnRH-II-induced antiproliferative effect is not known. The p38 MAPK, one of the stress-activated protein kinases, is activated by diverse cellular stress and proinflammatory cytokines. In this study, the effect of GnRH-II on the activation of p38 MAPK was investigated, and its possible role in the regulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis was further examined in the human ovarian cancer cell line, OVCAR-3. Treatment with GnRH-II (100 nM) resulted in an activation of p38 MAPK in a time-dependent manner. A significant activation of p38 MAPK was observed at 2, 5, 10, and 15 min after GnRH-II treatment. The activation of p38 MAPK by GnRH-II was reversed in the presence of a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK, SB203580 (1 microM). The transcription factor, activator protein-1, was activated (1.5-fold) by GnRH-II and attenuated in the presence of SB203580 (1 microM). Treatment with GnRH-II (1 nM, 100 nM, 10 microM) for 2, 4, and 6 d resulted in an inhibition of cell growth in OVCAR-3 cells as determined by thymidine incorporation assay. The effect of GnRH-II (100 nM) on cell proliferation was blocked by pretreatment with SB203580 (1 microM). Furthermore, a significant increase of apoptosis (1.6-fold) was observed after GnRH-II treatment, which was also reversed by pretreatment with SB203580 (1 microM). Taken together, these results indicate that p38 MAPK is involved in the GnRH-II-induced inhibition of cell growth through activator protein-1 activation, which may be related to induction of apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, British Columbia Research Institute for Children's and Women's Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6H 3V5.
authors.forename: Ki-Yon
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kyung-Chul
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Se-Hyung
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Chun-Shan
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Nelly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Auersperg
authors.forename: Peter C K
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007093:Imidazoles; D011725:Pyridines; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; C047717:LHRH, His(5)-Trp(7)-Tyr(8)-; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; C093642:SB 203580