title: Transgenic cyclooxygenase-2 expression and high salt enhanced susceptibility to chemical-induced gastric cancer development in mice.
abstract: Cyclooxoygenase (COX)-2 overexpression is involved in gastric carcinogenesis. While high-salt intake is a known risk factor for gastric cancer development, we determined the effects of high salt on gastric chemical carcinogenesis in COX-2 transgenic (TG) mice. COX-2 TG mice were developed in C57/BL6 strain using the full-length human cox-2 complementary DNA construct. Six-week-old COX-2 TG and wild-type (WT) littermates were randomly allocated to receive alternate week of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU, 240 p.p.m.) in drinking water or control for 10 weeks. Two groups of mice were further treated with 10% NaCl during the initial 10 weeks. All mice were killed at the end of week 50. Both forced COX-2 overexpression and high-salt intake significantly increased the frequency of gastric cancer development in mice as compared with WT littermates treated with MNU alone. However, no additive effect was observed on the combination of high salt and COX-2 expression. We further showed that MNU and high-salt treatment increased chronic inflammatory infiltrates and induced prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production in the non-cancerous stomach. Whereas high-salt treatment markedly increased the expression of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-1 beta and IL-6) in the gastric mucosa, COX-2 overexpression significantly altered the cell kinetics in the MNU-induced gastric cancer model. In conclusion, both high salt and COX-2 overexpression promote chemical-induced gastric carcinogenesis, possibly related to chronic inflammation, induction of PGE(2), disruption of cell kinetics and induction of inflammatory cytokines.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. dr_wkleung@alumni.cuhk.net
authors.forename: Wai K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Kai-chun
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Christine Y P
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Alfred S L
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Arthur K K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ching
authors.forename: Anthony W H
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Wilson W S
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Minnie Y Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Go
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Ka-Fai
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: To
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chui
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Joseph J Y
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002455:Cell Division; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008770:Methylnitrosourea / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010057:Oviducts / Q000201:enzymology; D011555:Pseudopregnancy / Q000201:enzymology; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary / Q000633:toxicity*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D008770:Methylnitrosourea; D004247:DNA; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2