Antiproliferation and apoptosis induced by tamoxifen in human bile duct carcinoma QBC939 cells via upregulated p53 expression.
Tamoxifen (TAM) is a nonsteroidal antiestrogen that has been used in the treatment of breast cancer for over 30years. Recently, it was shown that TAM also has efficacy on gastrointestinal neoplasms such as hepatocarcinoma and pancreatic carcinoma, and that the chemopreventive activities of TAM might be due to its abilities to inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of tamoxifen on growth and apoptosis in the human bile duct carcinoma (BDC) cell line QBC939 using MTT assay, inverted microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, classic DNA fragmentation agarose gel electrophoresis assay, PI single- and FITC/PI double-staining flow cytometry, and Western blotting. Our data revealed that TAM could significantly inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in QBC939 cells. Increased expression of p53 was observed in TAM-treated cells, indicating that p53 might play an important role in TAM-induced apoptosis in QBC939 cells. These results provide significant insight into the anticarcinogenic action of TAM on BDC.
Han
Peng
P
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Cell Biology and Tumor Cell Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Kang
Jin-He
JH
Li
Hua-Liang
HL
Hu
Su-Xian
SX
Lian
Hui-Hui
HH
Qiu
Ping-Ping
PP
Zhang
Jian
J
Li
Wen-Gang
WG
Chen
Qing-Xi
QX
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D013629:Tamoxifen