title: Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) antimicrobial peptide, hepcidin 1-5, shows antitumor activity in cancer cells.
abstract: The inhibitory function of tilapia hepcidin (TH)1-5, an antimicrobial peptide, was not examined in previous studies. In this study, we synthesized the TH1-5 peptide and tested TH1-5's antitumor activity against several tumor cell lines. We show that TH1-5 inhibited the proliferation of tumor cells and reduced colony formation in a soft agar assay. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that TH1-5 altered the membrane structure similar to the function of a lytic peptide. Acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, a wound-healing assay, and a flow cytometric analysis showed that TH1-5 induced necrosis with high-concentration treatment and induced apoptosis with low-concentration treatment. Inflammation is known to be closely associated with the development of cancer. TH1-5 showing anti-inflammatory effects in a previous publication induced us to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects in cancer cell lines through the expressions of immune-related genes after being treated with the TH1-5 peptide. However, real-time qualitative RT-PCR indicated that TH1-5 treatment induced downregulation of the expressions of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-15, interferon-γ, CTSG, caspase-7, and Bcl-2, and upregulation of IL-2 and CAPN5 in HeLa cells, and upregulation of IL-8 and CTSG in HT1080 cells. These results suggest that TH1-5 possibly induces an inflammatory response in HeLa cells, but not in HT1080 cells. Overall, these results indicate that TH1-5 possesses the potential to be a novel peptide for cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wang-Ting
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chieh-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Venugopal
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rajanbabu
authors.forename: Chun-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Jyh-Yih
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019556:COS Cells; D002154:Calpain / Q000235:genetics; D053179:Caspase 7 / Q000235:genetics; D056649:Cathepsin G / Q000235:genetics; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D006367:HeLa Cells; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D064451:Hepcidins; D006801:Humans; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics; D017210:Tilapia; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016207:Cytokines; C578702:HAMP protein, human; C579599:Hamp protein, mouse; D064451:Hepcidins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D056649:Cathepsin G; C534096:Ctsg protein, mouse; D002154:Calpain; C403235:Capn5 protein, mouse; D053179:Caspase 7