title: Oncogenic relevant defensins: expression pattern and proliferation characteristics of human tumor cell lines.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate gene expression levels of oncogenic relevant human defensins and their impact on proliferation rates of 29 cell lines derived from main types of different tumor origins. Differential gene expression analysis of human defensins was performed by real-time PCR experiments. The proliferation rate of tumor cells that had been cultivated in the absence or presence of biologically active peptides was analyzed with a lactate dehydrogenase assay kit. At least one member of the defensin family was expressed in each tumor cell line, whereby α-defensin (DEFA1), DEFA2, or DEFA3 transcripts could be ubiquitously detected. Cell lines of neural origin (glioma, neuroblastoma, and small-cell lung carcinoma) expressed far less human β-defensins (hBDs) in comparison to other tumor types. The expression level of a specific defensin in various cell lines could vary by more than five orders of magnitude. Compensatory mechanisms on the expression levels of the different defensins could not be strictly observed. Only in 3 out of 29 tumor cell lines the proliferation rate was affected after defensin stimulation. The variable appearance of defensins, as well as the cell line-restricted functional activity, argues for the integration of defensins in complex cellular and molecular networks that tolerate rather flexible expression patterns.
authors.affiliation: Oral Cell Biology Group, Department of Periodontology, Operative and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bonn, Welschnonnenstr. 17, 53111, Bonn, Germany. Jochen.Winter@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Preclinical Education, and Material Science, University of Bonn, 53111, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Preclinical Education, and Material Science, University of Bonn, 53111, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reckenbeil
authors.affiliation: Neuro- and Tumor Cell Biology Group, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Bonn, 53105, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Probstmeier
mesh_terms: D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics; D023082:Defensins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009857:Oncogenes / Q000235:genetics*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D023082:Defensins
keywords: Carcinoma; Expression pattern; Glioma; Human defensins; Neuroblastoma