The effects of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors on urological cancer cells

• Published in: International journal of molecular medicine Vol. 13; no. 6; p. 789
• Main Authors: Yoshimura, Rikio, Matsuyama, Masahide, Kawahito, Yutaka, Takemoto, Yoshiaki, Tsuchida, Kenji, Kuratsukuri, Katsuyuki, Segawa, Yoshihiro, Shinnka, Toshiaki, Sano, Hajime, Nakatani, Tatsuya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Greece 01.06.2004
• Subjects: Apoptosis - drug effects; Cell Division - drug effects; Cyclooxygenase 2; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Humans; Isoenzymes - antagonists & inhibitors; Membrane Proteins; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Urologic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Urologic Neoplasms - pathology
• ISSN: 1107-3756
• DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.13.6.789

Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 plays an important role in the development of various cancers due to its angiogenic function. We have demonstrated that the expression of COX-2 was up-regulated in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC), bladder tumor (BT) and prostate cancer (PC). In this study, we examined the effects of COX-2 inhibitors on cell proliferation in RCC, BT and PC-derived cell lines using MTT assay and Hoechst staining. COX-2 inhibitors did not induce a reduction of cell viability with the half-maximal concentration of growth inhibition of RCC, BT and PC cell lines. Furthermore, counting cells at days 1, 2 and 3, showed no inhibition of cell proliferation using COX-2 inhibitors. COX-2 inhibitors could not stop the growth of RCC, BT and PC cells. Typical characteristics of apoptosis, i.e. chromatin condensation, cellular shrinkage, small membrane-bound bodies (apoptotic bodies) and cytoplasmic condensation, did not occur. Although the expression of COX-2 was up-regulated in human RCC, BT and PC tissues, COX-2 inhibitors have only slight anti-proliferative effects against RCC, BT and PC cells through differentiation. Thus, using only down-regulation of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolizing enzyme, COX may be an unsuccessful approach in providing new anti-cancer therapies.