Potential therapeutic significance of increased expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor in human gastric cancer

• Published in: World journal of gastroenterology : WJG Vol. 15; no. 14; pp. 1719 - 1729
• Main Authors: Peng, Tie-Li, Chen, Jie, Mao, Wei, Liu, Xin, Tao, Yu, Chen, Lian-Zhou, Chen, Min-Hu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China%Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China%Digestive system tumor tissue bank, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China 14.04.2009; The WJG Press and Baishideng
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; AGS细胞; Apoptosis - drug effects; Cell Cycle - drug effects; Cell Line, Tumor; Environmental Pollutants - pharmacology; Female; Gastric Mucosa - metabolism; Humans; Male; Microarray Analysis; Middle Aged; Original; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - pharmacology; Precancerous Conditions - genetics; Precancerous Conditions - metabolism; Precancerous Conditions - pathology; Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon - genetics; Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon - metabolism; Signal Transduction - physiology; Stomach - cytology; Stomach - pathology; Stomach Neoplasms - genetics; Stomach Neoplasms - metabolism; Stomach Neoplasms - pathology; Stomach Neoplasms - therapy; Western印迹; 人胃癌; 免疫组织化学; 慢性萎缩性胃炎; 气相色谱法; 治疗靶点; 芳香烃受体; Cell proliferation; Aryl hydrocarbon receptor; Gastric cancer; Cell cycle; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 1007-9327; 2219-2840
• DOI: 10.3748/wjg.15.1719

AIM： To determine the functional significance of aryl hydrocarbon receptor （AhR） in gastric carcinogenesis, and to explore the possible role of AhR in gastric cancer （GC） treatment. METHODS： RT-PCR, real-time PCR, and Western blotting were performed to detect AhR expression in 39 GC tissues and five GC cell lines. AhR protein was detected by immunohistochemistry （IHC） in 290 samples： 30 chronic superficial gastritis （CSG）, 30 chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG）, 30 intestinal metapiasia （IN）, 30 atypical hyperplasia （AH）, and 70 GC. The AhR agonist tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin （TCDD） was used to treat AGS cells. MTr assay and flow cytometric analysis were performed to measure the viability, cell cycle and apoptosis of AGS cells.RESULTS： AhR expression was significantly increased in GC tissues and GC cell lines. IHC results indicated that the levels of AhR expression gradually increased, with the lowest levels in CSG, followed by CAG, IM, AH and GC. AhR expression and nuclear translocation were significantly higher in GC than in precancerous tissues. TCDD inhibited proliferation of AGS cells via induction of growth arrest at the G1-S phase. CONCLUSION： AhR plays an important role in gastric carcinogenesis. AhR may be a potential therapeutic target for GC treatment.