Institute of Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of National Ministry of Education, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China.
Institute of Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of National Ministry of Education, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Toxicol Lett. 2014 Feb 10;225(1):158-66. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2013.12.006. Epub 2013 Dec 17.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a persistent organic pollutant, involved in the progression of many cancers, including liver cancer. However, the underlying mechanism(s) of DDT, especially how low doses DDT cause liver cancer, is poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the impact of p,p'-DDT on the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma using both in vitro and in vivo models. The present data indicated that the proliferation of HepG2 cells was strikingly promoted after exposed to p,p'-DDT for 4 days. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) content was significantly elevated, accompanied with inhibitions of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Interestingly, the levels of β-catenin and its downstream target genes (c-Myc and CyclinD1) were significantly up-regulated, and co-treatment of NAC, the ROS inhibitor, inhibited these over-expressed proteins. Moreover, the p,p'-DDT-stimulated proliferation of HepG2 cells could be reversed after NAC or β-catenin siRNA co-treatment. Likewise, p,p'-DDT treatment increased the growth of tumor in nude mice, stimulated oxidative stress and Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Our study indicates that low doses p,p'-DDT exposure promote the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma via Wnt/β-catenin pathway which is activated by oxidative stress. The finding suggests an association between low dose DDT exposure and liver cancer growth.
滴滴涕(DDT)是一种持久性有机污染物,参与了许多癌症的进展,包括肝癌。然而,DDT 的潜在机制,尤其是低剂量 DDT 如何导致肝癌,仍知之甚少。在这项研究中,我们使用体外和体内模型评估了 p,p'-DDT 对肝癌细胞生长的影响。本研究数据表明,HepG2 细胞在暴露于 p,p'-DDT 4 天后增殖明显增加。此外,活性氧(ROS)含量显著升高,同时γ-谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶(γ-GCS)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性受到抑制。有趣的是,β-连环蛋白及其下游靶基因(c-Myc 和 CyclinD1)的水平显著上调,ROS 抑制剂 NAC 的共同处理抑制了这些过表达的蛋白。此外,NAC 或β-连环蛋白 siRNA 共同处理可逆转 p,p'-DDT 刺激的 HepG2 细胞增殖。同样,p,p'-DDT 处理增加了裸鼠肿瘤的生长,刺激了氧化应激和 Wnt/β-连环蛋白通路。我们的研究表明,低剂量 p,p'-DDT 暴露通过氧化应激激活的 Wnt/β-连环蛋白通路促进肝癌细胞的生长。这一发现提示了低剂量 DDT 暴露与肝癌生长之间的关联。