Analysis of molecular mechanisms involved in the susceptibility to statins on cancer cells

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26890019
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Tumor diagnostics
• Research Institution: Tottori University
• Principal Investigator: Warita Katsuhiko 鳥取大学, 農学部, 准教授 (40452669)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MIKI TAKANORI 香川大学, 医学部, 教授 (30274294) ; HOSAKA YOSHINAO 鳥取大学, 農学部, 教授 (00337023) ; OHTA KEN-ICHI 香川大学, 医学部, 助教 (50403720) ; SUZUKI SHINGO 香川大学, 医学部, 助教 (50451430)
• Research Collaborator: WARITA TOMOKO (三觜 友子) 徳島文理大学, 薬学部, 研究員 (00753112) ; Oltvai Zoltan N. ピッツバーグ大学, 医学部, 准教授
• Project Period (FY): 2014-08-29 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 薬効評価と予測 / がん細胞の特性 / 化学療法 / スタチン系薬剤

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The anti-proliferative effect of stains on cancer cells has received widespread attention, since it has been reported that the statins may exhibit an anti-cancer effect in addition to their cholesterol-lowering effect. However, what type of cancer cell statin is effective for is unclear. Our previous study identified E-cadherin as a candidate factor determining the susceptibility to statin. To demonstrate that E-cadherin actually determines the susceptibility of cancer cells to statin, we examined if the regulation of E-cadherin expression has an influence on the susceptibility of cancer cells to statin in the present study. When E-cadherin gene (CDH1) was inserted into the statin-sensitive cells which had no E-cadherin, the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) increased 3.7-fold. On the other hand, E-cadherin knockdown in the statin-resistant cancer cells increased their susceptibility to statin. These results strongly suggest that E-cadherin is a statin resistance factor.

Free Research Field

腫瘍生物学