A BALB/c 3T3-transformed cell line suitable for transfection assay of metastasis-inducing genes

Incorrect strain information for mouse cell lines: sequential influence of misidentification on sublines

Misidentification or cross-contamination of cell lines can cause serious issues. Human cell lines have been authenticated by short tandem repeat profiling; however, mouse cell lines have not been adequately assessed. In this study, mouse cell lines registered with the JCRB cell bank were examined by simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP) analysis to identify their strains. Based on comparisons with 7 major inbred strains, our results revealed their strains in 80 of 90 cell lines. However, 12 of the 80 cell lines (15%) were found to differ from registered information. Of them, 4 cell lines originated from the same mouse, which had been generated through mating between two different inbred strains. The genotype of the mouse sample had not been examined after the backcross, leading to strain misidentification in those cell lines. Although 8 other cell lines had been established as sublines of a BALB/c cell line, their SSLP profiles are similar to a Swiss cell line. This affects differences in genotypes between inbred and outbred strains. Because the use of inbred samples and interbreeding between strains are not involved in human materials, our results suggest that the cause and influence of misidentification in mouse cell lines are different from those in human.

RhoGDIbeta lacking the N-terminal regulatory domain suppresses metastasis by promoting anoikis in v-src-transformed cells

Rho guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitors (RhoGDIs) regulate the activity of Rho family GTPases. RhoGDIbeta (LyGDI/GDID4/RhoGDI2) has two caspase cleavage sites after Asp19 and Asp55. The resulting cleavage products, DeltaN(1-19)RhoGDIbeta and DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta, are expressed in cells under conditions that activate caspases. DeltaN(1-19)RhoGDIbeta, which can inhibit GDP dissociation, is implicated in the process of apoptosis, whereas the physiological roles for DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta, which lacks the ability to inhibit GDP dissociation, are largely unknown. To explore the roles of DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta, we examined the phenotypes of v-src-transformed metastatic fibroblasts transfected with plasmids for expressing DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta. Although the expression of DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta had no effect on the rate of growth in vitro, it suppressed experimental metastasis and decreased the rate of growth in vivo. In addition, DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta-expressing cells had enhanced adhesion to fibronectin, laminin, and collagens but reduced retention in the lung after intravenous injection. Also, the expression of DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta promoted anoikis without affecting the levels of activated Rac1 or Cdc42. Furthermore, DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta did not affect the expression or phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein kinases, or Akt1 before or after induction of anoikis. Thus, DeltaN(1-55)RhoGDIbeta appears to promote anoikis by undefined mechanisms, thereby suppressing metastasis in v-src-transformed fibroblasts.

Overexpression of Aurora-A potentiates HRAS-mediated oncogenic transformation and is implicated in oral carcinogenesis

Aurora kinases are known to play a key role in maintaining mitotic fidelity, and overexpression of aurora kinases has been noted in various tumors. Overexpression of aurora kinase activity is thought to promote cancer development through a loss of centrosome or chromosome number integrity. Here we observed augmentation of G12V-mutated HRAS-induced neoplastic transformation in BALB/c 3T3 A31-1-1 cells transfected with Aurora-A. Aurora-A-short hairpin RNA (shRNA) experiments showed that the expression level of Aurora-A determines susceptibility to transformation. Aurora-A gene amplification was noted in human patients with tongue or gingival squamous carcinoma (4/11). Amplification was observed even in pathologically normal epithelial tissue taken at sites distant from the tumors in two patients with tongue cancer. However, overexpression of Aurora-A mRNA was observed only within the tumors of all patients examined (11/11). Our data indicate that Aurora-A gene amplification and overexpression play a role in human carcinogenesis, largely due to the effect of Aurora-A on oncogenic cell growth, rather than a loss of maintenance of centrosomal or chromosomal integrity.

LyGDI functions in cancer metastasis by anchoring Rho proteins to the cell membrane

Rho family GTPases play an important role in a number of processes related to metastasis, and RhoGDP dissociation, inhibitors (RhoGDIs) regulate Rho family proteins. We cloned genomic DNA from colon carcinoma SW480 cells capable of transforming nonmetastatic ras-transformed 1-1ras1000 cells into metastatic cells. This DNA contained a truncated human ras homolog gene family GDP dissociation inhibitor beta (ARHGDIB) gene, resulting in a C-terminal truncated form of LyGDI (Delta C-LyGDI, 166-201 deletion), a member of the RhoGDIs. The stable expression of Delta C-LyGDI induced pulmonary metastasis in 1-1ras1000 cells, whereas expression of full-length LyGDI did not induce metastasis. Delta C-LyGDI was preferentially localized in the membrane, detected in a NP-40-insoluble fraction, and co-purified with radixin, moesin, Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA. In Delta C-LyGDI transfectant, an activation state of Rac1 was elevated and Delta C-LyGDI was associated with Rac1-GTP. In keeping with the observed localization of Rac1 to the cell membrane and the elevated level of Rac1-GTP, Delta C-LyGDI transfectants were found to be more invasive than mock transfectant. These results suggest that LyGDI functions in the cell membrane to afford spatial regulation of Rho family GTPase signaling through ezrin radixin moesin (ERM) proteins during metastasis.

Anticarcinogenic effect and enhancement of metastatic potential of BALB/c 3T3 cells by ginsenoside Rh(2)

It has been reported that ginsenoside Rh(2), a purified ginseng saponin with a dammarane skeleton, has anticarcinogenic effects on mammalian cells. To determine the significance of these effects on multistage carcinogenesis, we utilized the BALB / c 3T3 cell system. In an in vitro two-stage neoplastic transformation assay, the initiating activity of 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MCA) was suppressed by Rh(2) (>or= 1 x 10(-5) M) in both BALB / c 3T3 A31-1-1 cells and the more carcinogen-susceptible variant A31-1-13 cells. The suppressive effects in this concentration range were thought to be caused by suppression of DNA replication via indirect Cdk2 inhibition. On the other hand, the promotion steps of both the target cells were not affected by Rh(2) even if the transformation frequency was enhanced by a tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). To examine the other effects of Rh(2) on carcinogenesis, we turned our attention to the metastatic phenotype. Using metastatic src-transformed A31-1-1 cells, we found that Rh(2) augmented the metastatic potential in an experimental metastasis assay. These data indicate that Rh(2) has diverse effects on the expression of the transformed phenotype in BALB / c 3T3 cells, but support the idea that growth suppression is likely to be a major mechanism of the anticarcinogenic effects of Rh(2).