Vincristine promotes migration and invasion of colorectal cancer HCT116 cells through RhoA/ROCK/ Myosin light chain pathway

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2016 Oct 31;62(12):91-96. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2016.62.12.16.

Abstract

Vincristine is an antitumor vinca alkaloid isolated from vinca rosea, and is a medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. In this study, we investigated the impact of vincristine on oncogenic phenotypes of human colorectal cancer HCT116 cells. MTT assay demonstrated that vincristine showed a obviously inhibitory effect on cell growth compared to non-treated cells. However, Transwell assay showed that vincristine promoted migration and invasion of HCT116 cells in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner between 0.5 and 15 μM vincristine treatment, whereas cell growth showed no remarkable difference within the same concentration range. Additionally, Western blot analysis showed that vincristine significantly elevated RhoA activity and Myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation, suggesting the involvement of RhoA/ROCK pathway in the vincristine-induced enhancement of cellular motility. Furthermore, we found that both the siRNA for RhoA and ROCK inhibitor Y27632 attenuated the phosphorylation of MLC, as well as vincristine-induced migration and invasion. These data indicate that vincristine enhanced migration and invasion of HCT116 cells possibly through stimulating RhoA/ROCK/MLC signaling pathway.

MeSH terms

  • Amides / pharmacology
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Movement / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / pathology
  • HCT116 Cells
  • Humans
  • Myosin Light Chains / metabolism*
  • Phosphorylation / drug effects
  • Pyridines / pharmacology
  • RNA Interference
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects*
  • Vincristine / pharmacology*
  • rho-Associated Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • rho-Associated Kinases / metabolism*
  • rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / antagonists & inhibitors
  • rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / genetics
  • rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / metabolism*

Substances

  • Amides
  • Myosin Light Chains
  • Pyridines
  • RNA, Messenger
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Y 27632
  • Vincristine
  • rho-Associated Kinases
  • rhoA GTP-Binding Protein