Effect of dexamethasone on extracellular secretion of cystatin C in cancer cell lines

• Published in: Biomedical reports 2013-01, Vol.1 (1), p.115-118
• Main Authors: YAMAWAKI, CHIKA, TAKAHASHI, MINORU, TAKARA, KOHJI, KUME, MANABU, HIRAI, MIDORI, YASUI, HIROYUKI, NAKAMURA, TSUTOMU
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 5-Fluorouracil; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Biotechnology; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cell culture; Chemotherapy; Cisplatin; Cystatin C; Cytotoxicity; Dexamethasone; Drugs; Esophageal cancer; Esophagus; Gene expression; Gene regulation; glucocorticoid receptor; Glucocorticoids; Mifepristone; Morphology; Penicillin; Plastics; Proteins; Secretion; Studies; Toxicity; Transcription; Tumor cell lines
• ISSN: 2049-9434; 2049-9442
• DOI: 10.3892/br.2012.21

The aim of the present study was to investigate dexamethasone (DEX)-induced secretion of cystatin C (Cys C) and the effect of cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on Cys C secretion in human cancer cell lines. KYSE150, A549 and Caki-2 human cancer cell lines were cultured on plastic dishes and treated with DEX (100 nM) for 24, 48 and 72 h. KYSE150 cells were co-treated with DEX, CDDP (10 μM), and 5-FU (2 μM). The effects of DEX, CDDP and 5-FU on cell viability were evaluated. Results showed Cys C secretion levels in the culture medium of DEX-treated KYSE150 cells to be 1.8- to 2.3-fold higher compared to those in the culture medium of control cells. A similar tendency was observed in A549 cells at all the time points, whereas a significant increase in the Cys C secretion by Caki-2 cells was observed only 24 h after DEX treatment. Regarding KYSE150 cells, the secretion of Cys C was also enhanced by co-treatment of CDDP or 5-FU with DEX, although it was not affected by the co-administration of DEX and mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist. At concentrations that are typically used in esophageal cancer chemotherapy, CDDP and 5-FU demonstrated a moderate level of cytotoxicity in KYSE150 cells in contrast to DEX. These findings suggested that DEX has the potential to enhance the extracellular secretion of Cys C in esophageal cancer cells, possibly due to the transcriptional regulation mediated by glucocorticoid receptor activity.