Sulindac sulfide inhibits epidermal growth factor-induced phosphorylation of extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 and Bad in human colon cancer cells.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including sulindac are promising chemopreventive agents for colorectal cancer. Sulindac and selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors cause regression of colonic polyps in familial polyposis patients. Sulindac induces apoptotic cell death in cancer cells in ...
vitro and in vivo. In tumor cells, activation of extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 results in phosphorylation of several ERK1/2 effectors, including the proapoptotic protein Bad. Phosphorylation of Ser112 by ERK1/2 inactivates Bad and protects the tumor cell from apoptosis. Sulindac metabolites and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs selectively inhibit ERK1/2 phosphorylation in human colon cancer cells. In this study we show that epidermal growth factor (EGF) strongly induces phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Bad in HT29 colon cancer cells. EGF-stimulated phosphorylation of ERK and Bad is blocked by pretreatment with U0126, a selective MAP kinase kinase (MKK)1/2 inhibitor. Similarly, pretreatment with sulindac sulfide blocks the ability of EGF to induce ERK1/2 and Bad phosphorylation, but also down-regulates total Bad but not ERK1/2 protein levels. The ability of sulindac to block ERK1/2 signaling by the EGF receptor may account for at least part of its potent growth-inhibitory effects against cancer cells.
Mesh Terms:
Antineoplastic Agents, Butadienes, Carrier Proteins, Caspase Inhibitors, Caspases, Colonic Neoplasms, Enzyme Activation, Epidermal Growth Factor, Humans, MAP Kinase Kinase 1, MAP Kinase Kinase 2, MAP Kinase Signaling System, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases, Nitriles, Phosphorylation, Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases, Protein-Tyrosine Kinases, Sulindac, Tumor Cells, Cultured, bcl-Associated Death Protein
Cancer Res.
Date: Feb. 01, 2003
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