Open AccessEnhanced Tumorigenicity of Rat Bladder Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells after Abrogation of Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication
Author(s) -
Asamoto Makoto,
ToriyamaBaba Hiroyasu,
Krutovskikh Vladimir,
Cohen Samuel M.,
Tsuda Hiroyuki
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
japanese journal of cancer research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.035
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1349-7006
pISSN - 0910-5050
DOI - 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1998.tb03287.x
Subject(s) - connexin , carcinogenesis , biology , transfection , cell culture , immunohistochemistry , urothelium , epithelium , cancer research , gap junction , tumor suppressor gene , cell , pathology , carcinoma , intracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology , immunology , cancer , medicine , genetics , urinary system
We previously demonstrated a clear tendency for actively communicating rat bladder carcinoma cell lines with elevated expression of connexin 43 mRNA to possess strong tumorigenicity. In the present study, immunohistochemical analysis established that normal bladder epithelium did not express connexin 43 protein, but bladder carcinomas often expressed the protein, particularly on the membranes of cells within areas of squamous cell differentiation. To investigate the role of connexin 43 overexpression in rat bladder carcinoma cells, an anti‐sense connexin 43 expression vector was transfected into BC31 cells having a high communication capacity. In the resultant transfectants, there was little or no communication capacity and connexin 43 expression. The growth rate in vitro was not changed compared to that of cells treated with the vector alone (without the anti‐sense sequence), but tumorigenicity in nude mice was dramatically enhanced. The results indicate that connexin 43 overexpression in rat bladder carcinogenesis is related to squamous cell differentiation, and the protein can have tumor suppressor characteristics, as in other organs.