Ursodeoxycholic acid inhibits Ras mutations, wild-type Ras activation, and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in colon cancer

Sharad Khare*, Sonia Cerda, Ramesh K. Wali, Friederike C. Von Lintig, Maria Tretiakova, Loren Joseph, Debra Stoiber, Greg Cohen, Kiran Nimmagadda, John Hart, Michael D. Sitrin, Gerry R. Boss, Marc Bissonnette

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

K-ras mutations occur frequently in colon cancer and contribute to autonomous growth. In the azoxymethane (AOM) model of colon cancer, in addition to K-ras mutations, we have shown that wild-type (WT) Ras can be activated by upstream pathways, including, e.g., signaling by ErbB receptors. Tumors with mutant or activated WT Ras had increased cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) expression. We have also shown that ursodeoxychotic acid (UDCA) prevented AOM-induced colon cancer and suppressed Cox-2 induction. In this study, we examined the role of Ras in Cox-2 inhibition by UDCA. Rats were fed AIN-76A chow alone, or supplemented with 0.4% UDCA, and received 20 mg/kg AOM i.p. weekly × 2 weeks. At 40 weeks, rats were sacrificed, and tumors were harvested. K-ras mutations were assessed by primer-mediated RFLP, allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization, and direct DNA sequencing. Ras was immunoprecipitated and defined as activated if [Ras - GTP/(Ras - GTP + Ras - GDP)] was >3 SD above normal colonocytes. Cox-2 mRNA was determined by reverse transcription-PCR, and protein expression was assessed by Western blotting and immunostaining. In the AOM alone group, Ras was activated by mutations in 8 of 30 (27%) tumors, and WT Ras was activated in 7 of 30 (23%) tumors. UDCA significantly suppressed the incidence of tumors with mutant Ras (1 of 31, 3.2%; P < 0.05) and totally abolished the development of tumors with activated WT Ras (0 of 10; P < 0.05). In the AOM alone group, Cox-2 was up-regulated >50-fold in tumors with normal Ras activity and further enhanced in tumors with mutant or signaling-activated Ras. UDCA significantly inhibited Cox-2 protein and mRNA levels in tumors with normal Ras activity. In summary, we have shown for the first time that UDCA suppressed the development of tumors with Ras mutations and blocked activation of WT Ras. Furthermore, UDCA inhibited Cox-2 induction by Ras-dependent and -independent mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3517-3523
Number of pages7
JournalCancer Research
Volume63
Issue number13
StatePublished - Jul 1 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Ursodeoxycholic acid inhibits Ras mutations, wild-type Ras activation, and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in colon cancer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this