Effect of epidermal growth factor on expression of Survivin and signaling pathways involved in human small cell lung cancer cells

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the expression of Survivin and the signaling pathways involved in the human small cell lung cancer NIC-H446 cell line.Methods Methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to determine cell proliferation rate.Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to detect the EGF mRNA and protein expression levels in NIC-H446 cells.Western blotting was used to detect p38MAPK,JNK and ERK expression levels as well as their phosphorylation levels in NIC-H446 cells.Results EGF could boost the multiplication of NIC-H446 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner.The expression levels of Survivin mRNA (0.69 ±0.12) and protein (0.89 ±0.19) in EGF group were significantly higher in EGF group than in control group (0.36 ±0.06,0.57 ±0.15),(P ＜0.01 ).The expression of p-p38MAPK (0.68 ±0.27) was significantly higher in EGF group than in control group (0.29 ±0.08,P ＜0.01 ).The expression of Surviving (0.56 ±0.17) and p-p38MAPK (0.41 ±0.11 ) was significantly higher in EGF + SB203580 group than that in EGF group (0.92 ±0.21,O.72 ±0.19,P ＜0.01 ).Conclusion EGF activates cell proliferation and up-regulates Survivin expression by activating pp38MAPK pathway in NIC-H446 cells,as maybe count for the progression of human small cell lung cancer. Key words: Lung carcinoma; Epidermal growth factor; Survivin; p38MAPK