Effects of Phenylacetate on Cell Proliferation and Homeobox Genes Expression in the HCT-8 Colorectal Carcinoma Cell Line

Abstract

To study the effects of phenylacetate (PA) on cell proliferation and homeobox (HOX) genes expression in the colorectal carcinoma HCT-8 cell line, HCT-8 cells were grown in the presence or absence of PA. The cellular proliferation inhibition was evaluated by the MTT assay. Twenty-two HOX genes were divided into three groups (P1, P2, P3) according to their primer sequences, and the samples of cells were analyzed for the HOX genes' mRNA expression by means of the semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The level of the HOX genes' expression was expressed as the ratio expression rate of HOX gene to the β-actin. HCT-8 cells were treated with 1.0–5.0 mmol/L PA for 24–72 h. With the increase of the PA concentration or the prolongation of the treating time, the cell proliferation is inhibited in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The Pl group mRNA expression (0. 5781 ± 0.0836) is significantly lower than that of the untreated group (0. 7701 ± 0.0883) in HCT-8 cells ( p p