Abstract
BackgroundStudies have shown that Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is involved in tumorigenesis. Recently, we found that 9 out of 12 human glioma cell lines had high level of DKK-1 protein while the other 3 had very low or non-detectable level of DKK-1. The aim of this study is to further examine the function of DKK-1 in glioma cells.Materials and methodsThe glioma cell line SHG44 was obtained from a patient with grade II-III astrocytoma. SHG44 cells were transfected with a human DKK-1 gene. Transfection of the empty vector pcDNA3.1 was used as negative control. Sensitivity to BCNU was measured by Annexin-V staining. Expression of bax, bcl-2 and caspase-3 of three groups was determined by immunohistochemistry.ResultsThe tranfection was confirmed by PCR, RT-PCR and Western blot. More apoptotic cell death was observed in the DKK-1 transfected cells, comparing to the non-transfected cells, or cells with empty vector. The expression of bax and caspase-3 of the SHG44 -DDK-1 increased, whereas the expression of bcl-2 decreasedConclusionOur results indicated that DKK-1 has a pro-apoptotic function of in glioma.
Highlights
Dickkopf-1(DKK-1) gene was first discovered in 1998 as a head formation inducer and an antagonist of Wnt signaling pathway [1]
The expression of bax and caspase-3 of the SHG44 -DDK-1 increased, whereas the expression of bcl-2 decreased Conclusion: Our results indicated that DKK-1 has a pro-apoptotic function of in glioma
The family of DKK genes is a small, but conservative gene family, which is composed of DKK-1, DKK-2, DKK-3, DKK-4 and DKKL-1, a DKK3 related gene
Summary
Dickkopf-1(DKK-1) gene was first discovered in 1998 as a head formation inducer and an antagonist of Wnt signaling pathway [1]. Recent studies have revealed the involvement of DKK-1 protein in tumorigenesis. Several studies reported that the expression level of DKK-1 in different tumors was different and its biological functions were different as well [4,5,6,7,8]. The DKK-1 concentration was significantly higher in the serum of lung cancer patients than in that of other malignant tumor patients or healthy people. Studies have shown that Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is involved in tumorigenesis. We found that 9 out of 12 human glioma cell lines had high level of DKK-1 protein while the other 3 had very low or nondetectable level of DKK-1. The aim of this study is to further examine the function of DKK-1 in glioma cells
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