Food and Chemical Toxicology
Food and Chemical Toxicology
5 years ago

Hijiki and sodium arsenite stimulate growth of human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells through ERK1/2 activation

Hijiki and sodium arsenite stimulate growth of human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells through ERK1/2 activation
Hijiki seaweed (Hijikia fusiformes) contains high levels of inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen. However, scientific reports on carcinogenic risks associated with the consumption of this seaweed are limited. This study investigated the effects of seaweed extracts contaminated with arsenic on two colorectal cancer cell lines. Two seaweed extracts, including Hijiki and red seaweed, induced H508 but not HT29 cell proliferation. Growth induction of H508 cells after treatments with Hijiki and sodium arsenite at concentrations equivalent to arsenic found in Hijiki was observed by both MTT and BrdU assays. Hijiki and sodium arsenite induced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and ERK1/2 activations. AG1478, an EGFR inhibitor, decreased the activation of EGFR and ERK1/2 induced by Hijiki and sodium arsenite. U0126, an ERK1/2 upstream inhibitor, and atropine, a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) antagonist, but not AG1478 completely inhibited the proliferative effect of Hijiki. Altogether, the results suggest that the presence of arsenic in seaweed may partly contribute to the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells. EGFR-dependent, and -independent ERK1/2 signaling pathways, and mAChR may be involved in the growth stimulation by Hijiki. These results raise concern regarding the potential colorectal cancer risks from regular consumption of Hijiki containing high contents of inorganic arsenic.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S0278691517305719

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.