Summary
Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is an important regulator of cancer development and progression. Its cellular concentration is controlled predominantly by sphingosine kinase (SK) and sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase (SPL). In the current study we showed that mRNA expressions for both SK and SPL were up-regulated throughout all four disease stages in human breast cancer patients. Exogenous administration of S1P produced a bell-shaped dose response for apoptosis in normal mammary gland MCF12A cells but a sigmoid-shaped apoptotic response in breast cancer MCF7 cells. Co-administration of S1P enhanced the cytotoxicity of anticancer drug docetaxel against MCF7 cells.
Abbreviations
- S1P:
-
sphingosine-1-phosphate
- SK:
-
sphingosine kinase
- SPL:
-
sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a research grant from the Cancer Research Society Inc. of Canada and an internal research grant from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan.
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Ling, B., Chen, L., Alcorn, J. et al. Sphingosine-1-phosphate: a potential therapeutic agent against human breast cancer. Invest New Drugs 29, 396–399 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-009-9375-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-009-9375-9