Ah RECEPTOR-INDEPENDENT INHIBITION OF GAP JUNCTION INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS IN HEPATOMA CELL CULTURE 27
BY POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
N. A. Bolotina,1 Yu. Yu. Sharovskaya,2 V. A. Kobliakov 1
1 Institute of Carcinogenesis, N. N. Blokhin Cancer Research Center RAMS, Moscow,
and 2 A. N. Belozcrsky Institute of Physical-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University;
1 e-mail: kobliakov@crc.umos.ru
One of the systems that regulate tissue homeostatis is gap junction intercellular communications (GJIC). Inhibition of GJIC is widely used in experiments as a
characteristic of tumor promotion. It is accepted that the down-regulation of GJIC is tightly related with the tumor-promoting properties of carcinogens. In this study,
the effect of some carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on GJIC in cell cultures of hepatoma 27 lacking cytochrome P450 and Ah receptor was
investigated. It was shown that inter 6 compounds studied only benzo/a/pyren and 3-methylcholanthrene were able to inhibit GJIC. We have concluded that an
unknown factor is present in hepatoma cells and its interaction with some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons results in GJIC inhibition. The investigation of mutual
effect of benzo/a/pyrene and non carcinogenic benzo/e/pyrene with similar structure has shown that GJIC inhibition by benzo/a/pyrene is at least double stepped.
Key words: carcinogenesis, gap junction intercellular communications, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Ah receptor
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