ACETYLCHOLINE STIMULATES THE CELL PROLIFERATION AND INCREASES THE EXPRESSION OF CANCER STEM CELL MARKERS IN THE GASTRIC CANCER CELL LINE MKN74

Abstract

Gastric cancer is a malignant cancer form with the mortality rate second only to liver cancer and lung cancer. According to Loren's classification system, gastric cancer is divided into two main types: diffuse and intestinal. In this study, we used different methods to screen for cell proliferation (MTT), 3D tumorsphere formation and evaluate the expression level of gastric cancer stem cell markers in intestinal type. The results showed that Acetycholine (Ach) has the ability to stimulate the proliferation of MKN74 gastric cancer cells. The tumorsphere formation rate in Ach-treated cells (1 µM) increased by 4 times compared to the control. Further, cells Ach-induced cells increased transcriptional level of genes encoding the gastric cancer stem cell markers CD44 and ALDH. Inhibition of the activity of Ach receptor reduced the effect of Ach on the properties of gastric cancer cells. This study suggests that Ach plays a role as a factor of intestinal gastric carcinogenesis and that the use of specific Ach receptor inhibitors could be a potential approach for targeted therapies for gastric cancer.