S-adenosyl methionine specifically protects the anticancer effect of 5-FU via DNMTs expression in human A549 lung cancer cells

  • Authors:
    • Myeong-Sun Ham
    • Ju-Kyung Lee
    • Keun-Cheol Kim
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: December 18, 2012     https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2012.53
  • Pages: 373-378
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Abstract

Cellular methylation is associated with stabilization of the chromatin structure. S‑adenosyl methionine (SAM), a metabolite of methionine metabolism, is the methyl donor of essential cellular methyltransferase reactions. Using 3‑(4,5‑dimethylthiazol‑2‑yl)‑2,5‑dephenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, we found that combination treatment of SAM and 5‑fluorouracil (5‑FU) specifically protected the anticancer effect of 5‑FU, whereas the combination of SAM and cisplatin had no effect. This result was confirmed by FACS analysis. The combination treatment of SAM and 5‑FU significantly decreased the dead cell population, while the G1 cell population was slightly increased, suggesting that protection of SAM is not associated with the cell cycle arrest of DNA-damaging drugs. We also analyzed which cellular methylation-related proteins were involved in the protective effect. Results showed the expression of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) was decreased with 5‑FU alone but was increased with the combination treatment of SAM and 5‑FU, suggesting that SAM protects the anticancer effect of 5‑FU by regulating the expression of DNMTs. Taken together, the results indicated that SAM specifically modulates the anticancer effect of the DNA damage agent 5‑FU and this may be modulated by aberrant DNA methylation.
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March-April 2013
Volume 1 Issue 2

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Spandidos Publications style
Ham M, Lee J and Kim K: S-adenosyl methionine specifically protects the anticancer effect of 5-FU via DNMTs expression in human A549 lung cancer cells. Mol Clin Oncol 1: 373-378, 2013
APA
Ham, M., Lee, J., & Kim, K. (2013). S-adenosyl methionine specifically protects the anticancer effect of 5-FU via DNMTs expression in human A549 lung cancer cells. Molecular and Clinical Oncology, 1, 373-378. https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2012.53
MLA
Ham, M., Lee, J., Kim, K."S-adenosyl methionine specifically protects the anticancer effect of 5-FU via DNMTs expression in human A549 lung cancer cells". Molecular and Clinical Oncology 1.2 (2013): 373-378.
Chicago
Ham, M., Lee, J., Kim, K."S-adenosyl methionine specifically protects the anticancer effect of 5-FU via DNMTs expression in human A549 lung cancer cells". Molecular and Clinical Oncology 1, no. 2 (2013): 373-378. https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2012.53