Growth inhibitory effect of wild-type Kras2 gene on a colonic adenocarcinoma cell line

AIM: To observe the growth inhibitory effect of wild-type Kras2 gene on a colonic adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2. METHODS: Recombinant plasmid pCI-neo-Kras2 with wild type Kras2 open reading frame was constructed. The Caco-2 cells were transfected with either pCI-neo or pCI-neo-Kras2 using Lipofectamine 2000. The expression of wild type Kras 2 was examined by Northern blot analysis. And the expression of wild type Kras2 protein was examined by Western blot analysis. The effects of wild-type Kras2 on cell proliferation were analyzed by monotetrazolium (MTT) assay, meanwhile analyses of cell cycle and spontaneous apoptosis rate were carried out by flow cytometry (FCM). RESULTS: The plasmid of pCI-neo-Kras 2 was successfully established. The growth rate of cells transfected with pCI-neo-Kras2 was significantly lower than the control cells transfected with the empty pCI-neo vector (P < 0.05). Cell cycle analysis revealed arrest of the pCI-neo-Kras2 transfected cells in G0/G1 phases, decreased DNA synthesis and decreased fractions of cells in S phase. The proliferative index of cells transfected with pCI-neo-Kras2 was decreased compared with the control cells (49.78% vs 64.21%),while the apoptotic rate of Caco-2 cells with stable Kras 2 expression increased (0.30% vs 0.02%). CONCLUSION: The wild-type Kras2 gene effectively inhibits the growth of the colonic adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2.