EXPRESSION OF THE GENE CODING FOR THE LIGHT CHAIN OF CALPACTIN-I (ANNEXIN-II) IN CELL-LINES DIFI, HT-29, AND WI-38

Calpactin I (annexin II) light chain gene messages were expressed in the DiFi and HT-29 human colon cancer cell lines, as well as in the diploid lung fibroblast cell line WI-38. However, expression of an approximately 1.0 kb transcript was stronger in DiFi and HT-29 cells than in WI-38 cells. The moderate to strong expression of such transcripts in DiFi and HT-29 cells indicates that the calcium binding protein, calpactin I, may be abundant in colon carcinoma cells. Calpactin I is the major substrate of pp60v-src, a tyrosine-specific protein kinase encoded by v-src, whose cellular homologue c-src also codes for a tyrosine kinase (pp60c-src), known to be activated in colon carcinomas and in cell lines derived from them (including HT-29). Abundance of calpactin I in such cells is consistent with the possibility that activation of the pp60c-src tyrosine kinase contributes to the origin of human colon cancers.