Collagen peptide ingestion alters lipid metabolism-related gene expression and the unfolded protein response in mouse liver.

Ingestion of collagen peptide (CP) elicits beneficial effects on the body, including improvement in blood lipid profiles, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of CP ingestion on the liver, which controls lipid metabolism in the body. Male BALB/cCrSlc mice were bred with the AIN-93M diet containing 14 % casein or the AIN-93M-based low-protein diet containing 10 % casein or a diet containing 6 % casein+4 % CP for 10 weeks (n 12/group). Total, free and esterified cholesterol levels in the blood decreased in the CP group. DNA microarray analysis of the liver revealed that expressions of genes related to lipid metabolic processes such as the PPAR signalling pathway and fatty acid metabolism increased in the CP group compared with the 10 % casein group. The expressions of several genes involved in steroid metabolic process, including Cyp7a1 and Cyp8b1, were decreased, despite being targets of transcriptional regulation by PPAR. These data suggest that lipid metabolism in the liver is altered by CP ingestion, and the decrease in blood cholesterol levels in the CP group is not due to enhancement of the steroid metabolic process. On the other hand, expressions of genes related to the unfolded protein response (UPR) significantly decreased at the mRNA level, suggesting that CP ingestion lowers endoplasmic reticulum stress. Indeed, protein levels of phosphorylated inositol-requiring enzyme 1 decreased after CP ingestion. Taken together, CP affects the broader pathways in the liver - not only lipid metabolism but also UPR.

Loss of lysophosphatidic acid receptor-3 enhances cell migration in rat lung tumor cells.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) indicates several biological effects, such as cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. LPA interacts with G protein-coupled transmembrane LPA receptors. In our previous report, we detected that loss of the LPA receptor-1 (Lpar1) expression is due to its aberrant DNA methylation in rat tumor cell lines. In this study, to assess an involvement of the other LPA receptor, Lpar3, in the pathogenesis of rat lung tumor cells, we measured the expression levels of the Lpar3 gene and its DNA methylation status by reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bisulfite sequencing analyses, respectively. RLCNR lung adenocarcinoma cells showed reduced expression of the Lpar3, compared with normal lung tissues. In the 5' upstream region of the Lpar3, normal lung tissues were unmethylated. By contrast, RLCNR cells were highly methylated, correlating with reduced expressions of the Lpar3. Based on these results, we generated the Lpar3-expressing RLCNR-a3 cells and measured the cell migration ability. Interestingly, the cell migration of RLCNR-a3 cells was significantly lower than that of RLCNR cells. This study suggests that loss of the Lpar3 due to aberrant DNA methylation may be involved in the progression of rat lung tumor cells.

Possible involvement of lysophosphatidic acid receptor-5 gene in the acquisition of growth advantage of rat tumor cells.

Aberrant expressions of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor genes have been reported in tumor cells. Here, we measured the expression levels of the Lpa5 gene and its DNA methylation status in rat tumor cells, and investigated cell growth effects of LPA in Lpa5 expressed cells. Real-time reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis revealed that increased expressions of the Lpa5 gene were detected in rat liver-derived hepatoma RH7777 and lung-derived adenocarcinoma RLCNR cells. For the analysis of methylation status, bisulfite sequencing was performed with RH7777 and RLCNR cells and compared with other tumor cells and liver epithelial cells. The Lpa5 gene in Lpa5 unexpressed cells and liver epithelial cells were highly methylated in the 5' upstream region. In contrast, the Lpa5 gene in RH7777 and RLCNR cells was unmethylated, correlating with increased expressions of Lpa5. In the assays for cell growth effects of LPA, LPA enhanced cell proliferation and motility in RH7777 and RLCNR cells. LPA also stimulated cell invasion in RLCNR, but not in RH7777 cells. In rat liver and lung tumors induced by nitroso-compounds, 4 out of 6 hepatocellular carcinomas and 5 out of 6 lung adenocarcinomas indicated increased expressions of Lpa5 with unmethylated status. These results suggest that increased Lpa5 expressions due to aberrant DNA methylation may be involved in the acquisition of growth advantage of rat tumor cells.

Different expressions and DNA methylation patterns of lysophosphatidic acid receptor genes in mouse tumor cells.

OBJECTIVE: Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptors act as several biological effectors through LPA, which is a bioactive phospholipid. Recently, aberrant expressions of LPA receptor genes due to DNA methylation have been detected in several tumor cells. In this study, we measured expression levels and DNA methylation status of LPA receptor genes in mouse tumor cells, LL/2 lung carcinoma, B16F0 melanoma, FM3A mammary carcinoma and L1210 leukemia cells, compared with normal tissues. METHODS: Total RNAs were extracted and RT-PCR analysis was performed. For DNA methylation status, bisulfite sequencing analysis was carried out, comparing outcomes with other tumor cells and normal tissues. RESULTS: The expressions of LPA1 gene were shown in LL/2, but not in B16F0, FM3A and L1210 cells. While the LPA2 gene was expressed in all 4 tumor cells, the LPA3 gene was unexpressed in them. The LPA1 and LPA3 unexpressed cells were highly methylated, although normal tissues were all unmethylated. The DNA methylation status was correlated with gene expression levels in cancer cells. CONCLUSION: The present results demonstrate that DNA methylation patterns of LPA receptor genes are dependent on cancer cell types, suggesting that LPA receptors may be new molecular targets for therapeutic approaches and chemoprevention.

Induction of lysophosphatidic acid receptor-3 by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate stimulates cell migration of rat liver cells.

12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) which is one of tumor promoting agents stimulates cell migration ability of several tumor cells. In the present study, we investigated whether lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptors are involved in cell migration of rat liver cells stimulated by TPA. The rat liver epithelial WB-F344 and hepatoma RH7777 cells were treated by TPA for 48h. The expression levels of LPA receptor genes in those cells were measured by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. The expressions of the LPA receptor-3 (Lpar3) gene were significantly elevated in WB-F344 and RH7777 cells treated by TPA, but not Lpar1 and Lpar2 genes. In cell migration assay, TPA treatment showed markedly high cell migration in both cells. The pretreatment with inhibitors of Gi protein suppressed those migration abilities. We next generated the Lpar3 knockdown cells from WB-F344 cells and investigated the effect on cell migration. Interestingly, the cell migration of the knockdown cells was not stimulated by TPA. These results suggest that TPA-stimulated cell migration of rat liver cells may be mainly dependent on the LPA(3)-mediated effect.