Effect and Action Mechanism of Prostaglandin E2 on Proliferation of Human Colon Cancer Cells in Culture

The effect of prostaglandin E2(PGE2) on the growth of human colon cancer cell line HT-29 was investigated. PGE2 significantly inhibited the growth of HT-29 cells without increasing cyclicAMP production. Furthermore, the proliferation of HT-29 cell was not suppressed by the administration of vasoactive intestinal peptide or dibutyryl cyclicAMP. The metabolism of PGE2 in the culture medium showed that a considerable amount of PGA2 was produced from PGE2. These observations suggest that PGE2 inhibits the cell growth of HT-29 without stimulation of cAMP production, and that this inhibitory effect was due to the metabolic change of PGE2 to PGA2.