1. Academic Validation
  2. Arecoline suppresses epithelial cell viability through the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway via upregulation of PHLPP2

Arecoline suppresses epithelial cell viability through the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway via upregulation of PHLPP2

  • Toxicology. 2019 May 1;419:32-39. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2019.03.006.
Liqun Gu 1 Changqing Xie 2 Qian Peng 2 Jiaming Zhang 3 Jiada Li 3 Zhangui Tang 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China; Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China.
  • 2 Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China.
  • 3 Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China.
  • 4 Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China. Electronic address: tangzhangui@aliyun.com.
Abstract

Arecoline, the major active ingredient of the betel nut, is involved in the pathogenesis of oral submucous fibrosis. However, the underlying mechanism of this pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we found that arecoline suppresses the cell proliferation of the HaCaT epithelial cell and induces cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase with an IC50 of 50 μg/mL. Furthermore, we found that arecoline reduces the protein level of cyclin D1, but it has no effect on its mRNA level and protein stability, implying that arecoline may modulate the translation of cyclin D1. We also observed the downregulation of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway after treatment with arecoline, which may be related to the translation of cyclin D1. RNA-seq analysis identified that PHLPP2, the direct upstream target of Akt, is significantly upregulated after arecoline treatment. siRNA-mediated knockdown of PHLPP2 recovered the phosphorylation state of Akt, as well as attenuated the effect of arecoline on cell viability. Thus, our study revealed the crucial role of PHLPP2 in arecoline-induced cell viability suppression.

Keywords

Akt; Arecoline; Cyclin D1; Oral submucous fibrosis; PHLPP2.

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