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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Measurement of Heme Synthesis Levels in Mammalian Cells
Published on: July 9, 2015
Hemoglobin induces colon cancer cell proliferation by release of reactive oxygen species
Ryung-Ah Lee1, Hyun-Ah Kim, Bo-Young Kang
1Department of Surgery, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, 158-710, 911-1, Mokdong, Yangcheonku, Seoul, Korea. ralee@ewha.ac.kr
Aim:
To study whether hemoglobin could amplify colon cancer cell proliferation via reactive oxygen species (ROS) production.
Methods:
Colon cancer cell line HT-29 was grown in the conventional method using RPMI1640 media. The viability of the cells was measured using the colorimetric MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay after adding hemoglobin. We determined reactive oxygen species levels to be indicators of oxidative stress in HT 29 cell lines with and without hemoglobin and/or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5-DFUR) using fluorometric dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay.
Results:
Cellular proliferation was increased with hemoglobin in a concentration-dependent manner. A significant increment on ROS levels was found in HT 29 cells following hemoglobin incubation. The cytotoxic effects of 5-FU and 5-DFUR were significantly blunted by administration of hemoglobin. There was a slight increase of peroxiredoxin 1, superoxide dismutase 1 concentration according to different hemoglobin concentrations.
Conclusion:
Hemoglobin has a cellular proliferative effect on HT-29 colon cancer cell line by production of ROS. Also, hemoglobin abates cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents such as 5-FU and 5-DFUR.
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