Caveolin-1 promotes the transformation and anti-apoptotic ability of mouse hepatoma cells

Caveolin-1 is a major structural protein of caveolae and plays important roles in signal transduction, cellular transformation and tumor metastasis. Our previous study demonstrated that caveolin-1 expression level was positively correlated with the invasive ability of mouse hepatoma Hepa1-6 and Hca-F cells. However, the role of caveolin-1 in cellular transformation and apoptosis remains undetermined. We found that exogenous expression of caveolin-1 in Hepa1-6 cells enhanced cell transformation capability both in vitro and in vivo and prevented actinomycin D-induced apoptosis via the activation of survivin-mediated survival pathway. Conversely, downregulation of caveolin-1 in Hca-F cells significantly attenuated cell transformation ability in vitro and in vivo and increased cell sensitivity to actinomycin D by inhibiting survivin-mediated survival pathway. These results indicate that caveolin-1 could play an active role in mediating the transformation and survival of mouse hepatoma cells and might be a potential target for gene and antitumor drugs therapy.