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Cancer-upregulated gene 2 (CUG2) overexpression induces apoptosis in SKOV-3 cells

Sunhee Lee1, Wansoo Koh, Hyun-Taek Kim

  • 1Department of Microbiology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. leesoojin@cnu.ac.kr

Cell Biochemistry and Function
|July 22, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Overexpression of Cancer-upregulated gene 2 (CUG2) induces programmed cell death (apoptosis) in ovarian cancer cells and zebrafish embryos. This finding suggests CUG2

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Cancer-upregulated gene 2 (CUG2) is recognized as a potential oncogene frequently overexpressed in human cancers.
  • CUG2 is a recently identified component of the centromere protein complex, crucial for kinetochore assembly.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of CUG2 in inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells.
  • To explore the pro-apoptotic effects of CUG2 overexpression in the SKOV-3 human ovarian cancer cell line and zebrafish embryos.

Main Methods:

  • Overexpression of CUG2 in SKOV-3 cells and zebrafish embryos.
  • Cell viability assays, flow cytometry, chromosome fragmentation analysis.
  • Western blotting for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, caspase-3, and caspase-8 activation; assessment of cytochrome c release.

Main Results:

  • CUG2 overexpression triggered significant apoptotic cell death in SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells.
  • Evidence of apoptosis included reduced cell viability, increased DNA fragmentation, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage.
  • CUG2 expression activated caspase-3 and -8, leading to mitochondrial cytochrome c release and apoptosis in both cell lines and zebrafish embryos.

Conclusions:

  • High expression of CUG2 induces programmed cell death (apoptosis).
  • CUG2 may function as a tumor suppressor by promoting apoptosis in cancer cells.

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