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Doxycycline alters metabolism and proliferation of human cell lines

Ethan Ahler1, William J Sullivan, Ashley Cass

  • 1Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.

Plos One
|June 7, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Doxycycline, used in gene expression systems, alters human cell metabolism towards glycolysis and slows proliferation. Researchers should implement controls for these off-target effects in experiments.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Tetracycline antibiotics, including doxycycline, are crucial for inducible gene expression in research.
  • Known effects include mitochondrial ribosome inhibition, but off-target impacts at common experimental concentrations are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the off-target effects of doxycycline on human cell lines at concentrations typical for inducible gene expression systems.
  • To assess the impact on gene expression, cellular metabolism, and proliferation.

Main Methods:

  • Exposure of human cell lines to commonly used doxycycline concentrations.
  • Analysis of gene expression patterns.
  • Measurement of metabolic parameters (lactate secretion, oxygen consumption).
  • Assessment of cell proliferation rates.

Main Results:

  • Doxycycline treatment altered gene expression profiles in human cells.
  • A metabolic shift towards glycolysis was observed, indicated by increased lactate production and decreased oxygen consumption.
  • Cell proliferation was significantly reduced at the tested doxycycline concentrations.

Conclusions:

  • Commonly used doxycycline concentrations can induce significant off-target effects on cellular metabolism and proliferation.
  • These metabolic and proliferative changes may confound results from inducible gene expression studies.
  • Researchers must incorporate appropriate controls to mitigate potential confounding effects of doxycycline in their experimental designs.

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