[Neuronal differentiation of human small cell lung cancer cell line PC-6 by Solcoseryl]

Solcoseryl is composed of extracts from calf blood, and is a drug known to activate tissue respiration. In the present study, I demonstrated the cell biological effects of Solcoseryl on a human small cell lung cancer cell line, PC-6, by analyzing cell morphology, cell growth, expression of neuronal differentiation markers, and the ras proto-oncogene product(ras p21). Exposure of PC-6 cells to Solcoseryl at the concentration of 200 microliters/ml induced (1) cell morphological changes, including neurodendrite-like projections from the cell surface, and (2) complete inhibition of cell growth, that was shown by the loss of Ki-67 expression. Solcoseryl also induced the expression of neurofilament protein and acetylcholinesterase, both of which are markers of neuronal differentiation. Moreover, it upregulated the expression of the ras proto-oncogene product, ras p21. Taken together, these data suggest that Solcoseryl is composed of component(s) which can induce neuronal differentiation of the human small cell lung cancer cell line, PC-6.