Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ activated by ligands can inhibit human lung cancer cell growth through induction of apoptosis

Abstract

To study the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ(PPAR-γ) in lung cancer cells, and to testify if the PPAR-γ agonists can inhibit human lung cancer cell growth through induction of apoptosis, PPAR-γ was detected in two lung cancer cell lines by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, the inhibition of human lung cancer cell growth was investigated by MTT and cell counts, and the apoptosis was assessed by TUNEL. The results showed that: (1) PPAR-γ expressed on two lung cancer cell lines; (2) PPAR-γ activated by ligands could inhibit human lung cancer cell growth remarkably; (3) PPAR-γ agonists could induce apoptosis to inhibit lung cancer cell growth. It was concluded that PPAR-γ expressed in lung cancer cell can be activated by ligands and can inhibit lung cancer cell growth through induction of apoptosis.