Home General Physiology and Biophysics 2011 General Physiology and Biophysics Vol.30, No.1, p.45–51, 2011

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Quarterly, 80 pp. per issue
Founded: 1982
ISSN  1338-4325 (online)

Published in English

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General Physiology and Biophysics Vol.30, No.1, p.45–51, 2011

Title: Specificity of the volume-activated amino acid efflux pathway in cultured human breast cancer cells
Author: David B. Shennan, Jean Thomson

Abstract: It has been shown that cell swelling stimulates the efflux of taurine from MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells via a pathway which has channel-like properties. The purpose of this study was to examine the specificity of the volume-activated taurine efflux pathway in both cell lines. A hyposmotic shock increased the efflux of glycine, L-alanine, AIB (α-aminoisobutyric acid), D-aspartate but not L-leucine from MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. It was evident that the time course of activation/inactivation of those amino acids whose efflux was affected by cell swelling was similar to that of volume-activated taurine efflux. The effect of exogenous ATP on swelling-induced glycine, AIB and D-aspartate efflux from MDA-MB-231 cells was similar to that found on taurine efflux. In addition, volume-activated AIB efflux from MDA-MB-231 cells, like that of swelling-induced taurine efflux, was inhibited by diiodosalicylate. Tamoxifen inhibited volume-activated taurine release from both MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. The results suggest that neutral and anionic α-amino acids are able to utilize the volume-activated taurine efflux pathway in both cell lines. The effect of tamoxifen on breast cancer growth may, in part, be related to perturbations in cell volume regulation.

Keywords: Taurine efflux — Breast cancer cells — Volume-regulation — Tamoxifen
Year: 2011, Volume: 30, Issue: 1 Page From: 45, Page To: 51
doi:10.4149/gpb_2011_01_45


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