Study of the role of thrombin on facilitation the growth of colon carcinoma SW480 cells

Objective To investigate the effects of thrombin on cell proliferation and cell cycle of colon carcinoma SW480 cells.Methods SW480 cells were treated with thrombin by three different concentration,20 nmol/L,100 nmol/L,500 nmol/L,and untreated group(0 nmol/L) as a control.Cell proliferation activity was analysed by cell counting kit-8,cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry,the mRNA of protease-activated receptor-4(PAR-4) was measured by RT-PCR,and the protein of NF-κB p50 was examined by Western blotting.Results At the scope of 20-500 nmol/L,thrombin could facilitate the growth of SW480 cells with the dose-dependent manner.Cell cycle analysis showed that the percent of G0/G1 phase cell was significantly decreased,S and G2/M phase cell were significantly increased,which suggested that thrombin could induce cell proliferation by increasing the number of cells from G0/G1 phase to G2/M phase.The expression of PAR-4 mRNA and NF-κB p50 was also increased in different levels along with the increasing concentration of the thrombin.Conclusion Thrombin can facilitate the growth of colon carcinoma SW480 cells,and accelerate the process of cell cycle,which occurrence may be mediated by PAR-4,and may involve in the activation of NF-κB pathway.