Abstract
Small molecules that target the adrenergic family of G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) show promising therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of various cancers. In this study, we report that human colon cancer cell line SW480 expresses low-density functional α1B-adrenergic receptors (ARs) as revealed by label-free dynamic mass redistribution (DMR) signaling technology and confirmed by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis. Remarkably, although endogenous α1B-ARs are not detectable via either [3H]-prazosin–binding analysis or phosphoinositol hydrolysis assays, their activation leads to robust DMR and enhanced cell viability. We provide pharmacological evidence that stimulation of α1B-ARs enhances SW480 cell viability without affecting proliferation, whereas stimulating β-ARs diminishes both viability and proliferation of SW480 cells. Our study illustrates the power of label-free DMR technology for identifying and characterizing low-density GPCRs in cells and suggests that drugs targeting both α1B- and β-ARs may represent valuable small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of colon cancer.
Footnotes
- Received August 12, 2016.
- Accepted February 10, 2017.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [Grants GM100893, DA014486, and 5T32GM00775].
This article has supplemental material available at jpet.aspetjournals.org.
- Copyright © 2017 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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