사람 두경부 편평세포암종 HEp2 세포를 이용하여 아미노산 수송계 L 억제제인 BCH의 암세포 성장억제에 미치는 효과와 세포성장 억제기전을 밝히기 위해 HEp2 세포에서 uptake 실험, MTT 분석, DNA fragmentation 분석 및 immunoblotting 등을 시행하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 아미노산 수송계 L 억제제인 BCH는 L-leucine uptake를 농도 의존적으로 억제하였으며, 그 $IC_{50}$은$ 51.2{pm}3.8{mu}M$로 산출되었다. BCH는 HEp2 세포의 성장을 시간과 농도에 의존적으로 억제하였다. BCH를 처리한 실험군에서 DNA fragmentation 현상은 볼 수 없었다. BCH를 처리한 실험군에서 procaspase-3과 procaspase-7의 proteolytic cleavage 현상은 볼 수 없었다. 본 연구의 결과로서 사람 두경부 편평세포 암종 HEp2 세포에서 아미노산 수송계 L 억제제 BCH는 LAT1 활성을 억제하여 세포성장에 필수적인 L-leucine 등 중성아미노산의 세포 내 고갈을 유도함으로써 HEp2 세포의 성장억제를 유도할 가능성이 있는 것으로 사료된다.
Amino acid transporters are essential for the growth and proliferation in all living cells. Among the amino acid transporters, the system L amino acid transporters are the major nutrient transport system responsible for the $Na^+$-independent transport of neutral amino acids including several essential amino acids. The L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), an isoform of system L amino acid transporter, is highly expressed in cancer cells to support their continuous growth and proliferation. 2-Aminobicyclo-(2,2,1)-heptane-2-carboxylic acid (BCH) is a model compound for the study of amino acid transporter as a system L selective inhibitor. We have examined the effect and mechanism of BCH on cell growth suppression in HEp2 human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The BCH inhibited the L-leucine transport in a concentration-dependent manner with a $IC_{50}$ value of $51.2{pm}3.8{mu}M$ in HEp2 cells. The growth of HEp2 cells was inhibited by BCH in the timeand concentration-dependent manners. The formation of DNA ladder was not observed with BCH treatment in the cells. Furthermore, the proteolytic processing of caspase-3 and caspase-7 in the cells were not detected by BCH treatment. These results suggest that the BCH inhibits the growth of HEp2 human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through the intracellular depletion of neutral amino acids for cell growth without apoptotic processing.
