Activation of PPARγ suppresses proliferation and induces apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells by inhibiting TLR4-dependent MAPK pathway

// Kai Wu 1 , Yang Yang 1 , Donglei Liu 1 , Yu Qi 1 , Chunyang Zhang 1 , Jia Zhao 1 , Song Zhao 1 1 Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China Correspondence to: Song Zhao, email: zhaosong0099@sina.com Keywords: PPAR, MAPK pathway, TLR4, esophageal cancer Received: February 26, 2016 Accepted: May 29, 2016 Published: June 15, 2016 ABSTRACT Although substantial studies on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor g (PPARg) have focused on the mechanisms by which PPARg regulates glucose and lipid metabolism, recent reports have suggested that PPARg shows tumorigenic or antitumorigenic effects. The roles and mechanisms of PPARg activation in esophageal cancer remain unclarified. EC109 and TE10 esophageal cancer cells were treated with 0, 10, 20 and 40 mM of PPARg agonist rosiglitazone (RGZ) for 24, 48, and 72 h, and the cell viability and apoptosis were detected using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and Flow cytometric (FCM) analysis, respectively. Moreover, the effects of inhibition of PPARg by antagonist or specific RNA interference on cell viability, apoptosis, the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways were evaluated. Additionally, the effect of TLR4 signaling on the MAPK pathway, cell viability and apoptosis was assessed. The results showed that RGZ suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells, which could be partly restored by inactivation of PPARg. RGZ suppressed the MAPK and TLR4 pathways, and the inhibitory effect could be counteracted by PPARg antagonist or specific RNA interference. We also suggested that MAPK activation was regulated by the TLR4 pathway and that blocking the TLR4 and MAPK pathways significantly suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells. In conclusion, our data suggested that activation of PPARg suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells by inhibiting TLR4-dependent MAPK pathway.