Effect of four genes (ALDH1, NRF1, JAM and KBL) on proliferation arrest in a non-small cell bronchopulmonary cancer line.

Despite new protocols, non-small cell bronchopulmonary cancers are still difficult to treat by current chemotherapeutic procedures. Thus, it is essential to define new treatment strategies and detect new therapeutic targets. In order to define these new targets, this study applied the "differential display" (DD) technique to the NSCLC-N6 cell line treated with VT1 [methyl-4-methoxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butanoyl)benzoate]. VT1 induces arrest of the NSCLC-N6 cell cycle in the G1-phase, followed by cell death. DD enabled us to detect seven overexpressed mRNAs during treatment, four of which corresponded to identified genes: aldehyde dehydrogenase 1, nuclear transcription factor Nrfl, junctional adhesion molecule, and amino-ketobutyrate ligase. An antisense strategy showed that amino-ketobutyrate ligase is involved in the proliferation arrest of NSCLC-N6 cells in the G1-phase after VT1 treatment.