Influence of gastrin, gastrin receptor blockers, epidermal growth factor, and difluoromethylornithine on the growth and the activity of ornithine decarboxylase of colonic carcinoma cells.

Polyamines are essential factors of cell growth and differentiation. Modulation of the cellular polyamine content by 2-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) inhibiting ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), or by hormones inducing ODC, influences cell growth. Gastrin acts trophically on some colonic carcinomas and their growth is inhibited by gastrin receptor blockers. The mechanism of the trophic action of gastrin on colonic carcinomas is not known. In this study the effect of gastrin, gastrin receptor blockers, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and DFMO on growth and ODC activity of four human colon carcinoma cell lines (SW 403, SW 1116, LS 174 T and Lovo) was investigated. Growth and ODC activity of all cell lines were inhibited by DFMO. Growth of the SW 403 cell line was increased by gastrin and inhibited by the gastrin receptor blocker benzotrypte. The other cell lines did not respond to gastrin and the gastrin receptor blocker. In SW 403 cells ODC activity was increased by gastrin, and was also elevated after treatment with the gastrin receptor blocker. These in vitro results were confirmed by studies on tumours that developed from SW 403 cells in nude mice. Combination of benzotrypte and DFMO did not enhance the antiproliferative effect. EGF increased growth of SW 403 cells, but no induction of ODC activity was measured. LS 174 T cells were not stimulated by EGF. Medium replacement was the strongest stimulus of ODC activity in SW 403 cells already inducing ODC after 3 h. During cell culture ODC activity was high after seeding and decreased continuously with increasing cell density. These data suggest that gastrin induces ODC in gastrin-sensitive colonic carcinoma cells. DFMO appears to be a valuable antiproliferative agent in colonic carcinoma cells.