trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid inhibits insulin-like growth factor-I receptor signaling in TSU-Pr1 human bladder cancer cells.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid; the major isomers are trans-10,cis-12 CLA (t10c12) and cis-9,trans-11 CLA (c9t11). CLA has been demonstrated to exert strong anticarcinogenic effects in a variety of experimental cancer models. We previously observed that CLA (a mixture of isomers) and t10c12 decreased the growth of TSU-Pr1 cells, whereas linoleic acid and c9t11 exerted no effects. In the current study, the mechanisms underlying the t10c12-mediated regulation of the growth of these bladder cancer cells were evaluated. TSU-Pr1 cells were incubated in serum-free medium with various concentrations of t10c12 or c9t11 in the presence or absence of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I. The incorporation of [(3)H]thymidine into DNA was decreased, and the number of annexin V-stained cells was increased after t10c12 treatment, whereas c9t11 had no effect on apoptosis or [(3)H]thymidine incorporation. Treatment with exogenous IGF-I alone increased the numbers of viable cells but did not counteract the t10c12-induced growth inhibition of TSU-Pr1 cells. t10c12 effected a dose-dependent reduction in IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) transcripts and protein levels, whereas c9t11 exerted no effects. Additionally, t10c12 inhibited the IGF-I-induced phosphorylation of IGF-IR, the recruitment of the p85 regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase to IGF-IR, and the phosphorylation of Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-1/2. These results indicate that the inhibition of IGF-IR signaling and the activation of Akt and ERK-1/2 contributed to decreased cell proliferation and increased apoptosis in TSU-Pr1 cells treated with t10c12.