Overexpression of regucalcin suppresses cell proliferation of cloned normal rat kidney proximal tubular epithelial NRK52E cells

The role of regucalcin, which is a regulatory protein in intracellular signaling pathway, in the regulation of cell proliferation was investigated by using the cloned normal rat kidney proximal tubular epithelial NRK52E cells overexpressing regucalcin. NRK52E cells were transfected with regucalcin (RC) pCXN2 vector and the multiple neomycinresistant clones that stably overexpress regucalcin were selected. The regucalcin content of RC/pCXN2-transfected cells used in this study was about 21-fold as compared with that of the parental wild-type NRK52E cells. Wild-type NRK52E cells, pCXN2 vector-transfected cells (mock-type), and RC/ pCXN2-transfected cells (transfectants) were cultured for 24, 48, and 72 h in the presence of bovine serum (5%). The cell numbers of wild- and mock-type were significantly increased with the time course of the culture. Cell numbers of transfectants were significantly suppressed as compared with that of wild- and mock-type. The decrease in cell number of wild-type cultured for 72 h in the presence of butyrate (8.3x10(-6) or 8.3x10(-5) M), rescovitine (10(-8) or 10(-7) M), or sulforaphane (10(-9) M), which is an inhibitor of the cell cycle, was not observed in transfectants. The effect of PD98059 (10(-8) M), staurosporine (10(-10) M) or dibucaine (10(-8)-10(-6) M), which is an inhibitor of protein kinases, in decreasing cell number of wild-type was not seen in transfectants. Moreover, the culture with wortmannin (10(-8) or 10-7 M), an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI3)-kinase, or Bay K 8644 (10-8 or 10(-7) M), an agonist of calcium entry in cells, caused a significant decrease in cell number of the wild-type. This decrease was not observed in transfectants. The result of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis using specific primers showed that c-jun and chk2 mRNA levels were significantly decreased in transfectant. p53 mRNA level was significantly increased in transfectants. The expression of c-myc, c-fos, cdc2, p21, and G3PDH mRNAs in transfectants was not significantly changed. This study demonstrates that overexpression of regucalcin has a suppressive effect on cell proliferation, which is mediated through various signaling pathways, in the cloned normal rat kidney proximal tubular epithelial NRK52E cells.