Enhanced proliferation of SNU-407 human colon cancer cells by muscarinic acetylcholine receptors

We investigated the expression of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) and their possible involvement in the regulation of cell proliferation in four colon cancer cell lines (SNU-61, SNU-81, SNU-407, and SNU-1033) derived from Korean colon carcinoma patients. A ligand binding assay showed that all four cell lines expressed mAChRs. Treatment of the four cell lines with the cholinergic agonist carbachol led to the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). In SNU-407 cells, carbachol significantly stimulated cell proliferation, which could be abolished by the muscarinic antagonist atropine and the ERK1/2 kinase inhibitor PD98059. These results indicate that mAChRs specifically mediate the proliferation of SNU-407 colon cancer cells via the ERK1/2 pathway.