Expression and potential role of apolipoprotein D on the death–survival balance of human colorectal cancer cells under oxidative stress conditions

Purpose Inverse correlations of apolipoprotein D (ApoD) expression with tumor growth have been shown, therefore proposing ApoD as a good prognostic marker for diverse cancer types, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Besides, ApoD expression is boosted upon oxidative stress (OS) in many pathological situations. This study aims at understanding the role of ApoD in the progression of human CRC. Methods Samples of CRC and distant normal tissue ( n = 51) were assayed for levels of lipid peroxidation, expression profile of OS-dependent genes, and protein expression. Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the ApoD gene were analyzed ( n = 139), with no significant associations found. Finally, we assayed the effect of ApoD in proliferation and apoptosis in the CRC HT-29 cell line. Results In CRC, lipid peroxides increase while ApoD messenger RNA and protein decrease through tumor progression, with a prominent decrease in stage I. In normal mucosa, ApoD protein is present in lamina propia and enteroendocrine cells. In CRC, ApoD expression is heterogeneous, with low expression in stromal cells commonly associated with high expression in the dysplastic epithelium. ApoD promoter is basally methylated in HT-29 cells but retains the ability to respond to OS. Exogenous addition of ApoD to HT-29 cells does not modify proliferation or apoptosis levels in control conditions, but it promotes apoptosis upon paraquat-induced OS. Conclusion Our results show ApoD as a gene responding to OS in the tumor microenvironment. Besides using ApoD as marker of initial stages of tumor progression, it can become a therapeutic tool promoting death of proliferating tumor cells suffering OS.