RESEARCH ARTICLE LPA Induces Colon Cancer Cell Proliferation through a Cooperation between the ROCK and STAT-3 Pathways

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) plays a critical role in the proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells; however, the downstream signaling events underlying these processes remain poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate the signaling path-ways triggered by LPA to regulate the mechanisms involved in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). We have used three cell line models of CRC, and initially analyzed the expression profile of LPA receptors (LPAR). Then, we treated the cells with LPA and events related to their tumorigenic potential, such as migration, invasion, anchorage-independent growth, proliferation as well as apoptosis and cell cycle were evaluated. We used the Chip array technique to analyze the global gene expression profiling that occurs after LPA treat-ment, and we identified cell signaling pathways related to the cell cycle. The inhibition of these pathways verified the conclusions of the transcriptomic analysis. We found that the cell lines expressed LPAR1,-2 and-3 in a differential manner and that 10 μM LPA did not affect cell migration, invasion and anchorage-independent growth, but it did induce prolifer-ation and cell cycle progression in HCT-116 cells. Although LPA in this concentration di