Low Concentration of Aspirin Promotes Growth of Human Lung Cancer PC14 Cells Through Activating ERK Signaling

Objective To investigate the effect of aspirin on the proliferation of human lung cancer PC14 cells and explore the underlying mechanisms.

Methods PC14 cells and A549 cells were treated with 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 mmol/L aspirin for 48 h, and cell proliferation was examined by MTT and colony formation assay. In order to explore the relationship between the proliferation-enhancing effect of low-dose aspirin and ERK activation, PC14 cells were pretreated with 10μmol/L PD98059 (a specific inhibitor of ERK) for 30 min, and then stimulated by different concentrations of aspirin for 48 h or 7 d, and cell proliferation was tested by MTT and colony formation assay. Western blot was employed to examine the effect of aspirin on ERK activation.

Results Aspirin at low concentration promoted human lung cancer PC14 and A549 cells growth and induced ERK activation in PC14 cells. PD98059 pretreatment significantly inhibited aspirin-induced proliferation of PC14 cells.

Conclusion Low concentration of aspirin could promote the growth of human lung cancer PC14 cells, which may be related to the activation of ERK.