Aspirin Has Antitumor Effects via Expression of Calpain Gene in Cervical Cancer Cells

Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs show efficacy in the prevention of cancers. It is known that they can inhibit cyclooxygenases, and some studies have shown that they can induce apoptosis. Our objective in this study was to investigate the mechanism by which aspirin exerts its apoptosis effects in human cervical cancer HeLa cells. The effect of aspirin on the gene expression was studied by differential mRNA display RT-PCR. Among the isolated genes, mu-type calpain gene was upregulated by aspirin treatment. To examine whether calpain mediates the antitumor effects, HeLa cells were stably transfected with the mammalian expression vector pCR3.1 containing mu-type calpain cDNA (pCRCAL/HeLa), and tumor formations were measured in nude mice. When tumor burden was measured by day 49, HeLa cells and pCR/HeLa cells (vector control) produced tumors of 2126 mm(3) and 1638 mm(3), respectively, while pCRCAL/HeLa cells produced markedly smaller tumor of 434 mm(3) in volume. The caspase-3 activity was markedly elevated in pCRCAL/HeLa cells. The increased activity levels of caspase-3 in pCRCAL/HeLa cells, in parallel with the decreased tumor formation, suggest a correlation between caspase-3 activity and calpain protein. Therefore, we conclude that aspirin-induced calpain mediates an antitumor effect via caspase-3 in cervical cancer cells.