The neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid is an inhibitory regulator for the migration of SW 480 colon carcinoma cells.

  • 15 November 2002
    • journal article
    • Vol. 62  (22) , 6467-9
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, also playing a role in diseases like epilepsy. We now show that this inhibitory neurotransmitter can also reduce migratory activity in SW 480 colon carcinoma cells. GABA reduced the norepinephrine-induced migratory activity of these cells within a three-dimensional collagen matrix to spontaneous migration levels, as was analyzed by time-lapse videomicroscopy. This inhibitory effect of GABA was mediated by the serpentine receptor GABA(B) and was intracellularly transduced by a decrease of the cyclic AMP concentration. Cancer cell migration is thus regulated by neurobiological signals, opening new possibilities for pharmacological agonists in cancer therapy.

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