Characterization of cytotoxic actions of tricyclic antidepressants on human HT29 colon carcinoma cells

Preclinical studies have suggested that the long-term use of antidepressants may result in the initiation and/or promotion of tumor in the gastrointestinal tract. However, a possible relationship between the use of antidepressants and the production of colon cancer has not yet been confirmed, and hence requires to be further investigated. To address this issue, the effects of antidepressants on the proliferation of colorectal tumor cells were examined using human HT29 colon carcinoma cells, and tricyclic antidepressant, such as imipramine, desipramine and amitriptyline, were shown to reduce the cell viability in a manner dependent on the time exposing to these drugs. In addition to these drugs, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine, but not a monoamine oxidase inhibitor tranylcypromine, caused the reduction of cell viability, similar in extent to that caused by imipramine. Further studies showed that desipramine caused the apoptotic cell death, which could be prevented by neither catalase, reduced-form glutathione (GSH), nor N-acetylcysteine (NAC), without accompanying the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential within the cells and the release of cytochrome c into the cell cytoplasm. Moreover, desipramine caused the arrest of cell-cycle progression at either G0/G1-phase or G2/M-phase, which might be depending upon the drug concentration. Thus, these results suggest that tricyclic antidepressants may be cytotoxic, and induce the non-oxidative apoptotic death of human HT29 colon carcinoma cells probably through a non-mitochondrial pathway associated with the cell-cycle progression.