All experiments were performed under proliferating conditions by incubating HT29 cells for 24 h at 37°C in the humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in a sub-confluent state (75% confluence and with 10% FBS), in both the absence and presence of pectin (P7536, Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO, USA). This pectin was originally extracted with hot acidic water. Pectin was prepared by diluting 0.06 mg pectin powder in 1 mL McCoy’s 5A medium (309 μmol/L final concentration) and heating at 37°C for 30 min. HT29 cells were incubated with pectin for 24 h at 37°C.
At the end of the incubation period, HT29 cells were lysed in a buffer containing 20 mmol/L Tris-HCl, 137 mmol/L NaCl, 10% glycerol, 1% Nonidet-P40, 1 mmol/L phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 10 mmol/L ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and 2 mmol/L sodium orthovanadate, and were immediately frozen at −80°C until molecular parameters were determined.