scholarly journals Exploring the MEN1 dependent modulation of caspase 8 and caspase 3 in human pancreatic and murine embryo fibroblast cells

APOPTOSIS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nele Wagener ◽  
Malte Buchholz ◽  
Philippe Bertolino ◽  
Chang X. Zhang ◽  
Pietro Di Fazio

AbstractMEN1 mutation causes pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasia and benign malignancies of the parathyroid, the adrenal cortex and pituitary gland. The transcriptional activity of its product menin promotes the expression of genes deputed to several cellular mechanism including cell death. Here, we focused on its implication in the activation of the initiator and executioner caspases after staurosporine mediated cell death in 2D and 3D human and murine cell models. The administration of staurosporine, a well-known inducer of apoptotic cell death, caused a significant reduction of BON1, QGP1 and HPSC2.2 cell viability. The transient knockdown of MEN1, performed by using a specific siRNA, caused a significant down-regulation of CDKN1A and TP53 transcripts. The treatment with 1 µM of staurosporine caused also a significant down-regulation of MEN1 and was able to restore the basal expression of TP53 only in QGP1 cells. Transient or permanent MEN1 inactivation caused a decrease of caspase 8 activity in BON1, HPSC2.2 cells and MEN1−/− MEFs treated with staurosporine. Caspase 3/7 activity was suppressed after administration of staurosporine in MEN1 knocked down HPSC2.2 and MEN1−/− MEFs as well. The cleaved caspase 8 and caspase 3 decreased in human cells after MEN1 knockdown and in MEN1−/− MEFs. The treatment with staurosporine caused a reduction of the size of MEN1+/+ MEFs spheroids. Instead, MEN1−/− MEFs spheroids did not show any significant reduction of their size. In conclusion, MEN1 controls the activity of the initiator caspase 8 and the executioner caspase 3 in human and murine cells. Restoring of a functional MEN1 and interfering with the apoptotic mechanism could represent a future strategy for the treatment of MEN1-related malignancies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. iv24-iv24
Author(s):  
Aithne Atkinson ◽  
Nelofer Syed

Abstract Aims The development of melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) occurs in ~50% of metastatic melanoma cases, and significantly worsens prognosis to a median survival of 12.8 months. Melanoma is often reported as an arginine auxotroph due to transcriptional silencing of argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1). Arginine deiminase (ADI) is a non-mammalian enzyme which depletes blood arginine by converting it to citrulline and ammonia, and in its pegylated form ADI shows clinical efficacy in the treatment of a number of cancers via exploiting tumour arginine auxotrophy, resulting in targeted arginine deprivation of tumour cells. While cutaneous melanoma is the prototype cancer for this therapy, studies to date have excluded central nervous system metastasis. We have demonstrated that patient derived primary MBM models are sensitive to arginine deprivation in vitro, confirmed suitable clinical biomarkers of sensitivity, and established the mechanism of tumour cell specific cytotoxicity. Method Patient derived primary cultures of MBM were established and subject to treatment with arginine deprivation. Gene expression and methylation analysis was examined by RT-qPCR, western blot, Illumina mRNA sequencing and Illumina methylated DNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing (MeDIP-seq) on ADI treated and untreated samples. Cell death, cytotoxicity induction and caspase-3 and-7 recruitment was analysed using an Incucyte S3 live-cell imager, by fluorescently labelling cells with Incucyte Cytolight Red Rapid dye, Cytotox Green dye and Caspase-3/7 Green dye, and imaging cells every 2 hours over the course of 2 weeks. 3D spheroid growth and invasion was measured by culturing cells as tumour spheroids before treating with ADI, and imaging spheroids every 2 hours for 2 weeks using an Incucyte S3 live-cell imager. Nuclear leakage and mitochondrial morphology was observed by fluorescently staining treated and untreated cells with DAPI and MitoTracker Red, and imaging on a Leica DMi8 confocal microscope. Results Primary MBMs differentially express ASS1 at substantially lower levels than non-cancerous melanocytes, however some models are capable of upregulating ASS1 following confrontation with arginine deprivation. Despite this, long-term sensitivity of primary MBMs to arginine deprivation was observed in both 2D and 3D models. In addition, arginine deprivation was seen to inhibit MBM invasion in a 3D model – an important feature in MBM pathogenesis. Initially, autophagy was induced in arginine deprived MBM, however in all models the induction of cytotoxicity correlated with recruitment of caspase-3 and -7, and intrinsic apoptotic cell death confirmed. Nuclear leakage, and eventually complete nuclear destruction was observed, in addition to mitochondrial fragmentation. Conclusion Arginine deprivation is highly effective in reducing 2D and 3D MBM growth, as well as limiting invasion. While apoptotic cell death was observed in all models, the initial induction of autophagy could pose threat of resistance development in a clinical setting, and so combinational therapies with autophagic inhibitors and/or additional apoptotic inducers should be investigated. It is unclear whether nuclear leakage and mitochondrial degradation are the cause or product of apoptosis. Considering the strong clinical evidence for the use of arginine deprivation in non-CNS metastatic melanoma and the results of this study, arginine deprivation is a highly suitable treatment for pre-surgical MBM to limit invasion and increase resection, and for post-surgical continuation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (07) ◽  
pp. 1497-1511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinya Okubo ◽  
Takuhiro Uto ◽  
Aya Goto ◽  
Hiroyuki Tanaka ◽  
Tsuyoshi Nishioku ◽  
...  

Berberine (BBR), an isoquinoline alkaloid, is a well-known bioactive compound contained in medicinal plants used in traditional and folk medicines. In this study, we investigated the subcellular localization and the apoptotic mechanisms of BBR were elucidated. First, we confirmed the incorporation of BBR into the cell visually. BBR showed antiproliferative activity and promptly localized to the nucleus from 5[Formula: see text]min to 15[Formula: see text]min after BBR treatment in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells. Next, we examined the antiproliferative activity of BBR (1) and its biosynthetically related compounds (2-7) in HL-60 cells. BBR exerted strongest antiproliferative activity among 1-7 and the results of structures and activity relation suggested that a methylenedioxyl group in ring A, an [Formula: see text]-alkyl group at C-9 position, and the frame of isoquinoline may be necessary for antiproliferative activity. Moreover, BBR showed the most potent antiproliferative activity in HL-60 cells among human cancer and normal cell lines tested. Next, we examined the effect of BBR on molecular events known as apoptosis induction. In HL-60 cells, BBR induced chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation, and triggered the activation of PARP, caspase-3 and caspase-8 without the activation of caspase-9. BBR-induced DNA fragmentation was abolished by pretreatment with inhibitors against caspase-3 and caspase-8, but not against caspase-9. ERK and p38 were promptly phosphorylated after 15 min of BBR treatment, and this was correlated with time of localization to the nucleus of BBR. These results demonstrated that BBR translocated into nucleus immediately after treatments and induced apoptotic cell death by activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8.


2020 ◽  
Vol 319 (2) ◽  
pp. L380-L390
Author(s):  
Phoibe Renema ◽  
Natalya Kozhukhar ◽  
Viktoriya Pastukh ◽  
Domenico Spadafora ◽  
Sunita Subedi Paudel ◽  
...  

Caspase-3 and -7 are executioner caspases whose enzymatic activity is necessary to complete apoptotic cell death. Here, we questioned whether endothelial cell infection leads to caspase-3/7-mediated cell death. Pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) were infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA103). PA103 caused cell swelling with a granular appearance, paralleled by intracellular caspase-3/7 activation and cell death. In contrast, PMVEC infection with ExoY+ (PA103 Δ exoUexoT::Tc pUCP exoY) caused cell rounding, but it did not activate intracellular caspase-3/7 and it did not cause cell death. However, ExoY+ led to a time-dependent accumulation of active caspase-7, but not caspase-3, in the supernatant, independent of apoptosis. To study the function of extracellular caspase-7, caspase-7- and caspase-3-deficient PMVECs were generated using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 technology. Caspase-7 activity was significantly reduced in supernatants from infected caspase-7-deficient cells but was unchanged in supernatants from infected caspase-3 deficient cells, indicating an uncoupling in the mechanism of activation of these two enzymes. Because ExoY+ leads to the release of heat stable amyloid cytotoxins that are responsible for transmissible cytotoxicity, we next questioned whether caspase-7 contributes to the severity of this process. Supernatants obtained from infected caspase-7-deficient cells displayed significantly reduced transmissible cytotoxicity when compared with supernatants from infected wild-type controls, illustrating an essential role for caspase-7 in promoting the potency of transmissible cytotoxicity. Thus, we report a mechanism whereby ExoY+ infection induces active caspase-7 accumulation in the extracellular space, independent of both caspase-3 and cell death, where it modulates ExoY+-induced transmissible cytotoxicity.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 797-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzana Brozovic ◽  
Rashmita Sahoo ◽  
Shirish Barve ◽  
Hideki Shiba ◽  
Silvia Uriarte ◽  
...  

The interaction between epithelial cells and micro-organisms is often a crucial initiating event in infectious diseases. Infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis, a Gram-negative anaerobe, is strongly associated with severe periodontal disease. This bacterium possesses an array of virulence factors, some of which can induce apoptosis. The tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family is involved in the regulation of cellular homeostasis, cell surface molecules involved in phagocytosis, Fas ligand (L) expression and activation of the caspase cascade resulting in DNA fragmentation and cell blebbing. The current study examined the role of nuclear factor-κB (NFκB) in FasL-mediated apoptotic cell death in primary human gingival epithelial cells (HGEC) induced by heat-killed P. gingivalis, probably through TLR signalling pathways. A marked up-regulation of TLR2 and Fas–FasL was detected in HGEC stimulated with P. gingivalis. Activation of NFκB by P. gingivalis in HGEC was demonstrated by an NFκB promoter luciferase assay as well as by phosphorylation of p65 as detected by Western blotting. Activation of cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-8 resulted in apoptotic cell death of HGEC. The survival proteins c-IAP-1/c-IAP-2 were decreased in HGEC exposed to P. gingivalis. HGEC apoptosis induced by P. gingivalis was inhibited by an anti-human FasL monoclonal antibody. Blockade of NFκB by helenalin resulted in down-regulation of FasL whereas a caspase-8 inhibitor did not decrease FasL. Taken together, these studies show that P. gingivalis can induce epithelial cell apoptosis through Fas–FasL up-regulation and activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 2006
Author(s):  
Mi Jin Kim ◽  
Jinhong Park ◽  
Jinho Kim ◽  
Ji-Young Kim ◽  
Mi-Jin An ◽  
...  

Mercury is one of the detrimental toxicants that can be found in the environment and exists naturally in different forms; inorganic and organic. Human exposure to inorganic mercury, such as mercury chloride, occurs through air pollution, absorption of food or water, and personal care products. This study aimed to investigate the effect of HgCl2 on cell viability, cell cycle, apoptotic pathway, and alters of the transcriptome profiles in human non-small cell lung cancer cells, H1299. Our data show that HgCl2 treatment causes inhibition of cell growth via cell cycle arrest at G0/G1- and S-phase. In addition, HgCl2 induces apoptotic cell death through the caspase-3-independent pathway. Comprehensive transcriptome analysis using RNA-seq indicated that cellular nitrogen compound metabolic process, cellular metabolism, and translation for biological processes-related gene sets were significantly up- and downregulated by HgCl2 treatment. Interestingly, comparative gene expression patterns by RNA-seq indicated that mitochondrial ribosomal proteins were markedly altered by low-dose of HgCl2 treatment. Altogether, these data show that HgCl2 induces apoptotic cell death through the dysfunction of mitochondria.


2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (11) ◽  
pp. 953-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellyawati Candra ◽  
Kimihiro Matsunaga ◽  
Hironori Fujiwara ◽  
Yoshihiro Mimaki ◽  
Yutaka Sashida ◽  
...  

Two steroidal saponins, tigogenin hexasaccharide-1 (TGHS-1, (25R)-5α-spirostan-3β-yl 4-O-[2-O-[3-O- (α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-3-O-[4-O-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-β-D-glucopyranosyl]- β-D-galactopyranoside) and tigogenin hexasaccharide-2 (TGHS-2, (25R)-5α-spirostan-3β-yl 4-O-[2-O-[3-O- (β-D-glucopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-3-O-[4-O-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-β-D-glucopyranosyl]- β-D-galactopyranoside), were isolated from the fresh bulbs of Camassia cusickii. In murine leukemic L1210 cells, both compounds showed cytotoxicity with an EC50 value of 0.06 µM. The morphological observation revealed that TGHS-1 and TGHS-2 induced shrinkage in cell soma and chromatin condensation, suggesting apoptotic cell death. The cell death was confirmed to be apoptosis by Annexin V binding to phosphatidylserine in the cell membrane and excluding propidium iodide. A typical apoptotic DNA ladder and the cleavage of caspase-3 were observed after treatment with TGHS-1 and TGHS-2. In the presence of both the compounds, cells with sub-G1 DNA content were detected by flow cytometric analysis, indicating that TGHS-1 and TGHS-2 (each EC50 value of 0.1 µM) are the most powerful apoptotic saponins known. These results suggest that TGHS-1 and TGHS-2 induce apoptotic cell death through caspase-3 activation.Key words: steroidal saponin, tigogenin hexasaccharide, apoptosis, DNA fragmentation, murine leukemic L1210 cells.


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