scholarly journals Highlighting curcumin-induced crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis: A biochemical approach coupling impedancemetry, imaging, and flow cytometry

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco José Sala de Oyanguren ◽  
Nathan E. Rainey ◽  
Aoula Moustapha ◽  
Ana Saric ◽  
Franck Sureau ◽  
...  

Curcumin, a major active component of turmeric (Curcuma longa, L.), is known to have various effects on both healthy and cancerous tissues. In vitro studies suggest that curcumin inhibits cancer cell growth by activating apoptosis, but the mechanism underlying the anticancer effects of curcumin is still unclear. Since there is a consensus about endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress being involved in the cytotoxicity of many natural compounds, we investigated by Amnis®Imaging flow cytometry the mechanistic aspects of curcumin’s destabilization of the ER, but also the status of the lysosomal compartment involved in curcumin-associated apoptosis. Curcumin induces ER stress thereby causing an unfolded protein response (UPR) and calcium release which destabilize the mitochondrial compartment and induce apoptosis. These events are also associated with secondary lysosomal membrane permeabilization and activation of caspase-8, mediated by activation of cathepsins and calpains. We previously showed that sequence lead to the generation of truncated tBid and disruption of mitochondrial homeostasis. These two pathways of different intensities and momentum converge towards an amplification of cell death that still needs to be studied in more detail. It has been suggested that it may be possible to exploit autophagy for cancer therapy. There is a complex interplay involving early autophagy as soon as mitochondria produce superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide. Treatments with 10 µM to 20 µM curcumin induce autophagosome formation, while only early events of cell death are detectable.In the present study, curcumin-induced autophagy failed to rescue all cells since most cells underwent type II cell death following initial autophagic processes. However, a small number of cells blocked in the cell cycle escaped and were rescued to give rise to a novel proliferation phase.

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Sala de Oyanguren ◽  
Nathan E. Rainey ◽  
Aoula Moustapha ◽  
Ana Saric ◽  
Franck Sureau ◽  
...  

Curcumin, a major active component of turmeric (Curcuma longa, L.), is known to have various effects on both healthy and cancerous tissues. In vitro studies suggest that curcumin inhibits cancer cell growth by activating apoptosis, but the mechanism underlying the anticancer effect of curcumin is still unclear. Since there is a recent consensus about endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress being involved in the cytotoxicity of natural compounds, we have investigated using Image flow cytometry the mechanistic aspects of curcumin’s destabilization of the ER, but also the status of the lysosomal compartment. Curcumin induces ER stress, thereby causing an unfolded protein response and calcium release, which destabilizes the mitochondrial compartment and induce apoptosis. These events are also associated with secondary lysosomal membrane permeabilization that occurs later together with an activation of caspase-8, mediated by cathepsins and calpains that ended in the disruption of mitochondrial homeostasis. These two pathways of different intensities and momentum converge towards an amplification of cell death. In the present study, curcumin-induced autophagy failed to rescue all cells that underwent type II cell death following initial autophagic processes. However, a small number of cells were rescued (successful autophagy) to give rise to a novel proliferation phase.


2011 ◽  
Vol 286 (22) ◽  
pp. 20020-20030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murilo S. Alves ◽  
Pedro A. B. Reis ◽  
Silvana P. Dadalto ◽  
Jerusa A. Q. A. Faria ◽  
Elizabeth P. B. Fontes ◽  
...  

As in all other eukaryotic organisms, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress triggers the evolutionarily conserved unfolded protein response in soybean, but it also communicates with other adaptive signaling responses, such as osmotic stress-induced and ER stress-induced programmed cell death. These two signaling pathways converge at the level of gene transcription to activate an integrated cascade that is mediated by N-rich proteins (NRPs). Here, we describe a novel transcription factor, GmERD15 (Glycine max Early Responsive to Dehydration 15), which is induced by ER stress and osmotic stress to activate the expression of NRP genes. GmERD15 was isolated because of its capacity to stably associate with the NRP-B promoter in yeast. It specifically binds to a 187-bp fragment of the NRP-B promoter in vitro and activates the transcription of a reporter gene in yeast. Furthermore, GmERD15 was found in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus, and a ChIP assay revealed that it binds to the NRP-B promoter in vivo. Expression of GmERD15 in soybean protoplasts activated the NRP-B promoter and induced expression of the NRP-B gene. Collectively, these results support the interpretation that GmERD15 functions as an upstream component of stress-induced NRP-B-mediated signaling to connect stress in the ER to an osmotic stress-induced cell death signal.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. White ◽  
Lisa Zhang ◽  
Yu Hsuan Carol Yang ◽  
Dan S. Luciani

ABSTRACTER stress and apoptosis contribute to the loss of pancreatic β-cells under the pro-diabetic conditions of glucolipotoxicity. Although activation of the canonical pathway of intrinsic apoptosis is known to require Bax and Bak, their individual and combined involvement in glucolipotoxic β-cell death have not been demonstrated. It has also remained an open question if Bax and Bak in β-cells have non-apoptotic roles in mitochondrial function and ER stress signaling, as suggested in other cell types. Using mice with individual or combined β-cell deletion of Bax and Bak, we demonstrated that glucolipotoxic β-cell death in vitro happens in sequential stages; first via non-apoptotic mechanisms and later by apoptosis, which Bax and Bak were redundant in triggering. In contrast, they had non-redundant roles in mediating staurosporine-induced β-cell apoptosis. We further established that Bax and Bak do not affect normal glucose-stimulated β-cell Ca2+ responses, insulin secretion, or in vivo glucose tolerance. Finally, our experiments revealed that Bax and Bak together dampen the unfolded protein response in β-cells during the early stages of chemical- or glucolipotoxicity-induced ER stress. These findings identify novel roles of the canonical apoptosis machinery in modulating stress signals that are important for the pathobiology of β-cells in diabetes.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 4979-4979
Author(s):  
Sofie Lust ◽  
Barbara Vanhoecke ◽  
Mireille Van Gele ◽  
Mary Kaileh ◽  
Jerina Boelens ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Correct folding of new proteins is supervised in the endoplasic reticulum (ER) unfolded protein response (UPR). Misfolded proteins recruit the chaperone Grp78 that is thereby released from the transcription factors ATF6, IRE-1 leading to compensatory increase in Grp78, and PERK, leading to phosphorylation of eIF2α and block of further protein translation. UPR overload leads to ER stress and cell death. Targeting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a new strategy explored in B-CLL. The hop-derived chalcone Xanthohumol (X) has been characterized as a ‘broad-spectrum’ cancer chemopreventive agent. Recently, we demonstrated that X induces dose- and time-dependent cell death of MCF7/6 breast cancer cells accompanied by ER stress. X induces apoptosis and cleavage of poly(ADP)-ribose-polymerase (PARP) in B-CLL in vitro. The present study investigates the branches of the UPR in relation to X induced apoptosis of B-CLL cells. Materials and methods. Lymphocytes were isolated by Lymphoprep from 15 patients with B-CLL after informed consent. CD19 positive cells were selected by EasySep positive selection kit. Apoptosis was assessed by flow-cytometry (AnnexinV-PI). Western Blotting was used for Grp78, ATF6, XBP1, phospho-eIF2a, eIF2a, ATF4, CHOP, phospho-IKK, IKK, PARP, caspase-9, -8, -7, -4, cleaved caspase-3, mcl-1, bcl-xL, bax, bak, and bid. NF-kB activity was assessed by EMSA. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to analyze Grp78 mRNA levels. Bcl-2 protein level was detected by flow cytometry and reactive oxygen species (ROS) by fluorescence microscopy. Results and conclusion X induced an upregulation of Grp78 mRNA levels which was not translated in an increase in protein. X treatment stimulated a rapid and sustained phosphorylation of eIF2a, suggesting the involvement of PERK. In contrast, the ER-stress transducers ATF6 and IRE1 were not activated. X-induced ER stress was associated with strong induction of the pro-apoptotic protein CHOP and inhibition of the NF-kB pathway. Furthermore, the pro-apoptotic effect of X was accompanied by an accumulation of ROS, a downregulation of the anti-apoptotic proteins mcl-1, bcl-xL, bcl-2 and processing of caspase-3, -7 and -9.In conclusion, the chalcone X is capable of inducing cell death with down-regulation of bcl-2, mcl-1, bcl-xL, and activation of the caspase cascade. This is accompanied by ER-stress as evidenced by the upregulation of Grp78 mRNA levels, induction of a rapid and sustained phosphorylation of eIF2a, upregulation of CHOP, and inhibition of the NF-kB signaling.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Jabbour ◽  
Trang Nguyen ◽  
Rudy Gadet ◽  
Olivier Lohez ◽  
Ivan Mikaelian ◽  
...  

AbstractApoptosis plays a role in cell homeostasis in both normal development and disease. Bcl-xL, a member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, regulates the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. It is overexpressed in several cancers. Bcl-xL has a dual subcellular localization and is found at the mitochondria as well as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, the biological significance of its ER localization is unclear. In order to decipher the functional contributions of the mitochondrial and reticular pools of Bcl-xL, we generated genetically modified mice expressing exclusively Bcl-xL at the ER, referred to as ER-xL, or the mitochondria, referred to as Mt-xL. By performing cell death assays, we showed that ER-xL MEFs show increased vulnerability to apoptotic stimuli but are more resistant to ER stress. Furthermore, ER-xL MEFs demonstrated a reduced expression of the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) markers upon ER stress and displayed reduced inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R)-mediated ER calcium release. Collectively, our data show that upon ER stress, Bcl-xL negatively regulates IP3R-mediated calcium flux from the ER, which prevents ER calcium depletion and maintains the UPR and subsequent cell death in check. This work reveals a moonlighting function of Bcl-xL at the ER, apart from its cliché regulation of apoptosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3916
Author(s):  
Entaz Bahar ◽  
Ji-Ye Kim ◽  
Dong-Chul Kim ◽  
Hyun-Soo Kim ◽  
Hyonok Yoon

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 inhibitors (PARPi) are used to treat recurrent ovarian cancer (OC) patients due to greater survival benefits and minimal side effects, especially in those patients with complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. However, acquired resistance of platinum-based chemotherapy leads to the limited efficacy of PARPi monotherapy in most patients. Twist is recognized as a possible oncogene and contributes to acquired cisplatin resistance in OC cells. In this study, we show how Twist knockdown cisplatin-resistant (CisR) OC cells blocked DNA damage response (DDR) to sensitize these cells to a concurrent treatment of cisplatin as a platinum-based chemotherapy agent and niraparib as a PARPi on in vitro two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. To investigate the lethality of PARPi and cisplatin on Twist knockdown CisR OC cells, two CisR cell lines (OV90 and SKOV3) were established using step-wise dose escalation method. In addition, in vitro 3D spheroidal cell model was generated using modified hanging drop and hydrogel scaffolds techniques on poly-2-hydroxylethly methacrylate (poly-HEMA) coated plates. Twist expression was strongly correlated with the expression of DDR proteins, PARP1 and XRCC1 and overexpression of both proteins was associated with cisplatin resistance in OC cells. Moreover, combination of cisplatin (Cis) and niraparib (Nira) produced lethality on Twist-knockdown CisR OC cells, according to combination index (CI). We found that Cis alone, Nira alone, or a combination of Cis+Nira therapy increased cell death by suppressing DDR proteins in 2D monolayer cell culture. Notably, the combination of Nira and Cis was considerably effective against 3D-cultures of Twist knockdown CisR OC cells in which Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is upregulated, leading to initiation of mitochondrial-mediated cell death. In addition, immunohistochemically, Cis alone, Nira alone or Cis+Nira showed lower ki-67 (cell proliferative marker) expression and higher cleaved caspase-3 (apoptotic marker) immuno-reactivity. Hence, lethality of PARPi with the combination of Cis on Twist knockdown CisR OC cells may provide an effective way to expand the therapeutic potential to overcome platinum-based chemotherapy resistance and PARPi cross resistance in OC.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1446
Author(s):  
Tingting Jin ◽  
Jun Lin ◽  
Yingchao Gong ◽  
Xukun Bi ◽  
Shasha Hu ◽  
...  

Both calcium-independent phospholipase A2 beta (iPLA2β) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress regulate important pathophysiological processes including inflammation, calcium homeostasis and apoptosis. However, their roles in ischemic heart disease are poorly understood. Here, we show that the expression of iPLA2β is increased during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, concomitant with the induction of ER stress and the upregulation of cell death. We further show that the levels of iPLA2β in serum collected from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and in samples collected from both in vivo and in vitro I/R injury models are significantly elevated. Further, iPLA2β knockout mice and siRNA mediated iPLA2β knockdown are employed to evaluate the ER stress and cell apoptosis during I/R injury. Additionally, cell surface protein biotinylation and immunofluorescence assays are used to trace and locate iPLA2β. Our data demonstrate the increase of iPLA2β augments ER stress and enhances cardiomyocyte apoptosis during I/R injury in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of iPLA2β ameliorates ER stress and decreases cell death. Mechanistically, iPLA2β promotes ER stress and apoptosis by translocating to ER upon myocardial I/R injury. Together, our study suggests iPLA2β contributes to ER stress-induced apoptosis during myocardial I/R injury, which may serve as a potential therapeutic target against ischemic heart disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachiko Iwai ◽  
Hanako O. Ikeda ◽  
Hisashi Mera ◽  
Kohei Nishitani ◽  
Motoo Saito ◽  
...  

AbstractCurrently there is no effective treatment available for osteoarthritis (OA). We have recently developed Kyoto University Substances (KUSs), ATPase inhibitors specific for valosin-containing protein (VCP), as a novel class of medicine for cellular protection. KUSs suppressed intracellular ATP depletion, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and cell death. In this study, we investigated the effects of KUS121 on chondrocyte cell death. In cultured chondrocytes differentiated from ATDC5 cells, KUS121 suppressed the decline in ATP levels and apoptotic cell death under stress conditions induced by TNFα. KUS121 ameliorated TNFα-induced reduction of gene expression in chondrocytes, such as Sox9 and Col2α. KUS121 also suppressed ER stress and cell death in chondrocytes under tunicamycin load. Furthermore, intraperitoneal administration of KUS121 in vivo suppressed chondrocyte loss and proteoglycan reduction in knee joints of a monosodium iodoacetate-induced OA rat model. Moreover, intra-articular administration of KUS121 more prominently reduced the apoptosis of the affected chondrocytes. These results demonstrate that KUS121 protects chondrocytes from stress-induced cell death in vitro and in vivo, and indicate that KUS121 is a promising novel therapeutic agent to prevent the progression of OA.


Author(s):  
Sinem Yilmaz ◽  
Fatih Tok ◽  
Esra A. Sahar ◽  
Bedia K. Kaymakcioglu ◽  
Petek B. Kirmizibayrak

Background: The complexity of cancer biology and the development of chemotherapy resistance are two main obstacles to cancer treatment and necessitate novel anticancer molecules that target different cell death pathways. Modulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and subsequent activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) has been proposed as potential chemotherapeutic target, as prolonged ER stress can lead to cell death via apoptosis or necrosis. Objective: The present study aims to evaluate the molecular mechanism underlying the cytotoxic activity of selected urea and carbohydrazide derivatives. Methods: Cell proliferation assays were performed on HeLa, Capan1, MCF7, HCC1937, and MRC5 cell lines by WST-1 assay. The expression levels of selected ER stress, autophagy, and apoptosis marker proteins were compared by immunoblotting to characterize the underlying mechanism of cytotoxicity. Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis. Results: Of the tested cytotoxic compounds, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, and 1b dramatically and 5b moderately increased ER stress-related CHOP protein levels. Interestingly, 5b but not 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, or 1b increased the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins such as cleaved PARP-1 and cleaved caspase-3 and -7. Flow-cytometry analysis further confirmed that the cytotoxic activity of 5b but not the other compounds is mediated by apoptosis, which is also demonstrated by a significant increase in the percentage of late apoptotic cells (7-AAD/annexin V double-positive cells). Conclusion: Our results suggest that changing a substituent from trifluoromethyl to nitro in urea and carbohydrazide core structure alters the cell death mechanism from apoptosis to an apoptosis-independent cell death pathway. This study shows an example of how such simple modifications of a core chemical structure could cause the induction of divergent cell death pathways.


Antibodies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Linden ◽  
Kiel Telesford ◽  
Samantha Shetty ◽  
Paige Winokour ◽  
Sylvia Haigh ◽  
...  

The pore-forming epsilon toxin (ETX) produced by Clostridium perfringens is among the most lethal bacterial toxins known. Sensitive antibody-based reagents are needed to detect toxin, distinguish mechanisms of cell death, and prevent ETX toxicity. Using B-cell immuno-panning and cloning techniques, seven ETX-specific monoclonal antibodies were generated from immunized rabbits. ETX specificity and sensitivity were evaluated via western blot, ELISA, immunocytochemistry (ICC), and flow cytometry. ETX-neutralizing function was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. All antibodies recognized both purified ETX and epsilon protoxin via western blot with two capable of detecting the ETX-oligomer complex. Four antibodies detected ETX via ELISA and three detected ETX bound to cells via ICC or flow cytometry. Several antibodies prevented ETX-induced cell death by either preventing ETX binding or by blocking ETX oligomerization. Antibodies that blocked ETX oligomerization inhibited ETX endocytosis and cellular vacuolation. Importantly, one of the oligomerization-blocking antibodies was able to protect against ETX-induced death post-ETX exposure in vitro and in vivo. Here we describe the production of a panel of rabbit monoclonal anti-ETX antibodies and their use in various biological assays. Antibodies possessing differential specificity to ETX in particular conformations will aid in the mechanistic studies of ETX cytotoxicity, while those with ETX-neutralizing function may be useful in preventing ETX-mediated mortality.


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