scholarly journals The Chicken Anemia Virus-Derived Protein Apoptin Requires Activation of Caspases for Induction of Apoptosis in Human Tumor Cells

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (15) ◽  
pp. 7072-7078 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. A. M. Danen-van Oorschot ◽  
A. J. van der Eb ◽  
M. H. M. Noteborn

ABSTRACT The chicken anemia virus protein Apoptin has been shown to induce apoptosis in a large number of transformed and tumor cell lines, but not in primary cells. Whereas many other apoptotic stimuli (e.g., many chemotherapeutic agents and radiation) require functional p53 and are inhibited by Bcl-2, Apoptin acts independently of p53, and its activity is enhanced by Bcl-2. Here we study the involvement of caspases, an important component of the apoptotic machinery present in mammalian cells. Using a specific antibody, active caspase-3 was detected in cells expressing Apoptin and undergoing apoptosis. Although Apoptin activity was not affected by CrmA, p35 did inhibit Apoptin-induced apoptosis, as determined by nuclear morphology. Cells expressing both Apoptin and p35 showed only a slight change in nuclear morphology. However, in most of these cells, cytochrome c is still released and the mitochondria are not stained by CMX-Ros, indicating a drop in mitochondrial membrane potential. These results imply that although the final apoptotic events are blocked by p35, parts of the upstream apoptotic pathway that affect mitochondria are already activated by Apoptin. Taken together, these data show that the viral protein Apoptin employs cellular apoptotic factors for induction of apoptosis. Although activation of upstream caspases is not required, activation of caspase-3 and possibly also other downstream caspases is essential for rapid Apoptin-induced apoptosis.

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 2986-2997 ◽  
Author(s):  
YinYin Huang ◽  
Shuji Nakada ◽  
Takatoshi Ishiko ◽  
Taiju Utsugisawa ◽  
Rakesh Datta ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We report here that the Rad51 recombinase is cleaved in mammalian cells during the induction of apoptosis by ionizing radiation (IR) exposure. The results demonstrate that IR induces Rad51 cleavage by a caspase-dependent mechanism. Further support for involvement of caspases is provided by the finding that IR-induced proteolysis of Rad51 is inhibited by Ac-DEVD-CHO. In vitro studies show that Rad51 is cleaved by caspase 3 at a DVLD/N site. Stable expression of a Rad51 mutant in which the aspartic acid residues were mutated to alanines (AVLA/N) confirmed that the DVLD/N site is responsible for the cleavage of Rad51 in IR-induced apoptosis. The functional significance of Rad51 proteolysis is supported by the finding that, unlike intact Rad51, the N- and C-terminal cleavage products fail to exhibit recombinase activity. In cells, overexpression of the Rad51(D-A) mutant had no effect on activation of caspase 3 but did abrogate in part the apoptotic response to IR exposure. We conclude that proteolytic inactivation of Rad51 by a caspase-mediated mechanism contributes to the cell death response induced by DNA damage.


2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (03) ◽  
pp. 377-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyung-Jin Kim ◽  
Seon Il Jang ◽  
Young-Jun Kim ◽  
Hyun-Ock Pae ◽  
Hae-Young Won ◽  
...  

We studied the effect of 4-acetyl-12,13-epoxyl-9-trichothecene-3,15-diol (AETD) isolated from Isaria japonica, one of the most popular Chinese fungal medicines, on the induction of apoptosis in rat bladder carcinoma NBT-II cells. AETD was cytotoxic to NBT-II cells, and this cytotoxic effect appears to be attributed to its induction of apoptotic cell death, as AETD induced nuclear morphological changes and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and increased the proportion of hypodiploid cells and activity of caspase-3. AETD treatment also decreased the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and increased the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. These results provide important information in understanding the mechanism(s) of AETD-induced apoptosis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 192 (7) ◽  
pp. 1035-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Jesenberger ◽  
Katarzyna J. Procyk ◽  
Junying Yuan ◽  
Siegfried Reipert ◽  
Manuela Baccarini

The enterobacterial pathogen Salmonella induces phagocyte apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. These bacteria use a specialized type III secretion system to export a virulence factor, SipB, which directly activates the host's apoptotic machinery by targeting caspase-1. Caspase-1 is not involved in most apoptotic processes but plays a major role in cytokine maturation. We show that caspase-1–deficient macrophages undergo apoptosis within 4–6 h of infection with invasive bacteria. This process requires SipB, implying that this protein can initiate the apoptotic machinery by regulating components distinct from caspase-1. Invasive Salmonella typhimurium targets caspase-2 simultaneously with, but independently of, caspase-1. Besides caspase-2, the caspase-1–independent pathway involves the activation of caspase-3, -6, and -8 and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, none of which occurs during caspase-1–dependent apoptosis. By using caspase-2 knockout macrophages and chemical inhibition, we establish a role for caspase-2 in both caspase-1–dependent and –independent apoptosis. Particularly, activation of caspase-1 during fast Salmonella-induced apoptosis partially relies on caspase-2. The ability of Salmonella to induce caspase-1–independent macrophage apoptosis may play a role in situations in which activation of this protease is either prevented or uncoupled from the induction of apoptosis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (24) ◽  
pp. 12169-12181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Kopecky ◽  
Mark C. Willingham ◽  
Douglas S. Lyles

ABSTRACT The induction of apoptosis in host cells is a prominent cytopathic effect of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection. The viral matrix (M) protein is responsible for several important cytopathic effects, including the inhibition of host gene expression and the induction of cell rounding in VSV-infected cells. This raises the question of whether M protein is also involved in the induction of apoptosis. HeLa or BHK cells were transfected with M mRNA to determine whether M protein induces apoptosis when expressed in the absence of other viral components. Expression of M protein induced apoptotic morphological changes and activated caspase-3 in both cell types, indicating that M protein induces apoptosis in the absence of other viral components. An M protein containing a point mutation that renders it defective in the inhibition of host gene expression (M51R mutation) activated little, if any, caspase-3, while a deletion mutant lacking amino acids 4 to 21 that is defective in the virus assembly function but fully functional in the inhibition of host gene expression was as effective as wild-type (wt) M protein in activating caspase-3. To determine whether M protein influences the induction of apoptosis in the context of a virus infection, the M51R M protein mutation was incorporated onto a wt background by using a recombinant infectious cDNA clone (rM51R-M virus). The timing of the induction of apoptosis by rM51R-M virus was compared to that by the corresponding recombinant wt (rwt) virus and to that by tsO82 virus, the mutant virus in which the M51R mutation was originally identified. In HeLa cells, rwt virus induced apoptosis faster than did rM51R-M virus, demonstrating a role for M protein in the induction of apoptosis. In contrast to the results obtained with HeLa cells, rwt virus induced apoptosis more slowly than did rM51R-M virus in BHK cells. This indicates that a viral component other than M protein contributes to induction of apoptosis in BHK cells and that wt M protein acts to delay induction of apoptosis by the other viral component. tsO82 virus induced apoptosis more rapidly than did rM51R-M virus in both HeLa and BHK cells. These two viruses contain the same point mutation in their M proteins, suggesting that sequence differences in genes other than that for M protein affect their rates of induction of apoptosis.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 2372-2372
Author(s):  
Kam Tong Leung ◽  
Karen Kwai Har Li ◽  
Samuel Sai Ming Sun ◽  
Paul Kay Sheung Chan ◽  
Yum Shing Wong ◽  
...  

Abstract Despite progress in the development of effective treatments against T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), about 20% of patients still exhibit poor response to the current chemotherapeutic regimens and the cause of treatment failure in these patients remains largely unknown. In this study, we aimed at finding mechanisms that drive T-ALL cells resistant to chemotherapeutic agents. By screening etoposide sensitivity of a panel of T-ALL cell lines using DNA content and PARP cleavage as apoptosis markers, we identified an apoptosis-resistant cell line, Sup-T1. Western blot analysis and caspase activity assay showed that Sup-T1 cells were deficient in etoposide-induced activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9. In addition, mitochondrial cytochrome c release was not evident in etoposide-treated Sup-T1 cells. However, addition of exogenous cytochrome c in cell-free apoptosis reactions induced prominent caspase-3 activation, indicating that the chemoresistance observed in Sup-T1 cells was due to its insusceptibility to the drug-induced mitochondrial alterations. Analysis of the basal expression of the Bcl-2 family proteins revealed that the levels of Bcl-2 was higher in Sup-T1 cells, while Bax and BimEL levels were lower, when compared to etoposide-sensitive T-ALL cell lines. Gene silencing using antisense oligonucleotide to Bcl-2 and overexpression of Bax did not resensitize cells to etoposide-induced apoptosis. On the contrary, transient transfection of BimEL into Sup-T1 cells significantly restored etoposide sensitivity. Further experiments revealed that the lack of BimEL expression in Sup-T1 cells was due to the rapid degradation of newly-synthesized BimEL by the proteosomal pathway, as treatment of Sup-T1 cells with a proteosome inhibitor significantly restored the protein level of BimEL. Moreover, treatment with proteosome inhibitor resulted in mobility shift of BimEL, which was sensitive to phosphatase digestion. Furthermore, treatment of Sup-T1 cells with JNK inhibitor resulted in accumulation of BimEL, and pretreatment with JNK inhibitor restored sensitivity of Sup-T1 cells to etoposide-induced apoptosis, indicating that constitutive activation of the JNK pathway in Sup-T1 cells was responsible for promoting BimEL phosphorylation, and this may serve as a signal targeting BimEL to the proteosome for degradation. Altogether, our findings provide the first evidence that JNK activation correlates inversely with BimEL level by promoting its phosphorylation and degradation. This, in turn, reduces the sensitivity of T-ALL cells to chemotherapeutic agents.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 4783-4783
Author(s):  
Hirokazu Miki ◽  
Shuji Ozaki ◽  
Osamu Tanaka ◽  
Shiro Fujii ◽  
Shingen Nakamura ◽  
...  

Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy characterized by the accumulation of neoplastic plasma cells in the bone marrow. Although new classes of agents such as thalidomide, lenalidomide, and bortezomib have shown marked anti-MM activity in clinical settings, MM remains an incurable disease due to increased resistance to these agents. Therefore, alternative approaches are necessary to overcome drug resistance in MM. KRN5500 is a new derivative of spicamycin produced by Streptomyces alanosinicus (Kirin Pharma, Tokyo, Japan). This drug potently decreases protein synthesis and inhibits cell growth in human tumor cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. Several phase I studies of KRN5500 were conducted in patients with solid tumors, which showed Cmax values of 1000–3000 nM at the maximum tolerated doses. However, no objective anti-tumor response to KRN5500 alone was observed in these patients. In this study, we examined the anti-tumor activity of KRN5500 against MM cells and evaluated its therapeutic potential in combination with other anti-MM agents. MM cell lines and freshly-isolated MM cells were incubated with various concentrations of KRN5500 for 24 hours. Cell proliferation assay showed marked inhibition of cell growth in MM cells such as RPMI 8226, KMS12-BM, and UTMC-2 (IC50 = 10–40 nM), and U266, MM.1S, and primary MM cells (IC50 = 500–1000 nM). Importantly, a chemotherapy-resistant subclone of RPMI 8226 had a similar sensitivity to KRN5500. Annexin V/propidium iodide staining confirmed that KRN5500 induced apoptosis of MM cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was detected after 24 hours with only modest activation of caspase-8, -9, and -3 by immunoblotting. Flow cytometric analysis of anti-apoptotic proteins revealed that apoptosis induced by KRN5500 was associated with down-regulation of Mcl-1 and Bcl-2 expression. To determine the effect of KRN5500 on the unfolded protein response (UPR), splicing of XBP-1 mRNA was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. In response to stimulation with KRN5500, splicing of XBP-1 mRNA occurred after 24 hours in RPMI 8226 cells, suggesting that KRN5500-induced apoptosis is mediated in part by the inhibition of UPR. Furthermore, synergistic effects on MM cells were observed when KRN5500 was combined with anti-MM agents including melphalan, dexamethasone, and bortezomib. These results suggest that KRN5500 induces apoptosis in MM cells mainly by the caspase-independent pathway and that its unique mechanism of action provides a valuable therapeutic option to overcome drug resistance in patients with MM.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Shi ◽  
Baoqing Tian ◽  
Wenlong Ma ◽  
Na Zhang ◽  
Yuehua Qiao ◽  
...  

The HMGA2 (high-mobility group AT-hook) protein has previously been shown as an oncoprotein, whereas ectopic expression of HMGA2 is found to induce growth arrest in primary cells. The precise mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain to be unravelled. In the present study, we determined that HMGA2 was able to induce apoptosis in WI38 primary human cells. We show that WI38 cells expressing high level of HMGA2 were arrested at G2/M phase and exhibited apoptotic nuclear phenotypes. Meanwhile, the cleaved caspase 3 (cysteine aspartic acid-specific protease 3) was detected 8 days after HMGA2 overexpression. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that the ratio of cells undergoing apoptosis increased dramatically. Concurrently, other major apoptotic markers were also detected, including the up-regulation of p53, Bax and cleaved caspase 9, down-regulation of Bcl-2; as well as release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria. We further demonstrate that the shRNA (small-hairpin RNA)-mediated Apaf1 (apoptotic protease activating factor 1) silencing partially rescued the HMGA2-induced apoptosis, which was accompanied by the decrease of cleaved caspase-3 level and a decline of cell death ratio. Our results also reveal that γH2A was accumulated in nuclei during the HMGA2-induced apoptosis along with the up-regulation of cleaved caspase 2, suggesting that the HMGA2-induced apoptosis was dependent on the pathway of DNA damage. Overall, the present study unravelled a novel function of HMGA2 in induction of apoptosis in human primary cell lines, and provided clues for clarification of the mechanistic action of HMGA2 in addition to its function as an oncoprotein.


Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1361-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A Luedtke ◽  
Yongwei Su ◽  
Holly Edwards ◽  
Lisa Polin ◽  
Juiwanna Kushner ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) face overall 5-year survival rates of 65% and 27% for children and adults, respectively, leaving significant room for improvement. Relapse remains a major contributor to such low overall survival rates, and leukemic stem cells (LSCs) that survive treatment are believed to be responsible for AML relapse. The anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 is overexpressed in bulk AML cells and LSCs and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Thus, Bcl-2 represents a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of AML. Venetoclax (ABT-199) is a selective Bcl-2 inhibitor that has shown great potential for treating a number of malignancies, including AML. Venetoclax inhibits Bcl-2, preventing it from sequestering pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Bim, leading to Bim activated Bax/Bak, resulting in apoptosis. However, Mcl-1 can also sequester Bim and prevent apoptosis. We previously showed that directly targeting Mcl-1 can enhance the antileukemic activity of venetoclax (Luedtke DA, et al. Signal Transduct Target Ther. Apr 2017). Alternatively, we proposed that indirect targeting of Mcl-1 may preserve or enhance the antileukemic activity of venetoclax, and prevent resistance resulting from Mcl-1. It has been reported that inhibition of CDK9 can downregulate cell survival genes regulated by superenhancers, including Mcl-1, MYC, and Cyclin D1. One CDK9 inhibitor in clinical development, flavopiridol (alvocidib), has progressed to phase II clinical trials in AML. However, off target effects and dose-limiting toxicities remain a concern. Voruciclib is an oral, selective CDK inhibitor differentiated by its potent inhibition of CDK9 as compared to other CDK inhibitors. This selectivity may potentially circumvent toxicities resulting from inhibition of non-CDK targets like MAK and ICK that are inhibited by flavopiridol. Voruciclib has been shown in vitro to promote apoptosis and decrease Mcl-1 expression levels in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells (Paiva C, et al. PLOS One. Nov 2015) and inhibit tumor growth in mouse xenograft models of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in combination with venetoclax (Dey J. et al Scientific Reports. Dec 2017). Based on these data, voruciclib may downregulate Mcl-1 in AML cells and therefore synergistically enhance the antileukemic activity of venetoclax. Methods/Results: Culturing AML cell lines (THP-1, U937, MOLM-13, MV4-11, and OCI-AML3) and primary patient samples with various concentrations of voruciclib resulted in a concentration-dependent increase in Annexin V+ cells (2 μM voruciclib induced 13.8-55.8% Annexin V+ cells) along with increased levels of cleaved caspase 3 and PARP, demonstrating that voruciclib induces apoptosis in AML cells. Next, we tested the combination of voruciclib and venetoclax in AML cell lines and primary AML patient samples at clinically achievable concentrations. Annexin V/PI staining, flow cytometry analysis, and combination index calculation (using CalcuSyn software) revealed synergistic induction of apoptosis by voruciclib and venetoclax combination (combination index values for MV4-11, U937, THP-1, and MOLM-13 cells were <0.73; treatment with 2 µM voruciclib and venetoclax for 24 h resulted in >80% apoptosis). Importantly, synergy was observed in both venetoclax sensitive and resistant cell lines. This was accompanied by increased cleavage of caspase 3 and PARP. Lentiviral shRNA knockdown of Bak and Bax partially rescued AML cells from voruciclib-induced apoptosis, showing that voruciclib induces apoptosis at least partially through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. However, Bak and Bax knockdown had little to no effect on induction of apoptosis by the combination treatment, indicating that there might be other molecular mechanisms underlying the synergistic interaction between the two agents. Treatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK partially rescued cells from combination treatment induced-apoptosis. Discussion: Collectively, these results demonstrate that voruciclib and venetoclax synergistically induce apoptosis in AML cells in vitro and reverse venetoclax resistance. Further studies to determine the mechanism of action and in vivo efficacy of this promising combination in AML xenografts and PDX models are underway. Disclosures Ge: MEI Pharma: Research Funding.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (6) ◽  
pp. C1290-C1297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Yuan ◽  
Ramesh M. Ray ◽  
Leonard R. Johnson

C1297, 2002; 10.1152/ajpcell.00351.2001.We have shown previously that depletion of polyamines delays apoptosis induced by camptothecin in rat intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6). Mitochondria play an important role in the regulation of apoptosis in mammalian cells because apoptotic signals induce mitochondria to release cytochrome c. The latter interacts with Apaf-1 to activate caspase-9, which in turn activates downstream caspase-3. Bcl-2 family proteins are involved in the regulation of cytochrome c release from mitochondria. In this study, we examined the effects of polyamine depletion on the activation of the caspase cascade, release of cytochrome cfrom mitochondria, and expression and translocation of Bcl-2 family proteins. We inhibited ornithine decarboxylase, the first rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine synthesis, with α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) to deplete cells of polyamines. Depletion of polyamines prevented camptothecin-induced release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and decreased the activity of caspase-9 and caspase-3. The mitochondrial membrane potential was not disrupted when cytochrome c was released. Depletion of polyamines decreased translocation of Bax to mitochondria during apoptosis. The expression of antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 was increased in DFMO-treated cells. Caspase-8 activity and cleavage of Bid were decreased in cells depleted of polyamines. These results suggest that polyamine depletion prevents IEC-6 cells from apoptosis by preventing the translocation of Bax to mitochondria, thus preventing the release of cytochrome c.


Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 294
Author(s):  
Cynthia Feng ◽  
Yingke Liang ◽  
Jose G. Teodoro

Apoptin is the Vp3 protein of chicken anemia virus (CAV), which infects the thymocytes and erythroblasts in young chickens, causing chicken infectious anemia and immunosuppression. Apoptin is highly studied for its ability to selectively induce apoptosis in human tumor cells and, thus, is a protein of interest in anti-tumor therapy. CAV apoptin is known to localize to different subcellular compartments in transformed and non-transformed cells, depending on the DNA damage response, and the phosphorylation of several identified threonine residues. In addition, apoptin interacts with molecular machinery such as the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) to inhibit the cell cycle and induce arrest in G2/M phase. While these functions of apoptin contribute to the tumor-selective effect of the protein, they also provide an important fundamental framework to apoptin’s role in viral infection, pathogenesis, and propagation. Here, we reviewed how the regulation, localization, and functions of apoptin contribute to the viral life cycle and postulated its importance in efficient replication of CAV. A model of the molecular biology of infection is critical to informing our understanding of CAV and other related animal viruses that threaten the agricultural industry.


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