Serum deprivation induces apoptotic cell death in a subset of Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts

1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 1169-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.V. Kulkarni ◽  
C.A. McCulloch

Little is known about the regulation of apoptosis in fibroblasts although several model systems including serum deprivation and treatment with staurosporine or topoisomerase inhibitors have been used to induce apoptosis in vitro. To validate a reproducible in vitro model for the study of apoptosis in fibroblasts, we cultured density-inhibited monolayer cultures of Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts in Dulbecco's modified essential medium plus 15% fetal calf serum and then withdrew serum. Time-lapse video microscopy demonstrated that within minutes of serum withdrawal, cells lost substrate attachment and floated to the top of the liquid growth medium. There was a time-dependent increase in the number of non-adherent cells. Some of these cells regained attachment and spread momentarily, but they eventually rounded up and lost attachment permanently. In contrast to serum-containing cultures in which similar morphological changes were followed by mitosis, in serum-free cultures repeated attempts at mitosis were followed by permanent attachment loss and presumably cell death. To assess whether all the non-adherent cells were in fact dead, the percentages of cells that continued to proliferate upon return to serum-supplemented conditions was computed. After various periods of serum starvation a decreasing proportion (approx. 75% at 30 minutes; < 2% at 24 hours) of the non-adherent cells could be rescued by addition of serum. Transmission electron microscopy of cells 3 hours after serum withdrawal showed that the majority (approximately 60%) of non-adherent cells exhibited marked intranuclear chromatin condensation but maintained integrity of cell and nuclear membranes and cell organelles, morphological changes consistent with those of apoptotic cell death. Scanning electron microscopy of cultures 3 hours following serum withdrawal showed rounded cells with marked surface blebbing. Fluorescence and confocal microscopy revealed increased intensity of nuclear staining with DAPI while actin filaments became indistinct or collapsed around the nucleus. After cycloheximide treatment to inhibit protein synthesis, there was no reduction of apoptosis. Gel electrophoresis of DNA from both control and 3 hour-serum-deprived cells showed intact DNA with no oligonucleosomal length fragmentation. After serum withdrawal, intracellular calcium was reduced by about 32% over 5 minutes as measured by fura2 ratio fluorimetry in single cells. Serum-starved cells showed a time-dependent shrinkage in mean cell diameter compared to trypsinized, adherent control cells (at 0 hours, mean diameter = 18.0 microns--viable; at 4 hours, mean diameter = 15.5 microns--apoptotic). Flow cytometric analysis showed increased propidium iodide staining and reduced fluorescein diacetate uptake over 3 hours, changes that were contemporaneous with the reduction of cell diameter.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (20) ◽  
pp. 10967
Author(s):  
Oxana Kazakova ◽  
Alexandra Mioc ◽  
Irina Smirnova ◽  
Irina Baikova ◽  
Adrian Voicu ◽  
...  

A series of novel hybrid chalcone N-ethyl-piperazinyl amide derivatives of oleanonic and ursonic acids were synthesized, and their cytotoxic potential was evaluated in vitro against the NCI-60 cancer cell line panel. Compounds 4 and 6 exhibited the highest overall anticancer activity, with GI50 values in some cases reaching nanomolar values. Thus, the two compounds were further assessed in detail in order to identify a possible apoptosis- and antiangiogenic-based mechanism of action induced by the assessed compounds. DAPI staining revealed that both compounds induced nuclei condensation and overall cell morphological changes consistent with apoptotic cell death. rtPCR analysis showed that up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bak gene combined with the down-regulation of the pro-survival Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 genes caused altered ratios between the pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins’ levels, leading to overall induced apoptosis. Molecular docking analysis revealed that both compounds exhibited high scores for Bcl-XL inhibition, suggesting that compounds may induce apoptotic cell death through targeted anti-apoptotic protein inhibition, as well. Ex vivo determinations showed that both compounds did not significantly alter the angiogenesis process on the tested cell lines.


Zygote ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Fabian ◽  
S. Juhás ◽  
G. Il'ková ◽  
J. Koppel

SummaryThis study was undertaken to obtain information about characteristics of different types of induced apoptosis in preimplantation embryos. Freshly isolated mouse blastocysts were cultured in vitro with the addition of two apoptotic inductors – TNFα and actinomycin D – at various doses and times. The average number of nuclei and the percentage of dead cells were evaluated in treated embryos. Classification of dead cells was based on morphological assessment of their nuclei evaluated by fluorescence microscopy, the detection of specific DNA degradation (TUNEL assay), the detection of active caspase-3 and cell viability assessed by propidium iodide staining. The addition of both apoptotic inductors into culture media significantly increased cell death incidence in blastocysts. Their effects were dose and time dependent. Lower concentrations of inductors increased cell death incidence, usually without affecting embryo growth after 24 h culture. Higher concentrations of inductors caused wider cell damage and also retarded embryo development. In all experiments, the negative effect of actinomycin D on blastomere survival and blastocyst growth was greater than the effect of TNFα. Furthermore, the addition of actinomycin D into culture media increased cell death incidence even after 6 h culture. Differences resulted probably from diverse specificity of apoptotic inductors. The majority of dead cells in treated blastocysts were of apoptotic origin. Morphological and biochemical features of apoptotic cell death induced by both TNFα and actinomycin D were similar and had homologous profile. In blastomeres, similarly to somatic cells, the biochemical pathways of induced apoptosis included activation of caspase-3 and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki Chang Nam ◽  
Yong Soo Han ◽  
Jong-Min Lee ◽  
Si Chan Kim ◽  
Guangsup Cho ◽  
...  

Various theragnostic agents have been devised and developed as cancer treatments; however, existing agents are often limited by their specific functions and complexities. Here, we report multifunctional magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles functionalized with chlorin e6 (Ce6) and folic acid (FA) using a simple fabrication process to be used as theragnostic agents in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The effectiveness of cellular uptake of Fe3O4-Ce6-FA nanoparticles (FCF NPs) and its visualization as well as the photodynamic anticancer activities were evaluated. The mechanism of cancer cell death by the FCF NPs was also verified with qualitative and quantitative methods. Results indicate that FCF NPs have good penetration efficacy, resulting in excellent in vitro fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging in cancer cells. FCF NPs exhibited promising anticancer activity in an irradiation time- and FCF NPs-dose-dependent manner in various cancer cell lines, leading to apoptotic cell death via morphological changes in cell membrane, nuclear, and DNA damage, and via overexpression of apoptosis-related genes, such as ZFP36L1, CYR61, GADD45G, caspases-2, -3, -9, 10, and -14. This study suggests that FCF NPs may be safely used in cancer therapy via PDT and could be a versatile therapeutic tool and biocompatible theragnostic agent, which may be used in diagnostic imaging.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10695
Author(s):  
Oxana Kazakova ◽  
Codruța Șoica ◽  
Marat Babaev ◽  
Anastasiya Petrova ◽  
Elmira Khusnutdinova ◽  
...  

Cancer persists as a global challenge due to the extent to which conventional anticancer therapies pose high risks counterbalanced with their therapeutic benefit. Naturally occurring substances stand as an important safer alternative source for anticancer drug development. In the current study, a series of modified lupane and ursane derivatives was subjected to in vitro screening on the NCI-60 cancer cell line panel. Compounds 6 and 7 have been identified as highly active with GI50 values ranging from 0.03 µM to 5.9 µM (compound 6) and 0.18–1.53 µM (compound 7). Thus, these two compounds were further assessed in detail in order to identify a possible antiproliferative mechanism of action. DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining revealed that both compounds induced nuclei condensation and overall cell morphological changes consistent with apoptotic cell death. rtPCR analysis showed that both compounds induced upregulation of proapoptotic Bak and Bad genes while downregulating Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 antiapoptotic genes. Molecular docking analysis revealed that both compounds exhibited high scores for Bcl-XL inhibition, while compound 7 showed higher in silico Bcl-XL inhibition potential as compared to the native inhibitor ATB-737, suggesting that compounds may induce apoptotic cell death through targeted antiapoptotic protein inhibition, as well.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palesa Rose Sekhejane ◽  
Nicolette Nadene Houreld ◽  
Heidi Abrahamse

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer. Amongst treatments that have been explored, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment that is of interest as it poses ideal advantages such as affinity for cancer cells. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the localization site of a sulfonated zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcSmix) photosensitizer (PS) and its associated cell death pathwayin vitroin colorectal cancer cell lines (DLD-1 and CaCo-2). Visible morphological changes were observed in PDT treated cells after 24 h. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected and visualized 1 h after PDT.ZnPcSmixwas predominantly localized in lysosomes and partially in the mitochondria. FITC Annexin V staining showed a significant decrease in the percentage of viable DLD-1 and CaCo-2 cells 24 h after PDT, with an increase in apoptotic cell population. Moreover, there was a significant increase in both cathepsin D and cytochrome C at 1 and 24 h. In conclusion,ZnPcSmixshowed the ability of inducing apoptotic cell death features in PDT treated cells.


2001 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 366-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renate Paddenberg ◽  
Sebastian Loos ◽  
Hans-Joseph Schöneberger ◽  
Swantje Wulf ◽  
Astrid Müller ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 12958-12972

The current study aimed to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo anticancer potential of the silver nanoparticles fabricated with butanol fraction of Pinus roxburghii needles (PNb-AgNPs). In vitro results revealed significant cytotoxicity of PNb-AgNPs towards Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) cells with an IC50 of 47.02 ± 1.11 μg/ml. Further, morphological changes, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial depolarization, and DNA fragmentation elucidated EAC cell death by PNb-AgNPs exposure. The cell cycle analysis displayed an increase in the Sub-G1 population (52%), further confirmed by nuclear fragmentation in EAC cells after PNb-AgNPs treatment. The hemolytic investigation revealed the biocompatible nature of PNb-AgNPs. In vivo experiments were performed using the liquid Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma tumor model, which clearly showed a reduction in tumor growth and body weight following PNb-AgNPs treatment in EAC-bearing mice as compared to untreated controls. Moreover, elevated hematological and biochemical parameters were found to restore to normal range in EAC-bearing mice treated with PNb-AgNPs. Overall, PNb-AgNPs effectively induced apoptotic cell death in EAC cells and exhibited remarkable in vivo antitumor potential.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 7906
Author(s):  
Alexey A. Komissarov ◽  
Maria A. Karaseva ◽  
Marina P. Roschina ◽  
Andrey V. Shubin ◽  
Nataliya A. Lunina ◽  
...  

Regulated cell death (RCD) is a fundamental process common to nearly all living beings and essential for the development and tissue homeostasis in animals and humans. A wide range of molecules can induce RCD, including a number of viral proteolytic enzymes. To date, numerous data indicate that picornaviral 3C proteases can induce RCD. In most reported cases, these proteases induce classical caspase-dependent apoptosis. In contrast, the human hepatitis A virus 3C protease (3Cpro) has recently been shown to cause caspase-independent cell death accompanied by previously undescribed features. Here, we expressed 3Cpro in HEK293, HeLa, and A549 human cell lines to characterize 3Cpro-induced cell death morphologically and biochemically using flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. We found that dead cells demonstrated necrosis-like morphological changes including permeabilization of the plasma membrane, loss of mitochondrial potential, as well as mitochondria and nuclei swelling. Additionally, we showed that 3Cpro-induced cell death was efficiently blocked by ferroptosis inhibitors and was accompanied by intense lipid peroxidation. Taken together, these results indicate that 3Cpro induces ferroptosis upon its individual expression in human cells. This is the first demonstration that a proteolytic enzyme can induce ferroptosis, the recently discovered and actively studied type of RCD.


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.


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