细胞凋亡过程中bcl-2基因的甲基化

为探讨凋亡过程中,ｂｃｌ－２基因下调与该基因甲基化状态的关系,用５－氟尿嘧啶（５－Ｆｕ）诱导小鼠成纤维细胞ＮＣ３Ｈ１０,ＴＣ３Ｈ１０及人乳腺癌细胞ＭＣＦ－７的凋亡,分别检测了这三种细胞凋亡过程中ｂｃｌ－２的表达变化,与其调控区及编码区的甲基化状况．我们曾观察到５－Ｆｕ作用２４～４８ｈ出现细胞存活率下降,ＤＮＡ梯状断裂及细胞周期凋亡峰显现等典型凋亡现象．Ｎｏｒｔｈｅｒｎ杂交显示,在５－Ｆｕ作用１２ｈ时ｂｃｌ－２ｍＲＮＡ水平已明显降低．由此,我们用小鼠ｂｃｌ－２（ｍｂｃｌ－２）及人ｂｃｌ－２（ｈｂｃｌ－２）基因调控区ＰＣＲ扩增片段及ｂｃｌ－２编码区（ｃＤＮＡ）片段作为探针,与５－Ｆｕ作用１２ｈ的细胞ＤＮＡ的ＭｓｐⅠ／ＨｐａⅡ酶切产物进行Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂交,以未作用的细胞ＤＮＡ同样酶切杂交为对照．通过杂交带谱的变化,分析ｂｃｌ－２基因的甲基化状况．结果显示：ｍｂｃｌ－２及ｈｂｃｌ－２在５－Ｆｕ作用１２ｈ后调控区甲基化水平增高,但其编码区甲基化状态皆未出现可检出的变化．上述结果提示：ｂｃｌ－２基因调控区甲基化水平升高可能与该基因下调有关     

人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞系凋亡过程中bcl-2基因的结合蛋白

 Ｍ Ｃ Ｆ ７ 是 ｐ５３ 为野生型的人乳腺癌细胞系．为探讨该细胞系凋亡过程中 ｂｃｌ ２ 基因的下调机制,以 ５ 氟尿嘧啶（５ Ｆｕ）诱导凋亡,用 Ｐ Ｃ Ｒ 技术扩增出人 ｂｃｌ ２（ｈｂｃｌ ２）基因调控区长度为 ５５８ｂｐ 的片段,经亚克隆后的序列分析证实其准确性．用此 Ｐ Ｃ Ｒ 产物作为探针与 ５ Ｆｕ 刺激 １２ ｈ 后的 Ｍ Ｃ Ｆ ７ 核内蛋白质粗提物进行 Ｓｏｕｔｈｗ ｅｓｔｅｒｎ 印迹及凝胶阻滞（ Ｅ Ｍ Ｓ Ａ）分析．以未用 ５ Ｆｕ 刺激者为对照．结果显示,细胞核内一分子量为 ５３ ｋ Ｄ 的结合蛋白与 ｂｃｌ ２ 调控区的结合信号明显增强,而一种２０ ｋ Ｄ 的 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 结合蛋白与该区的结合信号明显减弱．这些结果提示ｐ５３ 蛋白有可能是ｂｃｌ ２ 的负转录因子,２０ ｋ Ｄ 的 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 结合蛋白有可能是ｂｃｌ ２ 的正转录因子．     

细胞凋亡过程中c-erbB-2基因的表达

据文献报道ｃ－ｅｒｂＢ－２可以介导细胞凋亡,为检验这一结论是否具有普遍性,用５－氟尿嘧啶（５－Ｆｕ）诱导小鼠成纤维细胞ＮＣ３Ｈ１０,ＴＣ３Ｈ１０及人乳腺癌细胞ＭＣＦ－７的凋亡．用Ｎｏｒｔｈｅｒｎ印迹法检测ｃ－ｅｒｂＢ－２的表达状况．结果显示：ｃ－ｅｒｂＢ－２基因表达在５－Ｆｕ作用６ｈ开始降低,１２ｈ降低更为明显．作用２４～４８ｈ出现细胞存活率下降,ＤＮＡ梯状断裂及细胞周期凋亡峰等凋亡典型现象．实验结果并不支持ｃ－ｅｒｂＢ－２可介导细胞凋亡的观点．该基因在细胞凋亡过程中有何作用尚待探讨．     

人胎儿胸腺内bc1－2基因表达与分布

采用免疫酶组织化学与地高辛标记的单链ｃＤＮＡ探针原位杂交技术,研究了抗凋亡基因ｂｃｌ－２在人胎儿胸腺组织中的表达与分布。结果ｂｃｌ－２ｍＲＮＡ及其蛋白均优势定位于髓质区。提示胸腺中ｂｃｌ－２基因表达调控发生在转录水平;ｂｃｌ－２基因介导的细胞凋亡状态可能参与Ｔ淋巴细胞的成熟过程。     

急性白血病细胞中抗凋亡蛋白bcl－2及其mRNA的表达

采用免疫组织化学与原位杂交方法检测了２５例急性髓系或淋巴系白血病骨髓活检组织及６种白血病细胞株中ｂｃｌ－２蛋白及其ｍＲＮＡ水平。结果２１例白血病标本中存在ｂｃｌ－２蛋白及其ｍＲＮＡ的一致性高表达;５种白血病细胞株（ＣＥＭ、Ｒａｊｉ、ＨＬ－６０、Ｕ９３７及Ｋ５６２）均能表达一定水平的ｂｃｌ－２蛋白及其ｍＲＮＡ（Ｍｏｌｔ－４例外）。提示ｂｃｌ－２基因的功能状态与淋巴造血系统肿瘤密切相关。     

缺氧性肺动脉高压大鼠肺组织中血小板源性生长因子和c－myc基因表达增强

本研究分析了大鼠肺组织中血小板源性生长因子Ａ链、Ｂ链（ＰＤＧＦ－Ａ,ＰＤＧＦ－Ｂ）和ｃ－ｍｙｃ原癌基因ｍＲＮＡ在正常和缺氧时的含量变化。正常肺组织可表达１．７ｋｂ的ＰＤＧＦ－ＡｍＲＮＡ和３．５ｋｂ的ＰＤＧＦ－ＢｍＲＮＡ,还有少量２．２ｋｂｃ－ｍｙｃｍＲＮＡ。在缺氧过程中,ＰＤＧＦ－Ｂ链ｍＲＮＡ和ｃ－ｍｙｃｍＲＮＡ迅速增加,至缺氧１４ｄ时,分别为正常的３倍和５倍。而ＰＤＧＦ－ＡｍＲＮＡ在缺氧７ｄ时增高,而后又略有降低。结果表明：缺氧的肺组织局部生成的ＰＤＧＦ激活了ｃ－ｍｙｃ原癌基因,这对于缺氧性肺动脉高压的形成具有重要作用。     

细胞凋亡相关基因研究进展

细胞凋亡研究已成为当今国内外研究的新热点,本就近年来有关与细胞凋亡相关的基因或因子研究的进展做一综述,着重阐述了ｂｃ１－２、ｍｙｃ、ｐ５３和ＡＰＯ－１／ＦａｓＴＧＦβ１等对细胞凋亡的影响和作用,以期有助于进一步提示细胞凋亡的分子机理。     

缺氧性肺动脉高压大鼠肺组织中血小板源性生长因子和c—my…

本研究分析了大鼠肺组织中血小板源性生长因子Ａ链、Ｂ链和ｃ－ｍｙｃ原癌基因ｍＲＮＡ。正常肺组织可表达１．７ｋｂ的ＰＤＧＦ－ＡｍＲＮＡ和３．５ｋｂ的ＰＤＧＦ－ＢｍＲＮＡ,还有少量２．２ｋｂｃｍＲＮＡ．在缺氧过程中,ＰＤＧＦ－Ｂ链ｍＲＮＡ和ｃ－ｍｙｃｍＲＮＡ迅速增加,至缺氧１４ｄ时,分别为正常的３倍和５倍。而ＰＤＧＦ－ＡｍＲＮＡ在缺氧７ｄ时增高,而后又略有降低。结果表明：缺氧的肺组织局生成的ＰＤＧＦ激活     

慢性缺氧大鼠肺血管c-myc及bcl-2基因表达研究

应用免疫组织化学和Ｎｏｒｔｈｅｒｎ杂交方法,对慢性缺氧大鼠肺组织（主要是肺血管壁）原癌基因ｃ－ｍｙｃ和抗凋亡基因ｂｃｌ－２表达进行了研究。免疫组织化学观察提示,正常对照组大鼠肺血壁Ｃ－ｍｙｃ和Ｂｃｌ－２蛋白仅为弱阳性或不表达,慢性缺氧１、２周组大鼠肺血管壁这两种抗原表达比对照组显著增强,呈强阳性,Ｎｏｒｔｈｅｒｎ杂交结果表明：慢性缺氧１、２周组大鼠肺组织内ｃ－ｍｙｃ和ｂｃｌ－２的ｍＲＮＡ表达比对照组显著增加,以上结果提示,ｃ－ｍｙｃ及ｂｃｌ－２两种基因调节的细胞增殖与凋亡可能参与了慢性缺氧性肺动脉高压的发病进程。     

核酶对bcl－2mRNA的体外切割

通过微机对ｂｃｌ－２ＲＮＡ二级结构的分析,设计针对ｂｃｌ－２片段５＇ＣＧＣＧＡＣＣＣＧＧＵＣＧＣＣＡＧＧＡＣＣＵＣＧ３＇的“锤头状”（Ｈａｍｍｅｒｈｅａｄ）核酶（Ｒｉｂｏｚｙｍｅ,ＲＤ）基因,平端连接于ｐＧＥＭ－３Ｚｆ（－）ＨｉｎｃⅡ位点,克隆后经测序表明序列正确,ｂｃｌ－２和Ｒｉｂｏｚｙｍｅ基因经体外转录,５０℃作用２ｈ,从１６５６－１６５７（Ｃ－Ｇ）位之间切断ｂｃｌ－２ＲＮＡ片段．     

Apoptosis and appearance of Trp53-positive micronuclei in murine tumors with different radioresponses in vivo.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between the response to radiation and the appearance of apoptosis and micronuclei with Trp53 protein in murine tumors after irradiation. Two murine tumors, EL4, which was derived from a mouse lymphoma, and FM3A, which was derived from a mouse mammary carcinoma, were locally irradiated with 15 Gy and sections were stained with H&E and an anti-Trp53 antibody. The response to radiation was greater in EL4 tumors than in FM3A tumors. The frequency of apoptotic cells in EL4 tumors was 6.1 +/- 1.2% at time zero, reached a peak of 36.3 +/- 3. 8% at 6 h, and then decreased with time through 72 h to 2.5 +/- 1.5% after 15 Gy irradiation. In FM3A tumors, no apoptotic cells were detected at 0, 1, 3, 6 or 24 h after exposure. At 48 and 72 h, the frequency was only 3.0 +/- 0.6% and 1.3 +/- 0.3%. Apoptotic cells increased significantly at 3, 6 and 24 h after irradiation in EL4 tumors (P < 0.008) and at 48 and 72 h in FM3A tumors (P < 0.006). The frequency of Trp53-positive cells was 17.9 +/- 2.2 and 15.2 +/- 2.3% at time zero in EL4 and FM3A tumors, respectively, increased to 74.5 +/- 4.5% in EL4 cells (P = 0.001), and increased to 33.9 +/- 1. 1% in FM3A cells (P = 0.005) 1 h after irradiation. Trp53-positive micronuclei appeared in cells in both tumors from 24 to 72 h after irradiation. The frequency of Trp53-positive micronuclei was 3.8 +/- 0.5 and 13.5 +/- 1.3% at 24 h in EL4 and FM3A tumors, respectively, and gradually decreased by 72 h. After exposure to 15 Gy, Trp53-positive micronuclei increased significantly in FM3A tumors compared to EL4 tumors at both 24 and 48 h (P < 0.02). The frequency of these micronuclei increased with increasing dose in FM3A tumors, and the difference between these percentages after 3 Gy and after 5, 10 and 15 Gy was significant (P < 0.02). Many apoptotic cells were observed in the radiosensitive EL4 tumor after irradiation. Death by apoptosis may be related to an early response to radiation in these tumors. The appearance of micronuclei may be an important mechanism of cell death in FM3A tumors in which no apoptosis was induced.     

Selective cytotoxicity and modulation of apoptotic signature of breast cancer cells by Pithecellobium dulce leaf extracts

We report the potent and selective cytotoxicity of the crude aqueous leaf extract from the medicinal plant, Pithecellobium dulce toward the human breast cancer cells (MCF‐7), but not the normal cells (MCF‐10A). The cytotoxicity was found to be dose and time dependent, as 300 µg/mL of the extract decreased the cell viability to 50% (IC₅₀) in 48 h. The induction of apoptosis in the breast cancer cells after treatment was confirmed by significant percentage (24.7%), of early apoptotic cells (AnnexinV ⁺Propidium Iodide^_) in treated cells as compared to control cells (3.5%). We observed a significant upregulation in the mRNA expression of various pro‐apoptotic gene such as Bax (21.1 folds), p21(14.4 folds), p53 (11.7 folds), TNF (10.2 folds) and fas (6.3 folds) after treatment as compared to untreated cells. On the other hand, the relative mRNA expression of anti‐apoptotic genes such as Bcl‐2, NF‐KB and Cdk was reduced. The selective upregulation of pro‐apoptotic gene and down regulation of specific anti‐apoptotic genes could be the inducing factor for apoptotic cell death in MCF‐7 cells after treatment with the herbal extract. We believe that our findings provide a foundation for further studies on this formulation as a potential therapeutic candidate for breast cancer. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:756–766, 2016     

A novel microRNA mmu-miR-466h affects apoptosis regulation in mammalian cells

This study determined the changes in microRNA (miRs) expression in mammalian Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells undergoing apoptosis induced by exposing the cells to nutrient-depleted media. The apoptosis onset was confirmed by reduced cell viability and Caspase-3/7 activation. Microarray comparison of known mouse and rat miRs in CHO cells exposed to fresh or depleted media revealed up-regulation of the mouse miR-297-669 cluster in CHO cells subjected to depleted media. The mmu-miR-466h was chosen for further analysis as the member of this cluster with the highest overexpression and its up-regulation in depleted media was confirmed with qRT-PCR. Since miRs suppress mRNA translation, we hypothesized that up-regulated mmu-miR-466h inhibits anti-apoptotic genes and induces apoptosis. A combination of bioinformatics and experimental tools was used to predict and verify mmu-miR-466h anti-apoptotic targets. 8708 predicted targets were obtained from miRecords database and narrowed to 38 anti-apoptotic genes with DAVID NCBI annotation tool. Several genes were selected from this anti-apoptotic subset based on nucleotide pairing complimentarity between the mmu-miR-466h seed region and 3' UTR of the target mRNAs. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed reduced mRNA levels of bcl2l2, dad1, birc6, stat5a, and smo genes in CHO cells exposed to depleted media. The inhibition of the mmu-miR-466h increased the expression levels of those genes and resulted in increased cell viability and decreased Caspase-3/7 activation. The up-regulation of mmu-miR-466h in response to nutrients depletion causes the inhibition of several anti-apoptotic genes in unison. This suggests the pro-apoptotic role of mmu-miR-466h and its capability to modulate the apoptotic pathway in mammalian cells.     

A novel p53 rescue compound induces p53-dependent growth arrest and sensitises glioma cells to Apo2L/TRAIL-induced apoptosis

Reactivation of mutant p53 in tumours is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. Here we characterise the novel p53 rescue compound P53R3 that restores sequence-specific DNA binding of the endogenously expressed p53(R175H) and p53(R273H) mutants in gel-shift assays. Overexpression of the paradigmatic p53 mutants p53(R175H), p53(R248W) and p53(R273H) in the p53 null glioma cell line LN-308 reveals that P53R3 induces p53-dependent antiproliferative effects with much higher specificity and over a wider range of concentrations than the previously described p53 rescue drug p53 reactivation and induction of massive apoptosis (PRIMA-1). Furthermore, P53R3 enhances recruitment of endogenous p53 to several target promoters in glioma cells bearing mutant (T98G) and wild-type (LNT-229) p53 and induces mRNA expression of numerous p53 target genes in a p53-dependent manner. Interestingly, P53R3 strongly enhances the mRNA, total protein and cell surface expression of the death receptor death receptor 5 (DR5) whereas CD95 and TNF receptor 1 levels are unaffected. Accordingly, P53R3 does not sensitise for CD95 ligand- or tumour necrosis factor alpha-induced cell death, but displays synergy with Apo2L.0 in 9 of 12 glioma cell lines. Both DR5 surface induction and synergy with Apo2L.0 are sensitive to siRNA-mediated downregulation of p53. Thus this new p53 rescue compound may open up novel perspectives for the treatment of cancers currently considered resistant to the therapeutic induction of apoptosis.     

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) induced apoptosis in gastric cancer cell lines: role of the p53 gene

We examined chemosensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in four human gastric cancer cell lines, by analyzing the expression of p53 and its related genes. Treatment with 1mM 5-FU induced variable degrees of apoptosis in the cultured cells. The apoptotic indices 72 h after treatment were approximately 14% in MKN-74 (wild-type p53 gene), 12% in MKN-45 (wild-type), 3% in MKN-28 (mutated) and 0.5% in KATO-III cells (deleted), respectively. On the other hand, 50 M 5-FU had little effect on the induction of apoptosis in MKN-74 cells, the value being approximately 2% after 72 h. Induction of P53 expression was noted 3 h after initiating the treatment, followed by the induction of P21/Waf1 after 6 h in both MKN-74 and MKN-45 cells. The same expression mode was noted in MKN-74 treated with 50 M 5-FU. Conversely, the level of P53 expression was constant in MKN-28 cells and absent in KATO-III cells, in which P21/Waf1 had never been induced. The Bax/Bcl-2 expression ratio was gradually elevated for up to 72 h in MKN-74 and MKN-45 cells treated with 1mM 5-FU; in contrast, it was unchanged in MKN-28 and KATO-III cells, and MKN-74 treated with 50 M 5-FU. These results might indicate that (1) 1mM 5-FU induces apoptosis in cultured gastric cancer cells carrying the wild-type p53 gene, but not those carrying the mutated type or a gene deletion, and (2) the elevated Bax/Bcl-2 expression ratio plays a more crucial role than the higher expression of P21/Waf1 in the induction of p53- gene dependent apoptosis.     

Manganese-induced apoptosis in rat myocytes

Manganese can be toxic to the heart, causing dysfunction following long exposure. In our experiments, we examined the cytotoxicity of manganese in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM) by MTT assays in vitro. Results showed that after incubation in the different concentrations of manganese for 24 h, apparent cytotoxicity was observed. At 500, 1000, and 1500 2 microM of manganese, the percentage of cell viability dropped to 82% +/- 6.13, 78% +/- 5.28, and 66% +/- 4.22, respectively. When cells were treated for 48 h, all concentrations tested exerted toxic effect; especially from 500 to 1500 microM the cell viability dropped from 67% +/- 4.84 to 37% +/- 3.25. Apoptosis in NRVM was then examined by flow cytometry. Results showed that the percentage of apoptotic cells treated with 500 microM of manganese for 24 h increased from 4% +/- 0.84 to 7% +/- 1.16. After 48 h of incubation, this percentage increased to 11% +/- 0.91. There was no significant difference between control groups (0 microM manganese) after 24 and 48 h incubation. The morphological changes of NRVM nuclei were visualized with the fluorescent DNA-binding dye Hoechst33342 after incubation in 500 microM of manganese for 48 h. Compared with normal nuclei, apoptotic nuclei showed the typical features of fragmentation and condensation. To investigate whether there are any apoptotic gene expression changes during apoptosis, we examined the expression level of Bcl-2, Bax, and P53 mRNAs after treatment with 500 microM of manganese for 48 h. The Bcl-2 mRNA expression decreased while the expression of Bax as well as P53 mRNAs increased. These results suggested that manganese cytotoxicity on NRVM could induce apoptosis in NRVM cells. The apoptosis process might involve, and be promoted by, the changes of the expression levels of P53, Bcl-2, and Bax proteins.