Protein Degradation and Apoptotic Death in Lymphocytes during Fiv Infection: Activation of the Ubiquitin–Proteasome Proteolytic System

The movement of a cell through the sequential phases of apoptosis is accompanied by a progressive decrease in cell size with loss in protein mass. In lymphocytes from Hiv-infected persons, protein loss during apoptosis is due to increased protein degradation rather than decreased synthesis. To identify and characterize the proteolytic enzymes or enzyme systems involved in this process, we studied several features of protein turnover in lymphocytes from peripheral blood and lymph nodes during the natural and experimental infection by feline immunodeficiency virus (Fiv). This animal model allowed us to integratein vivoresults within vitroobservations of protein damage. Here we report that protein breakdown in apoptotic cells is concomitant with the activation of the ATP and ubiquitin-dependent multicatalytic system (proteasome). We suggest that proteasome activation is part of the proteolytic cascade in the execution phases of apoptosis in AIDS.     

Proteasomes play an essential role in thymocyte apoptosis.

Cell death in many different organisms requires the activation of proteolytic cascades involving cytosolic proteases. Here we describe a novel requirement in thymocyte cell death for the 20S proteasome, a highly conserved multicatalytic protease found in all eukaryotes. Specific inhibitors of proteasome function blocked cell death induced by ionizing radiation, glucocorticoids or phorbol ester. In addition to inhibiting apoptosis, these signals prevented the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase that accompanies many cell deaths. Since overall rates of protein degradation were not altered significantly during cell death in thymocytes, these results suggest that the proteasome may either degrade regulatory protein(s) that normally inhibit the apoptotic pathway or may proteolytically activate protein(s) than promote cell death.     

Salinomycin induces apoptosis and overcomes apoptosis resistance in human cancer cells

Salinomycin is a polyether antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces albus that acts in different biological membranes as a ionophore with a preference for potassium. It is widely used as an anticoccidial drug in poultry and is fed to ruminants to improve nutrient absorption and feed efficiency. Salinomycin has recently been shown to selectively deplete human breast cancer stem cells from tumorspheres and to inhibit breast cancer growth and metastasis in mice. We show here that salinomycin induces massive apoptosis in human cancer cells of different origin, but not in normal cells such as human T lymphocytes. Moreover, salinomycin is able to induce apoptosis in cancer cells that exhibit resistance to apoptosis and anticancer agents by overexpression of Bcl-2, P-glycoprotein or 26S proteasomes with enhanced proteolytic activity. Salinomycin activates a distinct apoptotic pathway that is not accompanied by cell cycle arrest and that is independent of tumor suppressor protein p53, caspase activation, the CD95/CD95L system and the proteasome. Thus, salinomycin should be considered as a novel and effective anticancer agent that overcomes multiple mechanisms of apoptosis resistance in human cancer cells.     

Progressively impaired proteasomal capacity during terminal plasma cell differentiation

After few days of intense immunoglobulin (Ig) secretion, most plasma cells undergo apoptosis, thus ending the humoral immune response. We asked whether intrinsic factors link plasma cell lifespan to Ig secretion. Here we show that in the late phases of plasmacytic differentiation, when antibody production becomes maximal, proteasomal activity decreases. The excessive load for the reduced proteolytic capacity correlates with accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins, stabilization of endogenous proteasomal substrates (including Xbp1s, IkappaBalpha, and Bax), onset of apoptosis, and sensitization to proteasome inhibitors (PI). These events can be reproduced by expressing Ig-mu chain in nonlymphoid cells. Our results suggest that a developmental program links plasma cell death to protein production, and help explaining the peculiar sensitivity of normal and malignant plasma cells to PI.     

Proteasome activation as a critical event of thymocyte apoptosis

Caspase activation may occur in a direct fashion as a result of CD95 death receptor crosslinking (exogenous pathway) or may be triggered indirectly, via a Bcl-2 inhibitable mitochondrial permeabilization event (endogenous pathway). Thymocyte apoptosis is generally accompanied by proteasome activation. If death is induced by DNA damage, inactivation of p53, overexpression of a Bcl-2 transgene, inhibition of protein synthesis, and antioxidants (N-acetylcyteine, catalase) prevent proteasome activation. Glucocorticoid-induced proteasome activation follows a similar pattern of inhibition except for p53. Caspase inhibition fails to affect proteasome activation induced by topoisomerase inhibition or glucocorticoid receptor ligation. In contrast, caspase activation (but not p53 knockout or Bcl-2 overexpression) does interfere with proteasome activation induced by CD95. Specific inhibition of proteasomes with lactacystin or MG123 blocks caspase activation at a pre-mitochondrial level if thymocyte apoptosis is induced by DNA damage or glucocorticoids. In strict contrast, proteasome inhibition has no inhibitory effect on the mitochondrial and nuclear phases of apoptosis induced via CD95. Thus, proteasome activation is a critical event of thymocyte apoptosis stimulated via the endogenous pathway yet dispensable for CD95-triggered death.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress contributes to the cell death induced by UCH-L1 inhibitor

At the neuropathological level, Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins, which can trigger the unfolded protein response (UPR). UCH-L1 is a component of ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). It is reported that the loss of its function will impair ubiquitin proteasome system and cause toxicity to cells. But its mechanism has not been illustrated. In this study, we detected the protein expression of Bip/Grp78 and the spliced form of XBP-1 to examine the activation of unfolded protein response after SK-N-SH cells being treated with LDN-57444, a UCH-L1 inhibitor which could inhibit UCH-L1 hydrolase activity. Our data showed that UCH-L1 inhibitor was able to cause cell death through the apoptosis pathway by decreasing the activity of ubiquitin proteasome system and increasing the levels of highly ubiquitinated proteins, both of which can activate unfolded protein response. There is a lot of evidence that unfolded protein response is activated as a protective response at the early stage of the stress; this protective response can switch to a pro-apoptotic response when the stress persists. In this study, we demonstrated this switch by detecting the upregulation of CHOP/Gadd153. Taken together, our data indicated that the apoptosis induced by UCH-L1 inhibitor may be triggered by the activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). Moreover, we provide a new cell model for studying the roles of UCH-L1 in Parkinson's disease.     

Differential involvement of initiator caspases in apoptotic volume decrease and potassium efflux during Fas- and UV-induced cell death.

Caspase activation and apoptotic volume decrease are fundamental features of programmed cell death; however, the relationship between these components is not well understood. Here we provide biochemical and genetic evidence for the differential involvement of initiator caspases in the apoptotic volume decrease during both intrinsic and extrinsic activation of apoptosis. Apoptosis induction in Jurkat T lymphocytes by Fas receptor engagement (intrinsic) or ultraviolet (UV)-C radiation (extrinsic) triggered the loss of cell volume, which was restricted to cells with diminished intracellular K(+) ions. These characteristics kinetically coincided with the proteolytic processing and activation of both initiator and effector caspases. Although the polycaspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp fluoromethyl ketone completely inhibited the Fas-mediated apoptotic volume decrease and K(+) efflux, it was much less effective in preventing these processes during UV-induced cell death under conditions whereby caspase activities and DNA degradation were blocked. To define the roles of specific initiator caspases, we utilized Jurkat cells genetically deficient in caspase-8 or stably transfected with a dominant-negative mutant of caspase-9. The results show that the activation of caspase-8, but not caspase-9, is necessary for Fas-induced apoptosis. Conversely, caspase-9, but not caspase-8, is important for UV-mediated shrunken morphology and apoptosis progression. Together, these findings indicate that cell shrinkage and K(+) efflux during apoptosis are tightly coupled, but are differentially regulated by either caspase-8 or caspase-9 depending on specific pathways of cell death.     

Proteasome inhibition activates the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis in human CD4+ T cells

We have previously shown that inhibition of the proteolytic activity of the proteasome induces apoptosis and suppresses essential functions of activated human CD4⁺ T cells, and we report now the detailed mechanisms of apoptosis following proteasome inhibition in these cells. Here we show that proteasome inhibition by bortezomib activates the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis in activated CD4⁺ T cells by disrupting the equilibrium of pro‐apoptotic and anti‐apoptotic proteins at the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) and by inducing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Proteasome inhibition leads to accumulation of pro‐apoptotic proteins PUMA, Noxa, Bim and p53 at the OMM. This event provokes mitochondrial translocation of activated Bax and Bak homodimers, which induce loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Breakdown of ΔΨm is followed by rapid release of pro‐apoptotic Smac/DIABLO and HtrA2 from mitochondria, whereas release of cytochrome c and AIF is delayed. Cytoplasmic Smac/DIABLO and HtrA2 antagonize IAP‐mediated inhibition of partially activated caspases, leading to premature activation of caspase‐3 followed by activation of caspase‐9. Our data show that proteasome inhibition triggers the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis by activating mutually independent apoptotic pathways. These results provide novel insights into the mechanisms of apoptosis induced by proteasome inhibition in activated T cells and underscore the future use of proteasome inhibitors for immunosuppression. J. Cell. Biochem. 108: 935–946, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Proteasome inhibition drastically but reversibly impairs murine lymphocyte development

The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, which induces cell death in various cancer cell lines including lymphatic neoplasias, has recently been approved for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma. Important mechanisms of proteasome inhibitor-mediated tumor cell death are the inhibition of NF-kappaB activation and induction of the terminal unfolded protein response (UPR). However, little is known about effects of bortezomib on developing and mature lymphocytes. Therefore, Balb/C mice were injected with bortezomib and lymphocyte subsets were analyzed. This treatment resulted in dramatically decreased numbers of T and B lymphocyte precursors, while mature lymphocytes were only partially affected. Thymocytes were almost depleted 3 days after a single bortezomib injection, pro-B and pre-B cells already after 2 days. Thymocytes and B cell precursors recovered within 2 weeks. The decreased numbers of developing lymphocytes were due to apoptotic cell death accompanied by strongly increased caspase 3/7 activity. Within 8 h after bortezomib injection, there was a strong induction of heat shock protein 70 and C/EBP homologous protein in bone marrow B cells, indicating endoplasmic reticulum stress and activation of the terminal UPR, respectively. Hence, induction of apoptosis by proteasome inhibition can dramatically affect lymphocyte development, a fact which has important implications for the clinical use of bortezomib, especially in situations with ongoing lymphopoiesis.     

Ciliary neurotrophic factor upregulates ubiquitin-proteasome components in a rat model of neuronal injury

Neuronal injury triggers the release of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), promoting local neuronal repair but producing systemic effects of anorexia and lean body weight loss. Due to the rapid rate of systemic protein loss stimulated by CNTF, we hypothesized involvement of the hepatic ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic (UPP) pathway in CNTF-induced proteolysis. To assess the role of central CNTF in systemic UPP regulation, we measured hepatic UPP mRNA and proteasome activity in a rat model of neuronal injury and determined alterations induced by intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of CNTF-neutralizing antibody or additional exogenous CNTF. We also assessed proteolytic parameters and nutritional status by measuring caloric intake, body weight, and protein levels. We produced neuronal injury by implanting a lateral ventricle cannula and giving daily ICV saline bolus injections, which increased hepatic 20S proteasome mRNA and enzymatic activity while reducing caloric intake, body weight, and protein levels compared to controls. Administration of ICV anti-CNTF antibodies (but not control antibodies) prevented these effects. Addition of exogenous CNTF augmented the weight loss along with the increases in 20S proteasome mRNA and proteolytic activity induced by neuronal injury. We conclude that CNTF decreases lean body weight through a combination of appetite inhibition and UPP pathway activation.     

Activation of PERK kinase in neural cells by proteasome inhibitor treatment

Inhibition of the proteasome proteolytic pathway occurs as the result of normal aging, as well as in a variety of neurodegenerative conditions, and is believed to promote cellular toxicity in each of these conditions through diverse mechanisms. In the present study, we examined whether proteasome inhibition alters the protein kinase receptor-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK). Our studies demonstrate that proteasome inhibitors induce the transient activation of PERK in both primary rat neurons as well as the N2a neural cell line. Experiments with siRNA to PERK demonstrated that the modulation of PERK was not significant involved in regulating toxicity, ubiquitinated protein levels, or ribosome perturbations in response to proteasome inhibitor treatment. Surprisingly, PERK was observed to be involved in the up-regulation of p38 kinase following proteasome inhibitor treatment. Taken together, these data demonstrate the ability of proteasome inhibition to activate PERK and demonstrate evidence for novel cross-talk between PERK and the activation of p38 kinase in neural cells following proteasome inhibition. Taken together, these data have implications for understanding the basis by which proteasome inhibition alters neural homeostasis, and the basis by which cell signaling cascades are regulated by proteasome inhibition.     

The endoplasmic reticulum chaperone glycoprotein GRP94 with Ca(2+)-binding and antiapoptotic properties is a novel proteolytic target of calpain during etoposide-induced apoptosis.

GRP94 is a 94-kDa chaperone glycoprotein with Ca(2+)-binding properties. We report here that during apoptosis induced by the topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide, a fraction of GRP94 associated with the endoplasmic reticulum membrane undergoes specific proteolytic cleavage, coinciding with the activation of the caspase CPP32 and initiation of DNA fragmentation. In vivo, inhibitors of caspases able to block etoposide-induced apoptosis can only partially protect GRP94 from proteolytic cleavage, whereas complete inhibition is observed with calpain inhibitor I but not with the proteasome inhibitor. In vitro, GRP94 is not a substrate for CPP32; rather, it can be completely cleaved by calpain, a Ca(2+)-regulated protease. The cleavage of GRP94 by calpain is Ca(2+)-dependent and generates a discrete polypeptide of 80 kDa. In contrast, calpain has no effect on other stress proteins such as GRP78 or HSP70. Further, immunohistochemical staining reveals specific co-localization of GRP94 with calpain in the perinuclear region following etoposide treatment. We further showed that reduction of GRP94 by antisense decreased cell viability in etoposide-treated Jurkat cells. Our studies provide new evidence that the cytoprotective GRP94, as in the case of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, can be targets of proteolytic cleavage themselves during the apoptotic process.     

Persistent mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress hinder neuronal cell recovery from reversible proteasome inhibition

Oxidative stress, proteasome impairment and mitochondrial dysfunction are implicated as contributors to ageing and neurodegeneration. Using mouse neuronal cells, we showed previously that the reversible proteasome inhibitor, [N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Ile-Glu (O-t-bytul)-Ala-leucinal; (PSI)] induced excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) that mediated mitochondrial damage and a caspase-independent cell death. Herein, we examined whether this insult persists in neuronal cells recovering from inhibitor removal over time. Recovery from proteasome inhibition showed a time and dose-dependent cell death that was accompanied by ROS overproduction, caspase activation and mitochondrial membrane permeabilization with the subcellular relocalizations of the proapoptotic proteins, Bax, cytochrome c and the apoptosis inducing factor (AIF). Caspase inhibition failed to promote survival indicating that cell death was caspase-independent. Treatments with the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) were needed to promote survival in cell recovering from mild proteasome inhibition while overexpression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL together with NAC attenuated cell death during recovery from potent inhibition. Whereas inhibitor removal increased proteasome function, cells recovering from potent proteasome inhibition showed excessive levels of ubiquitinated proteins that required the presence of NAC for their removal. Collectively, these results suggest that the oxidative stress and mitochondrial inhibition induced by proteasome inhibition persists to influence neuronal cell survival when proteasome function is restored. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Increased expression and altered subunit composition of proteasomes induced by continuous proteasome inhibition establish apoptosis resistance and hyperproliferation of Burkitt lymphoma cells

The proteasome is the main protease for extralysosomal protein degradation in eukaryotic cells, and constitutes a sophisticated high molecular mass proteinase complex underlying a tightly coordinated expression and assembly of multiple subunits and subcomplexes. Here we show that continuous inhibition of proteasomal chymotrypsin-like peptidase activity by the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib induces in human Namalwa Burkitt lymphoma cells increased de novo biogenesis of proteasomes accompanied by increased expression of the proteasome maturation protein POMP, increased expression of 19S-20S-19S proteasomes, and abrogation of expression of beta 1i, beta 2i and beta 5i immunosubunits and PA28 in favor of increased expression of constitutive proteolytic beta1, beta2 and beta 5 subunits and 19S regulatory complexes. These alterations of proteasome expression and subunit composition are accompanied by an increase in proteasomal caspase-like, trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like peptidase activities, not inhibitable by high doses of bortezomib. Cells harboring these proteasomal alterations display rapid proliferation and cell cycle progression, and acquire resistance to apoptosis induced by proteasome inhibitors, gamma-irradiation and staurosporine. This acquired apoptosis resistance is accompanied by de novo expression of anti-apoptotic Hsp27 protein and the loss of ability to accumulate and stabilize pro-apoptotic p53 protein. Thus, increased expression, altered subunit composition and increased activity of proteasomes constitute a hitherto unknown adaptive and autoregulatory feedback mechanism to allow cells to survive the lethal challenge of proteasome inhibition and to establish a hyperproliferative and apoptosis-resistant phenotype.