Combination Treatment with Resveratrol and Sulforaphane Induces Apoptosis in Human U251 Glioma Cells

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound highly enriched in grapes, peanuts, red wine, and a variety of food sources. Sulforaphane belongs to the family of isothiocyanates and is highly enriched in cruciferous vegetables. Our previous study showed that resveratrol, when used at high concentrations, inhibited cell proliferation, caused the cell cycle arrest and induced apoptotic cell death in glioma cells. In the current study, we tested the effect of combination treatment with resveratrol and sulforaphane, when both were used at low concentrations, on cell proliferation, migration and death in human U251 glioma cells. Our study shows that combination treatment with resveratrol and sulforaphane inhibits cell proliferation and migration, reduces cell viability, induces lactate dehydrogenase release, decreases pro-survival Akt phosphorylation and increases caspase-3 activation. The use of combination of bioactive food components, such as resveratrol and sulforaphane, may be a viable approach for the treatment of glioma.     

Human Cytomegalovirus Gene Expression in Long-Term Infected Glioma Stem Cells

The most common adult primary brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM), is characterized by fifteen months median patient survival and has no clear etiology. We and others have identified the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) gene products endogenously expressed in GBM tissue and primary cells, with a subset of viral genes being consistently expressed in most samples. Among these viral genes, several have important oncomodulatory properties, regulating tumor stemness, proliferation, immune evasion, invasion and angiogenesis. These findings lead us to hypothesize that a specific HCMV gene signature may be associated with GBM pathogenesis. To investigate this hypothesis, we used glioma cell lines and primary glioma stem-like cells (GSC) infected with clinical and laboratory HCMV strains and measured relative viral gene expression levels along several time points up to 15 weeks post-infection. While HCMV gene expression was detected in several infected glioma lines through week 5 post-infection, only HCMV-infected GSC expressed viral gene products 15 weeks post-infection. Efficiency of infection across time was higher in GSC compared to cell lines. Importantly, HCMV-infected GSC outlived their uninfected counterparts, and this extended survival was paralleled by increased tumorsphere frequency and upregulation of stemness regulators, such as SOX2, p-STAT3, and BMX (a novel HCMV target identified in this study). Interleukin 6 (IL-6) treatment significantly upregulated HCMV gene expression in long-term infected glioma cultures, suggesting that pro-inflammatory signaling in the tumor milieu may further augment HCMV gene expression and subsequent tumor progression driven by viral-induced cellular signaling. Together, our data support a critical role for long-term, low-level HCMV infection in promoting survival, stemness, and proliferation of GSC that could significantly contribute to GBM pathogenesis.     

QKI-7 Regulates Expression of Interferon-Related Genes in Human Astrocyte Glioma Cells

Background

The human QKI gene, called quaking homolog, KH domain RNA binding (mouse), is a candidate gene for schizophrenia encoding an RNA-binding protein. This gene was shown to be essential for myelination in oligodendrocytes. QKI is also highly expressed in astrocytes, but its function in these cells is not known.

Methods/Principal Findings

We studied the effect of small interference RNA (siRNA)-mediated QKI depletion on global gene expression in human astrocyte glioma cells. Microarray measurements were confirmed with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The presence of QKI binding sites (QRE) was assessed by a bioinformatic approach. Viability and cell morphology were also studied. The most significant alteration after QKI silencing was the decreased expression of genes involved in interferon (IFN) induction (P = 6.3E-10), including IFIT1, IFIT2, MX1, MX2, G1P2, G1P3, GBP1 and IFIH1. All eight genes were down-regulated after silencing of the splice variant QKI-7, but were not affected by QKI-5 silencing. Interestingly, four of them were up-regulated after treatment with the antipsychotic agent haloperidol that also resulted in increased QKI-7 mRNA levels.

Conclusions/Significance

The coordinated expression of QKI-7 splice variant and IFN-related genes supports the idea that this particular splice variant has specific functions in astrocytes. Furthermore, a role of QKI-7 as a regulator of an inflammatory gene pathway in astrocytes is suggested. This hypothesis is well in line with growing experimental evidence on the role of inflammatory components in schizophrenia.     

siRNA表达载体对SW480细胞原癌基因Pokemon的抑制

观察siRNA表达载体对SW480细胞中Pokemon原癌基因的抑制效应,为进一步研究该基因的功能奠定基础。构建针对Pokemon基因的RNAi质粒表达载体,脂质体法转染人结直肠癌SW480细胞系,观察转染效率及细胞表型变化。稳定转染后,实时荧光定量PCR和Western blot检测SW480细胞中Pokemon mRNA及蛋白质的表达情况;MTT法检测siRNA对SW480细胞恶性增殖的影响;流式细胞仪分析细胞凋亡改变。镜下观察阳性转染率约36%,转染表达载体后细胞形态发生了显著变化;Pokemon mRNA及蛋白质的表达受到明显抑制：与阴性对照组相比,表达质粒产生的siRNA对Pokemon mRNA的抑制率在转染后24 h和48 h分别为34.2%和67.7%;对蛋白的抑制率在48 h和72 h分别为48.3%和73.6%。MTT法检测细胞生长曲线表明Pokemon抑制可使SW480细胞生长速度明显减慢;流式细胞仪分析显示转染Pokemon siRNA表达质粒后SW480细胞凋亡增加。构建的RNAi表达载体可以有效抑制SW480细胞中Pokemon基因的表达,并对SW480细胞的生长具有明显抑制及诱导凋亡作用。     

HSV-1感染对神经胶质瘤细胞神经生长因子及其受体表达的影响

神经生长因子(NGF)主要由神经胶质细胞产生,通过特异的靶细胞表面的神经生长因子受体介导产生生物学效应,与神经细胞的生长发育、分化和凋亡等密切相关。单纯疱疹病毒1型(HSV-1)作为一种嗜神经病毒,易造成神经细胞、神经胶质细胞凋亡或死亡。本实验以U251人神经胶质瘤细胞为研究对象,观察HSV-1感染致U251细胞凋亡的过程中NGF及其受体的变化情况。结果发现U251细胞是HSV-1的容许细胞;HSV-1感染致U251细胞凋亡过程中,NGF及其低亲和力受体p75NTR出现表达强度随时间先增强后减弱的趋势,而高亲和受体Tr-kA持续低表达。推测HSV-1感染致神经细胞凋亡中可能调控了神经营养因子的表达。     

Ceramide Induces Non-Apoptotic Cell Death in Human Glioma Cells

Ceramide causes either apoptosis or non-apoptotic cell death depending on model system and experimental conditions. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of ceramide on cell viability and its molecular events leading to cell death in A172 human glioma cells. Ceramide induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner and the cell death was dependent on generation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation. TUNEL assay, Hoechst 33258 staining, and flow cytometric analysis did not show typical apoptotic morphological features. Ceramide caused phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38, but the cell death was not affected by inhibitors of MAPK subfamilies. Ceramide caused ATP depletion without loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Ceramide did not induce caspase activation and ceramide-induced cell death was also not altered by inhibitors of caspase activation. Transfection of dominant inhibitory mutant of IκBα (S32A/36A) and pretreatment of pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate, an inhibitor of NF-κB, enhanced ceramide-induced cell death. These results indicate that ceramide causes non-apoptotic, caspase-independent cell death by inducing reactive oxygen species generation in A172 human glioma cells. NF-κB is involved in the regulation of ceramide-induced cell death in human glioma cells.     

Downregulation of Survivin Gene Expression Affects Ionizing Radiation Resistance of Human T98 Glioma Cells

Survivin is a tumor-associated gene, which has been detected in a wide variety of human tumors. Previous research has shown that Survivin can affect hepatoma carcinoma cell radiosensitivity. However, little is known about the role of Survivin in ionizing radiation resistance in glioma cells. In this study, we aimed to identify the effects of Survivin on ionizing radiation resistance in glioma cell line T98. Our results showed that downregulation of Survivin gene expression and ionizing irradiation could both inhibit T98 cell proliferation by assays in vitro including CCK-8 and immunohistochemistry. The inhibitory effect of downregulation of Survivin combined with irradiation was the most significant compared with other groups. Results of Western blotting and flow cytometric analysis also showed that downregulation of Survivin combined with the irradiation group achieved the highest apoptosis rate. Experimental results in vivo by intracranial implanting into nude mice were consistent with those in vitro. These findings indicated that ionizing radiation resistance of human T98 glioma cells can be inhibited effectively after Survivin gene silencing.     

Underlying Mechanism of Quercetin-induced Cell Death in Human Glioma Cells

There has been considerable interest in recent years in the anti-tumor activities of flavonoids. Quercetin, a ubiquitous bioactive flavonoid, can inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells. However, the precise molecular mechanism by which quercetin induces apoptosis in cancer cells is poorly understood. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of quercetin on cell viability and to determine its underlying mechanism in human glioma cells. Quercetin resulted in loss of cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner and the decrease in cell viability was mainly attributed to cell death. Quercetin did not increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the quercetin-induced cell death was also not affected by antioxidants, suggesting that ROS generation is not involved in loss of cell viability. Western blot analysis showed that quercetin treatment caused rapid reduction in phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt. Transient transfection with constitutively active forms of MEK and Akt protected against the quercetin-induced loss of cell viability. Quercetin-induced depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential. Caspase activity was stimulated by quercetin and caspase inhibitors prevented the quercetin-induced loss of cell viability. Quercetin resulted in a decrease in expression of survivin, antiapoptotic proteins. Taken together, these findings suggest that quercetin results in human glioma cell death through caspase-dependent mechanisms involving down-regulation of ERK, Akt, and survivin.     

Expression of Tumor-Associated Macrophage in Progression of Human Glioma

The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) M1, M2 phenotypic in human glioma tissues, and to explore the clinical significance and prognostic value of TAMs in glioma patients. A total of 50 glioma samples were obtained from patients diagnosed in our hospital from 2007 to 2010. Clinical follow-up was conducted via return visits and telephone interviews after discharge. Progression free survival (PFS) was calculated based on tumor progression by MRI and CT examination from the primary operation. Overall survival (OS) time was calculated from the initial surgical operation date to end date of follow-up or death. Kaplan–Meier methodology was used to evaluate the survival of patients and log-rank test for comparing differences between groups. The expression levels of CD16 and CD206 were investigated in the 4 μm serial paraffin sections by immunohistochemistry. M1-type macrophages filtrated in all the grades of glioma samples, and the lower expression level was associated with high grade glioma. A negative correlation was found between WHO pathological grades and the expression of M1-type macrophages by Spearman correlation analysis. M2-type macrophages filtrated in all the grades of glioma samples with the higher expression level associated with high grade glioma. A positive correlation was found between WHO pathological grades and the expression of M2-type macrophages by Spearman correlation analysis. The PFS and OS among patients with high levels of M1-type macrophages (CD16+++) were significantly higher than those with less expression. The PFS and OS among patients with high levels of M2-type macrophages (CD206+++) were significantly lower than those with low expression. M1-type macrophages may inhibit the tumor growth and improve the therapeutic outcome of glioma patients. M2 ratios are associated with tumor proliferation and poor prognosis. TAMs phenotypes of glioma samples are the potential biomarkers in assessing the degree of malignancy, tumor invasion, and patient prognosis in clinic.     

蛇床子素对人胶质瘤U251细胞抗增殖作用的研究

目的:研究蛇床子素对人胶质瘤U251细胞的抗增殖作用和可能的机制.方法:不同浓度蛇床子素处理U251细胞后,MTT法检测细胞活力,流式细胞法检测细胞周期和凋亡情况.结果:①蛇床子素显著抑制U251细胞的增殖.②蛇床子素诱导U251细胞发生G2/M期阻滞和凋亡.③蛇床子素处理后的U251细胞PI3K/Akt信号通路活性受到明显抑制.结论:蛇床子素通过抑制PI3K/Akt信号通路抑制人胶质瘤U251细胞的增殖.     

Current Transients Associated with BK Channels in Human Glioma Cells

We have previously demonstrated the expression of BK channels in human glioma cells. There was a curious feature to the whole-cell currents of glioma cells seen during whole-cell patch-clamp: large, outward current transients accompanied repolarization of the cell membrane following an activating voltage step. This transient current, I _transient, activated and inactivated rapidly (1 ms). The I-V relationship of I _transient had features that were inconsistent with simple ionic current through open ion channels: (i) I _transient amplitude peaked with a –80 mV voltage change and was invariant over a 200 mV range, and (ii) I _transient remained large and outward at –140 mV. We provide evidence for a direct relationship of I _transient to glioma BK currents. They had an identical time course of activation, identical pharmacology, identical voltage-dependence, and small, random variations in the amplitude of the steady-state BK current and I _transient seen over time were often perfectly in phase. Substituting intracellular K⁺ with Cs⁺, Li⁺, or Na ⁺ ions reversibly reduced I _transient and BK currents. I _transient was not observed in recordings of other BK currents (hbr5 expressed in HEK cells and BK currents in rat neurons), suggesting I _transient is unique to BK currents in human glioma cells. We conclude that I _transient is generated by a mechanism related to the deactivation, and level of prior activation, of glioma BK channels. To account for these findings we propose that K⁺ ions are trapped within glioma BK channels during deactivation and are forced to exit to the extracellular side in a manner independent of membrane potential.     

人Pokemon蛋白锌指结构域的表达与纯化

旨在原核表达Pokemon基因的锌指结构域,纯化获得GST-Zinc finger的融合蛋白。以人胶质瘤T98G细胞的c DNA为模板,利用PCR扩增带有Bam H I和Sal I酶切位点的人Pokemon基因的锌指结构域,然后将其克隆到p GEX-4T-1原核表达载体中。将正确的重组载体转入大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),用IPTG诱导表达,再利用Magne GST particles亲和纯化Zinc finger融合蛋白,最后通过Western blot鉴定此融合蛋白。结果显示,成功构建p GEX-4T-1-Zinc finger原核表达载体;30℃条件下,0.2 mmol/L的IPTG能诱导出大量的可溶性GST-Zinc finger蛋白;经Magne GST particles纯化的GST-Zinc finger蛋白可被识别Pokemon锌指结构域的抗体特异识别。纯化的GST-Zinc finger蛋白可用于后续的生物学研究。     

海星皂甙1对人胶质瘤U87细胞抗增殖作用的研究

目的:海星皂甙是一类从海星中分离、萃取出来的甾体苷类,被认为是海星体内毒素的主要成分.研究表明海星皂甙及其化学衍生物具有多种药理学活性,包括抗菌、抗病毒、抗肿瘤、抑制真菌活性等.本实验旨在研究海星皂甙1对人胶质瘤U87细胞的抗增殖作用和可能的机制.方法:不同浓度海星皂甙l处理人胶质瘤U87细胞后,采用MTT法检测细胞活力,TUNEL染色观察细胞凋亡情况,Westernblot检测内质网应激相关凋亡分子的活性.结果:①海星皂甙1显著抑制U87细胞的增殖,呈时间与剂量依赖性.②海星皂甙1诱导U87细胞发生凋亡.③海星皂甙1处理后U87细胞内质网相关凋亡分子活性明显增高.结论:海星皂甙1通过诱导细胞凋亡抑制人胶质瘤U87细胞的增殖,这种抗增殖作用可能是通过激活内质网应激相关凋亡分子实现的.