Drug resistance and DNA repair in leukaemia

Most cytotoxic agents exert their action via damage of DNA. Therefore, the repair of such lesions is of major importance for the sensitivity of malignant cells to chemotherapeutic agents. The underlying mechanisms of various DNA repair pathways have extensively been studied in yeast, bacteria and mammalian cells. Sensitive and drug resistant cancer cell lines have provided models for analysis of the contribution of DNA repair to chemosensitivity. However, the validity of results obtained by laboratory experiments with regard to the clinical situation is limited. In both acute and chronic leukaemias, the emergence of drug resistant cells is a major cause for treatment failure. Recently, assays have become available to measure cellular DNA repair capacity in clinical specimens at the single-cell level. Application of these assays to isolated lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphatic leukaemia (CLL) revealed large interindividual differences in DNA repair rates. Accelerated O⁶-ethylguanine elimination from DNA and faster processing of repair-induced single-strand breaks were found in CLL lymphocytes from patients nonresponsive to chemotherapy with alkylating agents compared to untreated or treated sensitive patients. Moreover, modulators of DNA repair with different target mechanisms were identified which also influence the sensitivity of cancer cells to alkylating agents. In this article, we review the current knowledge about the contribution of DNA repair to drug resistance in human leukaemia. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube-induced autophagic cell death in human lung cells through Akt�CTSC2-mTOR signaling

Nanoparticles are now emerging as a novel class of autophagy activators. Functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (f-SWCNTs) are valuable nanomaterials in many industries. This article is designed to assess the autophagic response for f-SWCNTs exposure in vitro and in vivo. A few types of f-SWCNTs were screened in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells for the autophagic response and related pathways in vitro. Formation of autophagosomes and LC3-II upregulation were confirmed on the basis of electron microscopy and LC3 western blotting for COOH-CNT, but not for PABS-CNT and PEG-CNT. MTT assay showed marked increase in cell viability, when COOH-CNT was added to cells in the presence of autophagy inhibitor 3MA, ATG6 or TSC2 siRNA. Consistent with the involvement of the Akt–TSC1/2–mTOR pathway, the phosphorylation levels of mTOR, mTOR''s substrate S6 and Akt were shown significantly decreased in A549 cells on treatment with COOH-CNT using western blotting. What''s more, autophagy inhibitor 3MA significantly reduced the lung edema in vivo. In a word, COOH-CNT induced autophagic cell death in A549 cells through the AKT–TSC2–mTOR pathway and caused acute lung injury in vivo. Inhibition of autophagy significantly reduced COOH-CNT-induced autophagic cell death and ameliorated acute lung injury in mice, suggesting a potential remedy to address the growing concerns on the safety of nanomaterials.     

过表达TRAF6对人急性髓系白血病细胞自噬活性的影响

该文旨在探讨过表达肿瘤坏死因子受体相关因子6(tumor necrosis factor receptorassociated factor 6,TRAF6)对人急性髓系白血病(acute myeloid leukemia,AML)细胞自噬活性的影响。利用基因表达数据库GEO分析TRAF6在AML患者白血病细胞中的mRNA表达水平。通过癌症基因组图谱TCGA分析TRAF6表达与AML患者临床预后的关系。将TRAF6重组质粒载体转染人AML细胞系(KG-1a和THP-1),采用自噬激活剂雷帕霉素(Rapamycin)和自噬相关抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3-methyladenine,3-MA)、巴弗洛霉素A1(bafilomycin A1,Baf-A1)分别处理AML细胞。荧光定量PCR、蛋白免疫印迹技术检测过表达TRAF6后白血病细胞自噬标志物(LC3和p62)mRNA和蛋白水平;免疫荧光方法检测LC3绿色荧光斑点结构(puncta);流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡率;CCK-8实验检测AML细胞的体外增殖能力。结果显示,AML患者白血病细胞高表达TRAF6(P<0.01);TRAF6高表达的白血病患者总体生存率和无事件生存率均较TRAF6低表达组显著降低(P=0.01)。TRAF6重组质粒转染能够显著增加两株AML细胞系中TRAF6的mRNA和蛋白水平(P<0.05)。Rapamycin处理能够激活AML细胞系自噬水平,过表达TRAF6后AML细胞LC3 mRNA和LC3II蛋白水平表达上调(P<0.05)、p62 mRNA和蛋白水平下调(P<0.05)以及LC3 puncta聚集增多。用Baf-A1处理以阻断过表达TRAF6的白血病细胞系中的自噬流后,LC3II蛋白表达水平显著提高(P<0.05)。3-MA处理过表达TRAF6的白血病细胞后,LC3II蛋白表达减少、p62蛋白表达增加(P<0.05)。此外,过表达TRAF6降低白血病细胞凋亡率和促进细胞的体外增殖(P<0.001),而过表达TRAF6后联合3-MA处理则可逆转TRAF6对白血病细胞的抗凋亡和促增殖作用(P<0.001)。以上研究结果提示,过表达TRAF6能够增强AML细胞的自噬活性,促进AML细胞的生长。     

PML-RARα enhances constitutive autophagic activity through inhibiting the Akt/mTOR pathway

Autophagy is a highly conserved, closely regulated homeostatic cellular activity that allows for the bulk degradation of long-lived proteins and cytoplasmic organelles. Its roles in cancer initiation and progression and in determining the response of tumor cells to anticancer therapy are complicated, and only limited investigation has been conducted on the potential significance of autophagy in the pathogenesis and therapeutic response of acute myeloid leukemia. Here we demonstrate that the inducible or transfected expression of the acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)-specific PML-RARα, but not PLZF-RARα or NPM-RARα, fusion protein upregulates constitutive autophagy activation in leukemic and nonleukemic cells, as evaluated by hallmarks for autophagy including transmission electron microscopy. The significant increase in autophagic activity is also found in the leukemic cells-infiltrated bone marrow and spleen from PML-RARα-transplanted leukemic mice. The autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine significantly abrogates the autophagic events upregulated by PML-RARα, while the autophagic flux assay reveals that the fusion protein induces autophagy by increasing the on-rate of autophagic sequestration. Furthermore, this modulation of autophagy by PML-RARα is possibly mediated by a decreased activation of the Akt/mTOR pathway. Finally, we also show that autophagy contributes to the anti-apoptotic function of the PML-RARα protein. Given the critical role of the PML-RARα oncoprotein in APL pathogenesis, this study suggests an important role of autophagy in the development and treatment of this disease.     

cMet agonistic antibody attenuates apoptosis in ischaemia-reperfusion–induced kidney injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a very common complication with high morbidity and mortality rates and no fundamental treatment. In this study, we investigated whether the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/cMet pathway is associated with the development of AKI and how the administration of a cMet agonistic antibody (Ab) affects an AKI model. In the analysis using human blood samples, cMet and HGF levels were found to be significantly increased in the AKI group, regardless of underlying renal function. The administration of a cMet agonistic Ab improved the functional and histological changes after bilateral ischaemia-reperfusion injury. TUNEL-positive cells and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were also reduced by cMet agonistic Ab treatment. In addition, cMet agonistic Ab treatment significantly increased the levels of PI3K, Akt and mTOR. Furthermore, after 24 hours of hypoxia induction in human proximal tubular epithelial cells, treatment with the cMet agonistic Ab also showed dose-dependent antiapoptotic effects similar to those of the recombinant HGF treatment. Even when the HGF axis was blocked with a HGF-blocking Ab, the cMet agonistic Ab showed an independent dose-dependent antiapoptotic effect. In conclusion, cMet expression is associated with the occurrence of AKI. cMet agonistic Ab treatment attenuates the severity of AKI through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and improves apoptosis. cMet agonistic Ab may have important significance for the treatment of AKI.     

Agonist antibodies activating the Met receptor protect cardiomyoblasts from cobalt chloride-induced apoptosis and autophagy

Met, the tyrosine kinase receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), mainly activates prosurvival pathways, including protection from apoptosis. In this work, we investigated the cardioprotective mechanisms of Met activation by agonist monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Cobalt chloride (CoCl₂), a chemical mimetic of hypoxia, was used to induce cardiac damage in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts, which resulted in reduction of cell viability by (i) caspase-dependent apoptosis and (ii) – surprisingly – autophagy. Blocking either apoptosis with the caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-VAD-fluoromethylketone or autophagosome formation with 3-methyladenine prevented loss of cell viability, which suggests that both processes contribute to cardiomyoblast injury. Concomitant treatment with Met-activating antibodies or HGF prevented apoptosis and autophagy. Pro-autophagic Redd1, Bnip3 and phospho-AMPK proteins, which are known to promote autophagy through inactivation of the mTOR pathway, were induced by CoCl₂. Mechanistically, Met agonist antibodies or HGF prevented the inhibition of mTOR and reduced the flux of autophagosome formation. Accordingly, their anti-autophagic function was completely blunted by Temsirolimus, a specific mTOR inhibitor. Targeted Met activation was successful also in the setting of low oxygen conditions, in which Met agonist antibodies or HGF demonstrated anti-apoptotic and anti-autophagic effects. Activation of the Met pathway is thus a promising novel therapeutic tool for ischaemic injury.     

The role of mTOR signaling pathway in spinal cord injury

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway plays an important role in multiple cellular functions, such as cell metabolism, proliferation and survival. Many previous studies have shown that mTOR regulates both neuroprotective and neuroregenerative functions in trauma and various diseases in the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, we reported that inhibition of mTOR using rapamycin reduces neural tissue damage and locomotor impairment after spinal cord injury (SCI) in mice. Our results demonstrated that the administration of rapamycin at four hours after injury significantly increases the activity of autophagy and reduces neuronal loss and cell death in the injured spinal cord. Furthermore, rapamycin-treated mice show significantly better locomotor function in the hindlimbs following SCI than vehicle-treated mice. These findings indicate that the inhibition of mTOR signaling using rapamycin during the acute phase of SCI produces neuroprotective effects and reduces secondary damage at lesion sites. However, the role of mTOR signaling in injured spinal cords has not yet been fully elucidated. Various functions are regulated by mTOR signaling in the CNS, and multiple pathophysiological processes occur following SCI. Here, we discuss several unresolved issues and review the evidence from related articles regarding the role and mechanisms of the mTOR signaling pathway in neuroprotection and neuroregeneration after SCI.