siRNA targeting PLK-1 induces apoptosis of synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis

Polo-like kinase-1 (PLK-1) is a member of the PLK family and participates in the control of cell mitosis. Here, we show that immunoreactive PLK-1 is strongly expressed in synoviocytes and some infiltrative mononuclear cells in synovial tissues from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), while patients with osteoarthritis and injury show little or no expression of PLK-1 in synovial tissues. Western blot analysis shows that PLK is expressed and its expression is enhanced by IL-1beta in RA synoviocytes. IL-1beta also enhanced the cell growth of RA synoviocytes. Moreover, siRNA targeted against PLK-1 significantly decreases the expression of PLK-1 of RA synoviocytes stimulated by IL-1beta and suppresses the proliferation of these synoviocytes through apoptosis. These findings suggest that PLK-1 plays a critical role in the proliferation of RA synoviocytes leading to bone destruction, and siRNA against PLK-1 is potentially useful for the treatment of RA.     

The differential effect of dexamethasone on granulocyte apoptosis involves stabilization of Mcl-1L in neutrophils but not in eosinophils

In the absence of activation signals, circulating human neutrophils and eosinophils undergo spontaneous apoptosis. The glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) accelerates apoptosis in inflammatory cells such as eosinophils, but uniquely delays neutrophil apoptosis. Corresponding to the opposite effects of Dex on granulocyte apoptosis, we demonstrate that in neutrophils and eosinophils Dex oppositely affects expression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Mcl-1L. Mcl-1L expression declines over time in vitro; however, Dex maintains Mcl-1L expression in neutrophils. In contrast, Dex accelerates Mcl-1L protein loss in eosinophils. Neither Mcl-1S, a pro-apoptotic splice variant, nor Bax were affected. Dex treatment in the presence of a translation inhibitor stabilized existing Mcl-1L protein in neutrophils, while Mcl-1L stability in eosinophils was unaffected. Accordingly, delay of neutrophil apoptosis by Dex was prevented by antisense Mcl-1L siRNA. Our findings suggest that regulation of Mcl-1L degradation plays an important role in the opposite effects of Dex on granulocyte apoptosis.     

HIF-1alpha has an anti-apoptotic effect in human airway epithelium that is mediated via Mcl-1 gene expression

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) and myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) proteins have been shown to regulate apoptosis in some cell systems but have not been studied in this context in airway epithelium. Using a model of anoxia/reoxygenation (A/R), the present study employed RNA interference (RNAi) targeting HIF-1alpha and Mcl-1 to evaluate their possible anti-apoptotic effects on HBE1 cells, an immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell line. The cells were either cultured under normoxic conditions or were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes targeting HIF-1alpha or Mcl-1 mRNA and then immediately exposed to A/R. As controls, non-transfected HBE1 cells and cells transfected with scrambled RNA duplexes were subjected to A/R. Apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay and RNAi was assessed by knockdown of HIF-1alpha and Mcl-1 mRNA and protein expression using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (Q-PCR), immunohistochemistry, and Western blots. HBE1 cells transfected with siRNA duplexes targeting either HIF-1alpha or Mcl-1 and subjected to A/R manifested considerable apoptosis, a finding not observed in either non-transfected cells or cells transfected with scrambled RNA duplexes. Specific knockdown of mRNA and protein expression by RNAi in HBE1 cells after A/R was shown for siRNA duplexes targeting either HIF-1alpha or Mcl-1. Unexpectedly, knockdown of HIF-1alpha induced parallel knockdown of Mcl-1 mRNA and protein expression, whereas Mcl-1 knockdown had no noticeable effect on HIF-1alpha expression. Thus, although both of these proteins were shown to be anti-apoptotic, the action of HIF-1alpha appeared to be mediated in part via Mcl-1.     

Inhibition of proteasomal degradation of Mcl-1 by cobalt chloride suppresses cobalt chloride-induced apoptosis in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells

Cobalt promotes apoptosis in multiple cell systems, however, the molecular mechanisms that influence cobalt-induced apoptosis are not fully understood. We investigated mechanisms of cobalt chloride induced apoptosis in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. Cobalt chloride induced dose dependent apoptosis in HCT116 cells (250–750 μM) which, at higher concentrations (500–750 μM), was associated with an increase in the expression of the Bcl-2-related Mcl-1 survival protein. Cobalt chloride caused the accumulation of higher molecular weight ubiquitin-conjugates of Mcl-1 in intact HCT116 cells and inhibited the activity of the trypsin-like site of the 20S proteasome in an in vitro assay. Although siRNA-mediated knockdown of Mcl-1 increased apoptosis in HCT116 cells, the combination of Mcl-1 siRNA and cobalt chloride induced very high levels of cell killing. Therefore, inhibition of the proteasome by cobalt chloride leads to the accumulation of Mcl-1 which acts to limit cobalt chloride induced apoptosis.     

Modulation of Mcl-1 transcription by serum deprivation sensitizes cancer cells to cisplatin

Background

The development of approaches that increase therapeutic effects of anti-cancer drugs is one of the most important tasks of oncology. Caloric restriction in vivo or serum deprivation (SD) in vitro has been shown to be an effective tool for sensitizing cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the enhancement of apoptosis in cancer cells by SD remain to be elucidated.

Cdk1 plays matchmaker for the Polo-like kinase and its activator SPAT-1/Bora

Mitosis is orchestrated by several protein kinases including Cdks, Plks and Aurora kinases. Despite considerable progress toward understanding the individual function of these protein kinases, how their activity is coordinated in space and time during mitosis is less well understood. In a recent article published in the Journal of Cell Biology, we show that CDK-1 regulates PLK-1 activity during mitosis in C. elegans embryos through multisite phosphorylation of the PLK-1 activator SPAT-1 (Aurora Borealis, Bora in human). SPAT-1 variants mutated on CDK-1 phosphorylation sites results in severe delays in mitotic entry, mimicking embryos lacking spat-1 or plk-1 function. We further show that SPAT-1 phosphorylation by CDK-1 promotes its binding to PLK-1 and stimulates PLK-1 phosphorylation on its activator T-loop by Aurora A kinase in vitro. Likewise, we find that phosphorylation of Bora by Cdk1 promotes phosphorylation of human Plk1 by Aurora A suggesting that this mechanism is conserved in humans. These results indicate that Cdk1 regulates Plk1 by boosting its kinase activity. Here we discuss these recent findings and open questions regarding the regulation of Plk1/PLK-1 by Cdk1/CDK-1 and Bora/SPAT-1.     

MCL-1V, a novel mouse antiapoptotic MCL-1 variant, generated by RNA splicing at a non-canonical splicing pair

Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL-1) that belongs to BCL-2 family is essential for survival of hematopoietic stem cells. It is upregulated in various types of cancer and promotes cancer cell metastasis. It is known that human MCL-1 gene undergoes differential splicing and yields three mRNAs encoding antiapoptotic MCL-1L and proapoptotic MCL-1S and MCL-1ES. However, no MCL-1 variants have been reported in mouse cells. We report here a new splicing variant of mouse Mcl-1, Mcl-1V, that is expressed in a variety of mouse normal and tumor cell lines and tissues. Comparative sequence analysis of the full-length Mcl-1 and Mcl-1V cDNAs suggested that Mcl-1V mRNA results from splicing within the first coding exon of Mcl-1 gene at a non-canonical donor-acceptor pair. MCL-1V lacks 46 amino acid residues within the N-terminal region of MCL-1. It localizes in mitochondria and inhibits anoxia- and anticancer drug-induced apoptosis as potent as MCL-1, and decayed less rapidly than MCL-1 in the cells undergoing apoptosis. Collectively, our results show that mouse cells ubiquitously express antiapoptotic MCL-1V that may play a role in mitochondrial cell death.     

Mcl-1 调控NSCLC 对EGFR-TKIs敏感性的实验研究

目的:探讨人髓细胞白血病基因-1(myeloid cell leukemia-1,Mcl-1)是否参与调控非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer,NSCLC)对EGFR-TKIs的敏感性,为非小细胞肺癌的治疗提供新的思路。方法:通过Western blot方法检测EGFR-TKIs敏感细胞H3255和耐药细胞H1975中Mcl-1蛋白的表达水平。分别给予敏感细胞H3255和耐药细胞H1975 EGFR-TKIs处理后检测细胞凋亡情况和Mcl-1蛋白表达水平。设计并合成特异性si RNA下调耐药细胞H1975中Mcl-1的表达,采用脂质体转染后通过流式细胞技术检测细胞的凋亡情况。结果:H3255细胞Mcl-1表达水平明显低于H1975细胞。一代EGFR-TKIs Gefitinib显著降低H3255细胞Mcl-1表达而不能减少H1975细胞Mcl-1表达。H1975细胞经二代EGFR-TKIs Afatinib和三代EGFR-TKIs AZD9291处理后Mcl-1表达明显减少。特异性si RNA下调H1975细胞Mcl-1表达可以促进细胞凋亡。结论:Mcl-1参与了调节NSCLC对EGFR-TKIs的敏感性,可能成为防止或逆转NSCLC对EGFR-TKIs耐药的潜在靶点。     

mcl-1特异性siRNA对HepG2细胞增殖及凋亡的影响

目的：肝癌分子靶向治疗是目前研究的热点,肝癌相关基因mcl-1在肝癌增殖及凋亡中的作用尚不明确,本研究拟探讨mcl-1特异性siRNA对体外培养肝癌细胞HepG2增殖及凋亡的影响。方法：设计、合成有效的mcl-1特异性siRNA序列,体外转染HepG2细胞;通过绘制细胞生长曲线和MTT实验检测mcl-1特异性siRNA对HepG2细胞增殖的影响;通过AnnexinV／PI双标记流式细胞仪检测mcl-1特异性siRNA对HepG2细胞凋亡率的影响。结果：通过绘制细胞生长曲线发现,mcl-1特异性siRNA能够抑制HepG2细胞的增殖（P〈0．05）,MTT实验提示转染mcl-1特异性siRNA24h、48h、72h后,HepG2细胞存活率均显著下降（P〈O．05）;流式细胞仪检测分析发现,转染mcl．1特异性siRNA后AnnexinV＋／PI-细胞百分率显著增高（P〈0．01）,提示mcl-1具有促进HepG2细胞凋亡的作用。结论：Mcl-1蛋白具有促进肝癌细胞增殖,抑制肝癌细胞凋亡的作用,这种分子特性符合肿瘤靶向治疗的要求,Mcl-1可能成为肝癌靶向治疗的潜在靶点。     

Wogonin and related natural flavones are inhibitors of CDK9 that induce apoptosis in cancer cells by transcriptional suppression of Mcl-1

The wogonin-containing herb Scutellaria baicalensis has successfully been used for curing various diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. Wogonin has been shown to induce apoptosis in different cancer cells and to suppress growth of human cancer xenografts in vivo. However, its direct targets remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that wogonin and structurally related natural flavones, for example, apigenin, chrysin and luteolin, are inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) and block phosphorylation of the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II at Ser². This effect leads to reduced RNA synthesis and subsequently rapid downregulation of the short-lived anti-apoptotic protein myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) resulting in apoptosis induction in cancer cells. We show that genetic inhibition of Mcl-1 or CDK9 expression by siRNA is sufficient to mimic flavone-induced apoptosis. Pull-down and in silico docking studies demonstrate that wogonin directly binds to CDK9, presumably to the ATP-binding pocket. In contrast, wogonin does not inhibit CDK2, CDK4 and CDK6 at doses that inhibit CDK9 activity. Furthermore, we show that wogonin preferentially inhibits CDK9 in malignant compared with normal lymphocytes. Thus, our study reveals a new mechanism of anti-cancer action of natural flavones and supports CDK9 as a therapeutic target in oncology.     

Mcl-1 and YY1 inhibition and induction of DR5 by the BH3-mimetic Obatoclax (GX15-070) contribute in the sensitization of B-NHL cells to TRAIL apoptosis

The pan Bcl-2 family antagonist Obatoclax (GX15-070), currently in clinical trials, was shown to sensitize TRAIL-resistant tumors to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis via the release of Bak and Bim from Mcl-1 or Bcl-2/Bcl-X_L complexes or by the activation of Bax, though other mechanisms were not examined. Herein, we hypothesize that Obatoclax-mediated sensitization to TRAIL apoptosis may also result from alterations of the apoptotic pathways. The TRAIL-resistant B-cell line Ramos was used as a model for investigation. Treatment of Ramos cells with Obatoclax significantly inhibited the expression of several members of the Bcl-2 family, dissociated Bak from Mcl-1 and inhibited the NFκB activity. Cells treated with Mcl-1 siRNA were sensitized to TRAIL apoptosis. We examined whether the sensitization of Ramos to TRAIL by Obatoclax resulted from signaling of the DR4 and/or DR5. Transfection with DR5 siRNA, but not with DR4 siRNA, sensitized the cells to apoptosis following treatment with Obatoclax and TRAIL. The signaling via DR5 correlated with Obatoclax-induced inhibition of the DR5 repressor Yin Yang 1 (YY1). Transfection with YY1 siRNA sensitized the cells to TRAIL apoptosis following treatment with Obatoclax and TRAIL. Overall, the present findings reveal a new mechanism of Obatoclax-induced sensitization to TRAIL apoptosis and the involvement of the inhibition of NFκB activity and downstream Mcl-1 and YY1 expressions and activities.     

Apoptosis Induced by Ginkgo biloba (EGb761) in Melanoma Cells Is Mcl-1-Dependent

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer. Unfortunately, there is currently no chemotherapeutic agent available to significantly prolong the survival of the most patients with metastatic melanomas. Here we report that the Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761), one of the most widely sold herbal supplements in the world, potently induces apoptosis in human melanoma cells by disturbing the balance between pro- and anti-apoptosis Bcl-2 family proteins. Treatment with EGb761 induced varying degrees of apoptosis in melanoma cell lines but not in melanocytes. Induction of apoptosis was caspase-dependent and appeared to be mediated by the mitochondrial pathway, in that it was associated with reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential and activation of Bax and Bak. Although EGb761 did not cause significant change in the expression levels of the BH3-only Bcl-2 family proteins Bim, Puma, Noxa, and Bad, it significantly downregulated Mcl-1 in sensitive but not resistant melanoma cells, suggesting a major role of Mcl-1 in regulating apoptosis of melanoma cells induced by EGb761. Indeed, siRNA knockdown of Mcl-1 enhanced EGb761-induced apoptosis, which was associated with increased activation of Bax and Bak. Taken together, these results demonstrate that EGb761 kills melanoma cells through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, and that Mcl-1 is a major regulator of sensitivity of melanoma cells to apoptosis induced by EGb761. Therefore, EGb761 with or without in combination with targeting Mcl-1 may be a useful strategy in the treatment of melanoma.     

Mcl-1 and YY1 inhibition and induction of DR5 by the BH3-mimetic Obatoclax (GX15-070) contribute in the sensitization of B-NHL cells to TRAIL apoptosis

The pan Bcl-2 family antagonist Obatoclax (GX15-070), currently in clinical trials, was shown to sensitize TRAIL-resistant tumors to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis via the release of Bak and Bim from Mcl-1 or Bcl-2/Bcl-X_L complexes or by the activation of Bax, though other mechanisms were not examined. Herein, we hypothesize that Obatoclax-mediated sensitization to TRAIL apoptosis may also result from alterations of the apoptotic pathways. The TRAIL-resistant B-cell line Ramos was used as a model for investigation. Treatment of Ramos cells with obatoclax significantly inhibited the expression of several members of the Bcl-2 family, dissociated Bak from Mcl-1 and inhibited the NFκB activity. Cells treated with Mcl-1 siRNA were sensitized to TRAIL apoptosis. We examined whether the sensitization of Ramos to TRAIL by Obatoclax resulted from signaling of the DR4 and/or DR5. Transfection with DR5 siRNA, but not with DR4 siRNA, sensitized the cells to apoptosis following treatment with Obatoclax and TRAIL. The signaling via DR5 correlated with Obatoclax-induced inhibition of the DR5 repressor Yin Yang 1 (YY1). Transfection with YY1 siRNA sensitized the cells to TRAIL apoptosis following treatment with Obatoclax and TRAIL. Overall, the present findings reveal a new mechanism of Obatoclax-induced sensitization to TRAIL apoptosis and the involvement of the inhibition of NFκB activity and downstream Mcl-1 and YY1 expressions and activities.Key words: Obatoclax, TRAIL, YY1, DR5, lymphoma, immunosensitization     

Over-expression of Mcl-1 impairs the ability of ATRA to induce growth arrest and differentiation in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells

Exposure of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) increases levels of Mcl-1, however, the implication of ATRA-mediated expressions of Mcl-1 in these cells remains to be fully elucidated. This study found that exposure of NB4 and PL-21 cells to ATRA increased levels of Mcl-1 in association with phosphorylation of c-jun N-terminus kinases. Down-regulation of Mcl-1 by a small interfering (siRNA) or an inhibitor of JNK significantly potentiated the ability of ATRA to induce differentiation and apoptosis in these cells. On the other hand, the anti-leukemia effects of ATRA were blunted when Mcl-1 was forced expressed in NB4 and PL-21 cells as well as leukemia cells isolated from individuals with APL. Furthermore, down-regulation of Mcl-1 by an siRNA sensitized non-APL U937 and KG-1 leukemia cells to ATRA-mediated differentiation and apoptosis. Taken together, inhibition of Mcl-1 might be useful to potentiate the action of ATRA in APL as well as non-APL AML cells.     

RNA干扰Mcl-1基因表达对淋巴瘤Raji细胞增殖和凋亡的机制研究

目的:探讨抑制Mcl-1基因表达对淋巴瘤Raji细胞增殖和凋亡的影响及机制。方法:NC-siRNA、Mcl-1-siRNA转染Raji细胞,以不作任何处理的细胞作为空白对照组,48h后Western blot检测各组细胞中Mcl-1的蛋白表达;CCK8实验和流式细胞仪分别检测细胞的增殖和凋亡情况;Western blot检测Cleaved caspase3、Notch1、Hes1蛋白表达。结果:转染Mcl-1-siRNA后Mcl-1的蛋白表达显著降低;与对照组及NC-siRNA组比较,Mcl-1-siRNA组细胞存活率显著降低,细胞凋亡率显著升高,Cleaved caspase3蛋白显著上调表达,Notch1和Hes1蛋白显著下调表达。结论:RNA干扰抑制Mcl-1基因表达可显著降低Raji细胞增殖及诱导细胞凋亡,其机制与抑制Notch1信号通路有关。