Spinigerin induces apoptotic like cell death in a caspase independent manner in Leishmania donovani

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are multifunctional components of the innate immune system. Chemotherapeutic agents used for treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) are now threatened due to the emergence of acquired drug resistance and toxicity. AMPs are attractive alternative to conventional pharmaceuticals. In this study, first time we explored the antileishmanial activity of spinigerin originally derived from Pseudacanthotermes spiniger. Leishmania donovani promastigotes present apoptosis-like cell death upon exposure to spinigerin (IC₅₀, 150 μM). The infection rate was reduced by 20% upon exposure to 150 μM spinigerin but no cytotoxicity on host macrophages was observed. Elevation of intracellular ROS level and down-regulation of two ROS detoxifying enzymes, ascorbate peroxidase (APx) and trypanothione reductase (TR) suggested essential role of ROS machinery during spinigerin mediated cell death. About 97% cell population was found to be Annexin-V positive; 44% cells being highly Annexin-V positive. Moreover, we observed morphological changes like cell rounding, nuclear condensation, oligonucleosomal DNA degradation and TUNEL positive cells without loss of membrane integrity upon spinigerin exposure, suggests apoptosis-like death. Interestingly, collapse in mitochondrial membrane potential and increased level of intracellular ROS and calcium were not associated with caspase like activity. Computational analysis suggests spiningerin interacts with trypanothione reductase and thus probably interferes its function to detoxify the toxic ROS level. Therefore, spinigerin induces apoptosis-like cell death in L. donovani in a caspase-independent manner. The study elucidates the antileishmanial property of spinigerin that may be considered for future chemotherapeutic option alone or adjunct with other drug regimens for improved treatment of visceral leishmaniasis.     

Cytotoxic and apoptotic activities of Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) Bl. tuber extracts against human colon carcinoma cell line HCT-15

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide and is the third most common form of malignancy in both men and women. Several possible colon cancer chemopreventive agents are found in edible plants. Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) Blume (family: Araceae) is a tuber crop, largely cultivated throughout the plains of India for using its corm as food. This tuber has also been traditionally used for the treatment of abdominal tumors, liver diseases, piles etc. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dose-dependent cytotoxic and apoptosis inducing effects of the sub fractions of A. campanulatus tuber methanolic extract (ACME) viz. petroleum ether fraction (PEF), chloroform fraction (CHF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and methanolic fraction (MEF) on the colon cancer cell line, HCT-15. Antiproliferative effects of the sub fractions of ACME were studied by MTT assay. Apoptotic activity was assessed by DAPI, Annexin V-FITC and JC-1 fluorescent staining. The chemotherapeutic drug, 5-flurouracil (5-FU) was used as positive drug control. The sub fractions of ACME significantly inhibited the proliferation of HCT-15 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the extracts were found to induce apoptosis and were confirmed by DAPI, Annexin V-FITC and JC-1 fluorescent staining. A pronounced results of cytotoxic and apoptotic activities were observed in the cells treated with 5-FU and CHF, whereas, EAF and MEF treated cells exhibited a moderate result and the least effect was observed in PEF treated cells. Our results suggested that, among the sub fractions of ACME, CHF had potent cytotoxic and apoptotic activity and thus it could be explored as a novel target for anticancer drug development. Furthermore, these findings confirm that the sub fractions of ACME dose-dependently suppress the proliferation of HCT-15 cells by inducing apoptosis.     

Magnetic-activated Cell Sorting before Cryopreservation Preserves Mitochondrial Integrity in Human Spermatozoa

Superparamagnetic annexin-V conjugated microbeads are able to eliminate spermatozoa with externalized phosphatidylserine, a membrane feature of apoptotic cells as well as spermatozoa with deteriorated plasma membrane. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of annexin-V Magnetic-Activated Cell Sorting (MACS) in cryopreservation–thawing protocols and on integrity of sperm mitochondrial transmembrane potential and mitochondrial integrity survival rate (MSR). Mature spermatozoa of 10 healthy donors were prepared by density gradient centrifugation and divided into 2 aliquots afterwards. The first one was subjected to annexin-V MACS followed by cryopreservation and thawing, while the second was cryopreserved–thawed without MACS to serve as control. Annexin-negative sperm separated by MACS showed significantly higher levels of intact mitochondria following cryopreservation–thawing (45.4±8.6%) compared to sperm that were not separated (15.8±4.6%, p<0.01). Separating a distinctive population of non-apoptotic spermatozoa with intact membranes may optimize cryopreservation–thawing outcome. MACS using annexin-V microbeads enhances the percentage of spermatozoa with intact transmembrane mitochondrial potential and mitochondrial integrity survival rates following cryopreservation.     

Relationships of diverse apoptotic death process patterns to mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) evaluated by three-parameter flow cytometric analysis

Recently, it has been proposed that novel methodologies are needed to re-evaluate apoptotic cell death, as studies of apoptosis have shown it to be a complex process. Since mitochondria are key regulators in cell death pathways, we developed a simultaneous 3-parameter flow cytometric analysis that incorporates the change in mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ_m) in an Annexin-V [for phosphatidyl-serine (PS)] and propidium iodide (PI) assay system (3 parameters with 4 colours), and evaluated the apoptotic process using various haematological malignant cell lines and death triggers. The present method enabled visualization of cell composition during apoptosis and captured complicated molecular events. For example, apoptotic cells that lost Δψ_m did not always externalize PS, while some late apoptotic cells had polarized Δψ_m. The findings of unchanged PS-externalization and aberrant cell death suggest that there is no relationship of PS externalization and apoptosis with an unknown apoptotic mechanism. Based on PS-externalization, sensitivity to staurosporine, and the combination of cell lines and triggers, the apoptotic process was classified into 2 types. Importantly, most of our findings could not be observed by PS–PI and Δψ_m assays when independently performed. Our method may be useful for examining mitochondrial-related apoptosis and death signalling pathways, as well as screening novel apoptosis-inducing cancer drugs.     

Synthesis of (Z)-3-(arylamino)-1-(3-phenylimidazo[1,5-a]pyridin-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-ones as potential cytotoxic agents

The new derivatives based on (Z)-3-(arylamino)-1-(3-phenylimidazo[1,5-a]pyridin-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one scaffold was synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic potential against a panel of cancer cell lines, viz., A549 (human lung cancer), HCT-116 (human colorectal cancer), B16F10 (murine melanoma cancer), BT-474 (human breast cancer), and MDA-MB-231 (human triple-negative breast cancer). Among them, many of the synthesized compounds exhibited promising cytotoxic potential against the panel of tested cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ <30 µM. Based on the preliminary screening results, the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of the compounds was established. Among the synthesized compounds, 15i displayed a potential anti-proliferative activity against HCT-116 cancer cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 1.21 ± 0.14 µM. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that compound 15i arrested the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Moreover, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, clonogenic assay, acridine orange staining, DAPI nuclear staining, measurement of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), and annexin V-FITC assays revealed that compound 15i promoted cell death through apoptosis.     

Apoptotic granulosa cells have moderately increased intracellular free calcium during phosphatidylserine exposure and a normal resting calcium level during DNA fragmentation

Alterations in intracellular free calciumconcentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) areinstrumental in apoptosis. We have previously shown that a[Ca²⁺]_i increase above 1000 nM isrelated to the appearance of apoptosis in serum-free cultures ofgranulosa cell sheets. In the present study we examined how the[Ca²⁺]_i increase relates toindicators of distinct phases of the apoptotic cascade. We used adouble staining technique whereby loading with theCa²⁺ indicator fura-2 and capture of a[Ca²⁺]_i image, was followed bystaining with annexin-V, as an early apoptotic marker or withacridine orange, marking the late degradation phase. Calcium imagingshowed a large heterogeneity of cellular[Ca²⁺]_i levels. [Ca²⁺]_i was moderately increased to230 nM in annexin positive cells but was at resting levelin cells with nuclear manifestations of apoptosis as evidenced byacridine orange. Our results suggest that a moderate[Ca²⁺]_i increase is related tophosphatidylserine translocation and that[Ca²⁺]_i has already recovered inapoptotic cells displaying chromatin condensation and/or nuclearfragmentation. Granulosa cells with[Ca²⁺]_i above 1000 nM were neverobserved to stain positive for the apoptotic markers used; therefore,large [Ca²⁺]_i increases areprobably related to the apoptosis initiation phase occurring upstreamof phosphatidylserine exposure.     

HIV-1 Nef protects human-monocyte-derived macrophages from HIV-1-induced apoptosis

HIV-1 Nef is the regulatory protein expressed earliest and most abundantly in the infection cycle. Its expression has been correlated with a plethora of effects detectable either in producer, target, and bystander cells, as well as in the viral particles. Even if the relationship between Nef expression and apoptosis has been already matter of investigation in infected lymphocytes, whose resistance to HIV infection is however limited to few days, this remains to be investigated in cells that in vivo well resist the HIV cytopathic effect. In such an instance, we were interested in establishing whether Nef influences the apoptotic processes in primary human-monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). High efficiency HIV-1 infection of MDM allowed us to establish that virus-expressed Nef strongly counteracts the HIV-1-induced apoptosis. The Nef mutant analysis suggested that this effect relies on the interaction with different protein partners and cell compartments. We also observed that the Nef protection to the HIV-1-induced apoptosis correlated with the hyper-phosphorylation and consequent inactivation of the pro-apoptotic Bad protein. On the basis of these results, we propose the Nef anti-apoptotic effect as a relevant part of the mechanism of the in vivo establishment of the HIV macrophage reservoirs.     

Hypertonicity induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells in the presence of intracellular potassium

Cell shrinkage is a hallmark of apoptosis. Potassium efflux, which is involved in cell shrinkage, has been previously described as an essential event of apoptosis. This study was designed to address the importance of potassium efflux in hypertonicity (450 mOsm and 600 mOsm) induced apoptosis. We initiated apoptosis in HL-60 cells in hypertonic medium consisting of either high concentrations of NaCl, mannitol or KCl. Apoptotic activity was evaluated based on the DNA content of the cells, annexin-V staining and calcium content. Apoptosis was initiated in hypertonic conditions consisting of high intracellular K⁺. We demonstrate that apoptosis can occur in the presence of high intracellular potassium contrary to previous predictions.     

Sperm quality evaluation in Solea senegalensis during the reproductive season at cellular level

Sperm quality seems to be one of the reasons for the reproduction constraints faced by Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) aquaculturists. Previous studies in this species indicated that the sperm quality of individuals kept in culture varies throughout the year and that different sperm subpopulations can be identified in ejaculates according to the motility pattern of spermatozoa. Aiming to better understand factors affecting sole sperm quality in captivity, sperm of 11 males was assessed during the reproductive season using different parameters: motility characteristics using CASA analysis; cell plasma membrane resistance to seawater hyperosmolarity; DNA fragmentation with single-cell gel electrophoresis; and early apoptosis, labeled with Annexin-V FITC. Computer-assisted sperm analyses motility data were treated using multivariate analysis to identify the presence of different spermatozoa subpopulations according to their motility pattern. Four distinct sperm subpopulations were obtained: Subpop1, which includes fast linear spermatozoa; Subpop2, made up of fast nonlinear spermatozoa; Subpop3, which includes slow linear spermatozoa; and Subpop4, which contains slow nonlinear spermatozoa. The sperm subpopulation structure varied with time after activation and with male. Low cell resistance to the seawater hyperosmotic conditions was noticed. The Annexin-V assay allowed the identification of an apoptotic population ranging from 6% to 20%. A high percentage of cells (64.1%) showed a DNA fragmentation level below 30%, but these values varied significantly between males. DNA fragmentation appears to be related to cell membrane resistance to hyperosmotic conditions faced by the cells when in contact with seawater. This condition seems to modulate the composition of the motile sperm population and performance after activation. This phenomenon could be related to the spermatozoa maturation process.