Functional absence of FADD in PLC/PRF/5 hepatoma cells: possible involvement in the transformation to hepatoma in HBV-infected hepatocytes.

The death receptor Fas transduces apoptotic death signaling upon stimulation by Fas ligand and plays a key role in viral hepatitis. When hepatitis-B virus (HBV) infects hepatocytes, the Fas ligand/Fas system responds as the triggering machinery of hepatitis. However, some HBV-infected cells may circumvent Fas-mediated apoptosis and transform to hepatoma cells, as do PLC/PRF/5 hepatoma cells. Therefore, in the present study, we used PLC/PRF/5 hepatoma cells to investigate this ability to avoid Fas-mediated apoptosis. When the cells were treated with an agonistic Fas antibody, they showed resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis. In contrast, HepG2 cells of the same hepatoma line succumbed. Caspase 3 and 8, which are essential regulators for Fas-mediated cell death, were expressed in both hepatoma cell lines, but only HepG2 cells showed activation of the caspases. A comparison study of expression of other death-associated factors between PLC/PRF/5 and HepG2 cells revealed no apparent differences. However, Far-Western blotting analysis using the Fas death domain (FDD) showed a significant difference. Molecular weight comparison and immunoblotting analysis revealed that PLC/PRF/5 cells lack the FDD-associated protein FADD. In addition, FDD-injected HepG2 cells showed a resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis, and PLC/PRF/5 cells acquired Fas-sensitivity by FADD injection. Here, we propose that a functional absence of FADD is one of the pathways for the carcinogenesis of HBV-infected hepatocytes.