Abstract: | Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and aggressive
human malignancies. Recombinant tumor necrosis factor-related
apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising anti-tumor agent. However,
many HCC cells show resistance to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. In this study, we
showed that bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, overcame TRAIL resistance in
HCC cells, including Huh-7, Hep3B, and Sk-Hep1. The combination of bortezomib
and TRAIL restored the sensitivity of HCC cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.
Comparing the molecular change in HCC cells treated with these agents, we
found that down-regulation of phospho-Akt (P-Akt) played a key role in
mediating TRAIL sensitization of bortezomib. The first evidence was that
bortezomib down-regulated P-Akt in a dose- and time-dependent manner in
TRAIL-treated HCC cells. Second, {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY294002","term_id":"1257998346","term_text":"LY294002"}}LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor, also sensitized
resistant HCC cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Third, knocking down Akt1 by
small interference RNA also enhanced TRAIL-induced apoptosis in Huh-7 cells.
Finally, ectopic expression of mutant Akt (constitutive active) in HCC cells
abolished TRAIL sensitization effect of bortezomib. Moreover, okadaic acid, a
protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibitor, reversed down-regulation of P-Akt in
bortezomib-treated cells, and PP2A knockdown by small interference RNA also
reduced apoptosis induced by the combination of TRAIL and bortezomib,
indicating that PP2A may be important in mediating the effect of bortezomib on
TRAIL sensitization. Together, bortezomib overcame TRAIL resistance at
clinically achievable concentrations in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and
this effect is mediated at least partly via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt
pathway.Hepatocellular carcinoma
(HCC)2 is currently
the fifth most common solid tumor worldwide and the fourth leading cause of
cancer-related death. To date, surgery is still the only curative treatment
but is only feasible in a small portion of patients
(1). Drug treatment is the
major therapy for patients with advanced stage disease. Unfortunately, the
response rate to traditional chemotherapy for HCC patients is unsatisfactory
(1). Novel pharmacological
therapy is urgently needed for patients with advanced HCC. In this regard, the
approval of sorafenib might open a new era of molecularly targeted therapy in
the treatment of HCC patients.Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), a
type II transmembrane protein and a member of the TNF family, is a promising
anti-tumor agent under clinical investigation
(2). TRAIL functions by
engaging its receptors expressed on the surface of target cells. Five
receptors specific for TRAIL have been identified, including DR4/TRAIL-R1,
DR5/TRAIL-R2, DcR1, DcR2, and osteoprotegerin. Among TRAIL receptors, only DR4
and DR5 contain an effective death domain that is essential to formation of
death-inducing signaling complex (DISC), a critical step for TRAIL-induced
apoptosis. Notably, the trimerization of the death domains recruits an adaptor
molecule, Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD), which subsequently
recruits and activates caspase-8. In type I cells, activation of caspase-8 is
sufficient to activate caspase-3 to induce apoptosis; however, in another type
of cells (type II), the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway is essential for
apoptosis characterized by cleavage of Bid and release of cytochrome
c from mitochondria, which subsequently activates caspase-9 and
caspase-3 (3).Although TRAIL induces apoptosis in malignant cells but sparing normal
cells, some tumor cells are resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Mechanisms
responsible for the resistance include receptors and intracellular resistance.
Although the cell surface expression of DR4 or DR5 is absolutely required for
TRAIL-induced apoptosis, tumor cells expressing these death receptors are not
always sensitive to TRAIL due to intracellular mechanisms. For example, the
cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP), a homologue to caspase-8 but
without protease activity, has been linked to TRAIL resistance in several
studies (4,
5). In addition, inactivation
of Bax, a proapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein, resulted in resistance to TRAIL
in MMR-deficient tumors (6,
7), and reintroduction of Bax
into Bax-deficient cells restored TRAIL sensitivity
(8), indicating that the Bcl-2
family plays a critical role in intracellular mechanisms for resistance of
TRAIL.Bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor approved clinically for multiple myeloma
and mantle cell lymphoma, has been investigated intensively for many types of
cancer (9). Accumulating
studies indicate that the combination of bortezomib and TRAIL overcomes the
resistance to TRAIL in various types of cancer, including acute myeloid
leukemia (4), lymphoma
(10–13),
prostate
(14–17),
colon (15,
18,
19), bladder
(14,
16), renal cell carcinoma
(20), thyroid
(21), ovary
(22), non-small cell lung
(23,
24), sarcoma
(25), and HCC
(26,
27). Molecular targets
responsible for the sensitizing effect of bortezomib on TRAIL-induced cell
death include DR4 (14,
27), DR5
(14,
20,
22–23,
28), c-FLIP
(4,
11,
21–23,
29), NF-κB
(12,
24,
30), p21
(16,
21,
25), and p27
(25). In addition, Bcl-2
family also plays a role in the combinational effect of bortezomib and TRAIL,
including Bcl-2 (10,
21), Bax
(13,
22), Bak
(27), Bcl-xL
(21), Bik
(18), and Bim
(15).Recently, we have reported that Akt signaling is a major molecular
determinant in bortezomib-induced apoptosis in HCC cells
(31). In this study, we
demonstrated that bortezomib overcame TRAIL resistance in HCC cells through
inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway. |