Reconstitution of caspase 3 sensitizes MCF-7 breast cancer cells to doxorubicin- and etoposide-induced apoptosis

MCF-7, a breast cancer-derived cell line, is deficient of caspase 3 and relatively insensitive to many chemotherapeutic agents. To study the association of caspase 3 deficiency and chemotherapeutic resistance, we reconstituted caspase 3 in MCF-7 cells and characterized their apoptotic response to doxorubicin and etoposide. Western blots demonstrated that caspase 3 was constitutively expressed in the reconstituted MCF-7 cells. Both morphological observation and survival assays showed that caspase 3 reconstitution significantly sensitized MCF-7 cells to both drugs. Remarkably increased activation of caspases 3, 6, and 7, cleavage of cellular death substrates, and DNA fragmentation were detected in the reconstituted MCF-7 cells after drug treatment. Together, these data demonstrated a specific role for caspase 3 in chemotherapy-induced apoptosis and in activation of caspases 6 and 7. Our results also suggest that caspase 3 deficiency may contribute to chemotherapeutic resistance in breast cancer.