Gene-viro-therapy targeting liver cancer by a dual-regulated oncolytic adenoviral vector harboring IL-24 and TRAIL

Cancer-targeting gene-viro-therapy is a promising cancer therapeutic strategy that strengthens the antitumor effect of oncolytic viruses by expressing an inserted foreign antitumor gene. To achieve liver cancer targeting and to improve the safety of the ZD55 vector (a widely-used E1B55KD gene-deleted oncolytic adenoviral vector (OV), we previously constructed), we designed a novel OV named Ad·AFP·D55 that selectively replicates in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells by replacing the E1A promoter with the liver-cancer specific α-Fetoprotein (AFP) promoter based on the ZD55 vector. We found that the oncolytic adenoviruses Ad·AFP·D55-IL-24 and Ad·AFP·D55-TRAIL express tumor-suppressor gene interleukin-24 (IL-24) and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), respectively, significantly suppressed the HCC cell growth in vitro by inducing apoptosis by the caspase-8 and mitochondria-dependent caspase-9 signaling pathways. Furthermore, the combined treatment of Ad·AFP·D55-IL-24 and Ad·AFP·D55-TRAIL showed strong antitumor effects in vivo by significantly inhibiting the tumor growth in HCC HuH-7 cell xenograft mice, and markedly increasing animal survival rate. Therefore, this novel HCC cell-targeting OV carrying tumor-suppressor genes may provide a promising approach for liver cancer gene therapy.     

Complete elimination of colorectal tumor xenograft by combined manganese superoxide dismutase with tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand gene virotherapy

Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is a latent tumor suppressor gene. To investigate the therapeutic effect of MnSOD and its mechanisms, a replication-competent recombinant adenovirus with E1B 55-kDa gene deletion (ZD55) was constructed, and human MnSOD and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) genes were inserted to form ZD55-MnSOD and ZD55-TRAIL. ZD55-MnSOD exhibited an inhibition in tumor cell growth approximately 1,000-fold greater than Ad-MnSOD. ZD55-TRAIL was shown to induce the MnSOD expression in SW620 cells. Accordingly, by the combined use of ZD55-MnSOD with ZD55-TRAIL (i.e., "dual gene virotherapy"), all established colorectal tumor xenografts were completely eliminated in nude mice. The evidence exists that the MnSOD overexpression led to a slower tumor cell growth both in vitro and in vivo as a result of apoptosis caused by MnSOD and TRAIL overexpression after adenoviral transduction. Our results showed that the production of hydrogen peroxide derived from MnSOD dismutation activated caspase-8, which might down-regulate Bcl-2 expression and induce Bax translocation to mitochondria. Subsequently, Bax translocation enhanced the release of apoptosis-initiating factor and cytochrome c. Cytochrome c finally triggered apoptosis by activating caspase-9 and caspase-3 in apoptotic cascade. Bax-mediated apoptosis seems to be dependent on caspase-8 activation because the inhibition of caspase-8 prevented Bid processing and Bax translocation. In conclusion, our dual gene virotherapy completely eliminated colorectal tumor xenografts via enhanced apoptosis, and this novel strategy points toward a new direction of cancer treatment.     

The antitumor activity of TRAIL and IL-24 with replicating oncolytic adenovirus in colorectal cancer

Melanoma differentiation associated gene-7 (Mda-7)/IL-24 was previously cloned into ZD55 (an adenovirus with E1B55 deleted) to form ZD55-IL-24, which had much better antitumor effect than Ad-IL-24. According to its good antitumor properties, ZD55-IL-24 has been used in preclinical studies. But ZD55-IL-24 alone still could not completely eradicate established tumors in all nude mice. It was reported that IL-24 could induce and enhance the activity of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) (a member of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily). Accordingly, the combined use of ZD55-IL-24 and ZD55-TRAIL was carried out in this study. Treatment with both ZD55-IL-24 and ZD55-TRAIL could induce more significant apoptosis in cancer cells in vitro compared with ZD55-IL-24 or ZD55-TRAIL alone. The combination of the two replicative adenoviruses had better antitumor activity in vivo than that of single oncolytic adenovirus and led to complete eradication of xenograft tumors in all treated mice. Upregulation of TRAIL was observed in tumor cells infected with ZD55-IL-24 and studies of the apoptotic cascade regulators indicate that ZD55-IL-24 could further enhance the activation of apoptosis through the TNF family of death receptors. We demonstrated for the first time the potential therapeutic effect of combined ZD55-IL-24 with ZD55-TRAIL for the targeted therapy of cancer.     

Concomitant use of Ad5/35 chimeric oncolytic adenovirus with TRAIL gene and taxol produces synergistic cytotoxicity in gastric cancer cells

Chimeric adenoviral vectors possessing fiber derived from human adenovirus subgroup B (Ad35) have been developed for their high infection efficiency in cell types which are refractory to adenovirus serotype 5 (Subgroup C). The present study constructed an E1B-deleted chimeric oncolytic adenovirus, SG235-TRAIL, which carries a human TRAIL gene expression cassette and whose fiber shaft and knob domains are from serotype Ad35. It was found that SG235-TRAIL preferentially replicated in gastric cancer cell lines, SGC-7901 and BGC-823 compared to in normal human fibroblast BJ cells. Also, when compared with a replication-deficient chimeric vector Ad5/35-TRAIL, SG235-TRAIL mediated a higher level of the transgene expression via viral replication in the cancer cells. Further, because of the more efficient cell-entry and infection, SG235-TRAIL induced stronger cell apoptosis than the Ad5 CRAD vector, ZD55-TRAIL. In addition, SG235-TRAIL in combination with the chemotherapeutic drug, taxol, produced a synergistic cytotoxic effect in cancer cells in vitro without causing significant toxicity to normal cells. In the gastric tumor xenograft mouse model, intratumoral SG235-TRAIL injection produced a significant antitumor effect 14 days after treatment. Pathological examination demonstrated TRAIL expression and associated apoptosis in majority of SG235-TRAIL-treated tumor cells. These results suggest that SG235-TRAIL is a potential novel, efficient anti-cancer agent, and in combination with taxol, it would be even more useful with considerably low toxic side effects.     

结肠癌TRAIL耐药细胞株的建立及其耐药机制的初步研究

背景与目的以人结肠癌DLD1细胞株为载体,探讨恶性肿瘤获得性TRAIL基因耐药的可能机制。材料与方法用重组腺病毒介导的TRAIL基因(Ad/gTRAIL)反复处理人结肠癌DLD1细胞,得到耐药细胞群DLD1-TRAIL/R。通过MTT比色法和蛋白电泳,检测耐药细胞对Ad/gTRAIL杀伤作用的敏感性及其凋亡通路中信号分子的表达情况,分析其获得性耐药的可能机制。结果DLD1-TRAIL/R细胞对Ad/gTRAIL和重组TRAIL蛋白处理耐药,但对腺病毒介导的Bax基因处理仍然敏感。耐药细胞内Bcl-XL的表达明显升高,caspase-8的表达显著下降,未见明显的caspase-8活性裂解形式。结论人结肠癌DLD1细胞株经Ad/gTRAIL反复处理后产生特异性针对TRAIL基因的耐药,其发生机制可能与Bcl-XL表达上调和caspase-8表达下调有关。     

Enhancement of Ad5-TRAIL cytotoxicity against renal cell carcinoma with histone deacetylase inhibitors

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) will cause greater than 12,000 deaths in the United States this year. The lack of effective therapy for disseminated RCC has stimulated the search for novel treatments including immunotherapeutic strategies, but poor therapeutic responses and marked toxicity have limited their use. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family member TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)/Apo-2L induces apoptosis in various tumor cell types, while having little cytotoxicity against normal cells. In this study, we investigated the tumoricidal potential of a recombinant adenovirus encoding human TNFSF10 (Ad5-TRAIL), alone and in combination with a panel of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), against the TRAIL/Apo-2L-resistant RCC line 786-O and normal human renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTEC). Ad5-TRAIL was unable to induce apoptosis in either 786-O or RPTEC alone; however, tumor cell apoptosis occurred when Ad5-TRAIL was combined with HDAC inhibition. Except when combined with trichostatin A, RPTEC were not sensitized to Ad5-TRAIL by HDACi. In 786-O, HDAC inhibition induced CAR expression, permitting increased adenoviral infection and transgene expression. It also induced TRAIL-R2 expression, accelerated the death-inducing signaling complex formation and enhanced caspase-8 activation. Our results demonstrate the utility of combining Ad5-TRAIL with HDACi against RCC, and mechanistically define how this combination modulates RCC sensitivity to TRAIL/Apo-2L and adenoviral infection.     

Synergistic antitumor activity of XIAP-shRNA and TRAIL expressed by oncolytic adenoviruses in experimental HCC

RNA interference (RNAi) induced by small interfering RNA (siRNA) can trigger sequence-specific gene silencing in mammalian cells. It has been proposed that siRNA can be developed as a novel strategy for cancer therapy. However effective delivery of therapeutically active siRNAs into the target tissue/cells in vivo is still a major obstacle for successful application. Oncolytic adenoviral vector mediated RNAi provides the potential advantages of minimizing the harm of normal cells, regenerating siRNAs within the tumor microenvironment and inspiring an additive antitumor outcome through viral oncolysis. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) displays a high resistance to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-mediated cell death, partially due to high expression levels of the X-linked Inhibitor-of-Apoptosis protein (XIAP). Here, we utilized an oncolytic adenovirus (ZD55) for expressing short hairpin RNA (shRNA), a precursor of siRNA, to knockdown XIAP. To increase sensitivity of HCC cells to TRAIL, we have used ZD55 to deliver both XIAP-shRNA and TRAIL into HCC cells. The results showed taht the combination of ZD55-XIAP-shRNA and ZD55-TRAIL resulted in significant reduction of XIAP expression and potent antitumor activity both in HCC cells and in animal model with tumor. This pilot study offers a promise of using oncolytic adenovirus to deliver siRNA targeting overexpressed oncogenes and a novel strategy for cancer therapy by regulating the equilibrium between the proapoptotic and antiapoptotic factors.     

癌特异性双靶向载体的安全性及其携带基因的杀伤性

背景与目的:我们创导的“癌症的靶向双基因-病毒治疗”策略可消灭移植性肿瘤,目前最重要的是要提高其安全性,使其只靶向肿瘤细胞,而在正常细胞内不复制或者很少复制。本研究旨在构建肿瘤特异性的双靶向腺病毒TD55,并研究其安全性;在TD55中插入凋亡基因TRAIL,构建成TD55-TRAIL,研究其杀伤性。方法:用hTERT启动子控制腺病毒复制必需的E1A基因,并将E1B55KD基因删除,构建肿瘤特异性的双靶向腺病毒TD55,使其只靶向p53功能缺乏的肿瘤。在TD55中插入凋亡基因TRAIL,构建成TD55-TRAIL,通过分子克隆构建质粒pTD55和pTD55-TRAIL,并与包装腺病毒的大质粒pBHGE3在293细胞中同源重组,得到腺病毒TD55和TD55-TRAIL。构建好的病毒体外感染人胚肺细胞MRC5、WI38,人结肠癌细胞SW620、HCT116、人肺癌细胞A549,分别用结晶紫染色法和MTT法检测其对细胞生长的影响。用流式细胞仪测定肿瘤细胞的凋亡率。结果:结晶紫染色结果和MTT结果表明,双靶向腺病毒TD55-TRAIL对正常细胞MRC5和WI38的杀伤作用比ZD55-TRAIL小很多。病毒复制能力分析表明,单靶向腺病毒在正常细胞中的复制倍数是双靶向腺病毒的3～5倍。TD55和TD55-TRAIL均能引起SW620细胞的凋亡,后者是前者的3.3倍。结论:双靶向腺病毒TD55-TRAIL对正常细胞的安全性比以往所构建的单靶向腺病毒ZD55-TRAIL更好,说明双靶向载体TD55比单靶向载体ZD55靶向性更高,如做为治疗药物可增加安全性,在治疗中可大大增加药物的安全性。携带的TRAIL基因能引起肿瘤细胞的凋亡,杀伤力较TD55增加数倍。     

TRAIL induced survival and proliferation in cancer cells resistant towards TRAIL-induced apoptosis mediated by NF-kappaB

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a potent inducer of apoptosis in cancer cells. Examining primary cells of children with untreated acute leukemia, TRAIL induced apoptosis in 50% of cells, but to our surprise attenuated spontaneous apoptosis in the remaining samples or, most importantly, even mediated proliferation. We therefore examined tumor cell lines of leukemic and nonleukemic origin with apoptosis resistance towards TRAIL because of absent Caspase-8 or dysfunctional FADD. In all cell lines tested, TRAIL treatment increased cell numbers in average to 163% within 4 days and accelerated doubling time from 24 to 19 h. TRAIL-mediated proliferation was completely abrogated by blockade of NF-kappaB activation using proteasome inhibitors or in RIP-negative, IKKgamma-negative cells or in cells overexpressing dominant-negative IkappaBalpha. Our data describe the biological significance of TRAIL-mediated activation of NF-kappaB in cancer cells resistant to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis: TRAIL leads to an increase in tumor cell count by a prosurvival and possibly mitogenic function. Given the promising therapeutic potential of TRAIL as a novel anticancer drug, TRAIL-mediated survival or proliferation of target cells may restrict its use to apoptosis-sensitive tumors.     

Adriamycin Sensitizes Adriamycin-Resistant HL-60/ADR Cells to TRAIL-Mediated Apoptosis

OBJECTIVE To study whether an adriamycin-resistant cell line(HL-60/ADR) can be sensitized by adriamycin(ADR) to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis.METHODS The mRNA levels of the TRAIL receptor and apoptosis-related signaling molecules involved in the TRAIL-mediated apoptotic pathway were measured by RT-PCR.The protein levels of apoptotic-related signaling molecules involved in the TRAIL-mediated apoptotic pathway and processed caspase-3,caspase-9,and caspase-8 were measured by Western blots.Apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry.Mitochondrial membrane potential was analyzed by DiOC6(3) staining.Cytotoxicity was determined by the colorimetric MTT viability/ proliferation assay.RESULTS Treatment with a combination of TRAIL and subtoxic concentrations of ADR resulted in synergistic cytotoxicity and apoptosis for both the parental HL-60 and the HL-60/ADR cells.For HL-60,there was a 5-fold potentiation and synergy in cytotoxicity for TRAIL and for HL-60/ADR,cytotoxicity to TRAIL was potentiated 6-fold with ADR.Adriamycin treatment modestly up-regulated TRAIL-R2(DR5),but had no effect on the expression of Fas-associated death domain,c-FLIP,Bcl-2,Bcl-xL,Bax,and IAP family members(cIAP-1,cIAP-2,XIAP,and survivin).The protein levels of pro-caspase-8 and pro-caspase-3 were not affected by ADR,whereas pro-caspase-9 and Apaf-1 were up-regulated.Combined treatment with TRAIL and ADR resulted in activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3,but there was no detectable processing of caspase-8 beyond the background levels.There was signif icant depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane by the combined treatment of both cell lines and it was more pronounced in the parental HL-60 cell line.The combined treatment with TRAIL and ADR resulted in 42.6% of the HL-60/ADR cells undergoing DNA fragmentation,whereas treatment with either ADR or TRAIL alone resulted in 5.46% and 21.3% DNA fragmented cells,respectively.Similar results were obtained with the HL-60 cells.CONCLUSION These fi ndings demonstrate that ADR can still signal ADR-resistant tumor cells,resulting in the modifi cation of the TRAIL-mediated signaling pathway and apoptosis.     

Genistein sensitizes TRAIL-resistant human gastric adenocarcinoma AGS cells through activation of caspase-3

The cytotoxic effect of the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is limited in some cancer cells, including AGS gastric adenocarcinoma cells. However, treatment with TRAIL in combination with subtoxic concentrations of genistein sensitizes TRAIL-resistant AGS cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Combined treatment with genistein and TRAIL-induced chromatin condensation and sub-G1 phase DNA content. These indicators of apoptosis are correlated with the activation of death receptors (DR5) and induction of caspase-3 activity, which results in the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase. Both the cytotoxic effect and apoptotic characteristics induced by combined treatment were significantly inhibited by z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor, which demonstrates the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. These results indicate that caspase-3 is a key regulator of apoptosis in response to combined genistein and TRAIL in human gastric adenocarcinoma AGS cells through the activation of DR5 and mitochondrial dysfunction.     

Targeting XIAP bypasses Bcl-2-mediated resistance to TRAIL and cooperates with TRAIL to suppress pancreatic cancer growth in vitro and in vivo

Resistance to apoptosis is a hallmark of pancreatic cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths. Therefore, novel strategies are required to target apoptosis resistance. Here, we report that the combination of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) inhibition and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is an effective approach to trigger apoptosis despite Bcl-2 overexpression and to suppress pancreatic cancer growth in vitro and in vivo. Knockdown of XIAP by RNA interference cooperates with TRAIL to induce caspase activation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome c release, and apoptosis in pancreatic carcinoma cells. Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome c release are extensively inhibited by a broad range or caspase-3 selective caspase inhibitor and by RNAi-mediated silencing of caspase-3, indicating that XIAP inhibition enhances TRAIL-induced mitochondrial damage in a caspase-3-dependent manner. XIAP inhibition combined with TRAIL even breaks Bcl-2-imposed resistance by converting type II cells that depend on the mitochondrial contribution to the death receptor pathway to type I cells in which TRAIL-induced activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 and apoptosis proceeds irrespective of high Bcl-2 levels. Most importantly, XIAP inhibition potentiates TRAIL-induced antitumor activity in two preclinical models of pancreatic cancer in vivo. In the chicken chorioallantoic membrane model, XIAP inhibition significantly enhances TRAIL-mediated apoptosis and suppression of tumor growth. In a tumor regression model in xenograft-bearing mice, XIAP inhibition acts in concert with TRAIL to cause even regression of established pancreatic carcinoma. Thus, this combination of XIAP inhibition plus TRAIL is a promising strategy to overcome apoptosis resistance of pancreatic cancer that warrants further investigation.     

Bcl-XL小分子干扰RNA逆转人结肠癌获得性肿瘤坏死因子相关凋亡诱导配体的耐药

目的 探讨Bcl-XL小分子干扰RNA(siRNA)在逆转人结肠癌细胞获得性肿瘤坏死因子相关的凋亡诱导配体(TRAIL)耐药中的作用.方法 以Bcl-XL siRNA转染获得性TRAIL耐药的人结肠癌DLD1-TRAIL/R细胞24 h,并用TRAIL蛋白处理,通过细胞计数和流式细胞仪检测细胞的存活率,并通过Western blot法检测各种凋亡相关蛋白的活化情况.结果Bcl-XL siRNA能有效下调DLD1-TRAIL/R细胞中Bcl-XL蛋白的表达水平,并且能够有效地逆转其对TRAIL蛋白的耐药.DLD1-TRAIL/R细胞经过Bcl-XL siRNA和TRAIL蛋白共同处理2 h后,其细胞凋亡率＞50%;共同处理4 h后,其细胞存活率＜40%;而对照组和TRAIL蛋白处理组的细胞凋亡率和生存率无明显变化(P＜0·05).Western blot法检测结果表明,经Bcl-XL siRNA与TRAIL蛋白联合处理后,DLD1TRAIL/R细胞中caspase-8、caspase-9、Bid、caspase-3以及多聚腺苷酸二磷酸核糖聚合酶(PARP)均明显活化,细胞色素C的释放显著增加.结论 Bcl-XL siRNA能够有效逆转结肠癌细胞获得性TRAIL耐药,这将为治疗肿瘤耐药提供一种新的思路.     

Alpha-tocopheryl succinate sensitises a T lymphoma cell line to TRAIL-induced apoptosis by suppressing NF-kappaB activation

Activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) can interfere with induction of apoptosis triggered by the tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL; Apo2L). Therefore, agents that suppress NF-kappaB activation may sensitise cells to TRAIL-dependent apoptosis. Exposure of Jurkat cells to TRAIL resulted in massive and saturable apoptosis induction, following an initial lag time. This lag was abolished by pretreatment of the cells with subapoptotic doses of alpha-tocopheryl succinate (alpha-TOS) or the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Exposure of the cells to TRAIL led to a rapid, transient activation of NF-kappaB, a process that was suppressed by cell pretreatment with alpha-TOS or MG132. Activation of NF-kappaB by TNF-alpha prior to TRAIL exposure increased resistance of the cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. We conclude that alpha-TOS sensitises cells to TRAIL killing, at least in some cases, through inhibition of NF-kappaB activation. This further supports the possibility that this semisynthetic analogue of vitamin E is a potential adjuvant in cancer treatment, such as in the case of TRAIL-mediated inhibition of cancer.     

Inhibition of the NF-kappaB pathway enhances TRAIL-mediated apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells

Neuroblastoma is the most common solid extracranial neoplasm in children and causes many deaths. Despite treatment advances, prognosis for neuroblastoma remains poor, and a critical need exists for the development of new treatment regimens. TNF-related apoptosis-inducing-ligand (TRAIL) induces cell death in a variety of tumors, but not in normal tissues. Moreover, TRAIL is nontoxic, making it a strong antitumor therapeutic candidate. We demonstrate that introduction of the TRAIL gene into neuroblastoma cell lines using an adenoviral vector leads to apoptotic cell death. RT-PCR and flow-cytometric analyses demonstrated that TRAIL's effect is mediated primarily via the TRAIL R2 receptor. As TRAIL can activate the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) signaling pathway, which can exert an antiapoptotic effect, we hypothesized that inhibition of NF-kappaB signaling may augment TRAIL's killing effects. TRAIL-mediated cell death was enhanced when neuroblastoma cells were simultaneously infected with a dominant-negative mutant of IkappaB kinase, a kinase essential for NF-kappaB activation. The combination of blockade of NF-kappaB signaling and expression of TRAIL induced apoptotic death in a greater proportion of SKNSH cells than did either treatment alone. Thus, concurrent inhibition of the NF-kappaB pathway and the induction of TRAIL-mediated apoptosis may become a useful approach for the treatment of neuroblastoma.     

Sulforaphane sensitizes tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-mediated apoptosis through downregulation of ERK and Akt in lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells

The cytotoxic effect of the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is limited in some cancer cells, including A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. However, treatment with TRAIL in combination with subtoxic concentrations of sulforaphane (SFN) sensitizes TRAIL-resistant A549 cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Combined treatment with SFN and TRAIL induced chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, annexin V staining and sub-G(1) phase DNA content. These indicators of apoptosis correlate with the induction of caspase-3 activity that results in the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and the release of lactate dehydrogenase. Both the cytotoxic effect and apoptotic characteristics induced by combined treatment were significantly inhibited by z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor, demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. Combined treatment also triggered the activation of p38 MAPK and JNK, and downregulation of ERK and Akt. Inhibitors of ERK (PD98059) or Akt (LY294002), but not p38 MAPK, resulted in significantly decreased cell viability. Although the activation of JNK was increased in response to combined treatment, inhibition of the JNK pathway significantly attenuated cell viability. These results indicate that caspase-3 is a key regulator of apoptosis in response to combined SFN and TRAIL in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells through downregulation of ERK and Akt.     

Adriamycin sensitizes the adriamycin-resistant 8226/Dox40 human multiple myeloma cells to Apo2L/tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-mediated (TRAIL) apoptosis.

The newly discovered member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily, Apo2L/tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), has been identified as an apoptosis-inducing agent in sensitive tumor cells but not in the majority of normal cells, and hence it is of potential therapeutic application. However, many tumor cells are resistant to Apo2L/TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Various chemotherapeutic drugs have been shown to sensitize tumor cells to members of the tumor necrosis factor family. However, it is not clear whether sensitization by drugs and sensitivity to drugs are related or distinct events. This study examined whether an Adriamycin-resistant multiple myeloma (MM) cell line (8226/Dox40) can be sensitized by Adriamycin (ADR) to Apo2L/TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Treatment with the combination of Apo2L/TRAIL and subtoxic concentrations of ADR resulted in synergistic cytotoxicity and apoptosis for both the parental 8226/S and the 8226/Dox40 tumor cells. Adriamycin treatment modestly up-regulated Apo2L/TRAIL-R2 (DR5) and had no effect on the expression of Fas-associated death domain, c-FLIP, Bcl-2, Bcl(xL), Bax, and IAP family members (cIAP-1, cIAP-2, XIAP, and survivin). The protein levels of pro-caspase-8 and pro-caspase-3 were not affected by ADR, whereas pro-caspase-9 and Apaf-1 were up-regulated. Combination treatment with Apo2L/TRAIL and ADR resulted in significant mitochondrial membrane depolarization and activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 and apoptosis. Because ADR is shown to sensitize ADR-resistant tumor cells to Apo2L/TRAIL, these findings reveal that ADR can still signal ADR-resistant tumor cells, resulting in the modification of the Apo2L/TRAIL-mediated signaling pathway and apoptosis. These in vitro findings suggest the potential application of combination therapy of Apo2L/TRAIL and subtoxic concentrations of sensitizing chemotherapeutic drugs in the clinical treatment of drug-resistant/Apo2L/TRAIL-resistant multiple myeloma.     

Caspase-mediated p65 cleavage promotes TRAIL-induced apoptosis

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is cytotoxic to a wide variety of transformed cells, but not to most normal cells, implying potential therapeutic value against advanced cancer. However, signal transduction in TRAIL-mediated apoptosis is not clearly understood compared with other TNF family members. Specifically, it is not yet understood how TRAIL controls nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation and overcomes its anti-apoptotic effect. We explored the regulation of NF-kappaB activity by TRAIL and its role in apoptosis. TRAIL combined with IkappaBalpha-"superrepressor" induced potent apoptosis of SK-Hep1 hepatoma cells at low concentrations of TRAIL that do not independently induce apoptosis. Apoptosis by high concentrations of TRAIL was not affected by IkappaBalpha-superrepressor. Although TRAIL alone did not induce NF-kappaB activity, TRAIL combined with z-VAD significantly increased NF-kappaB activation. Analysis of the NF-kappaB activation pathway indicated that TRAIL unexpectedly induced cleavage of p65 at Asp97, which was blocked by z-VAD, accounting for all of these findings. p65 expression abrogated apoptosis and increased NF-kappaB activity in TRAIL-treated cells. Cleavage-resistant p65D97A further increased NF-kappaB activity in TRAIL-treated cells, whereas the COOH-terminal p65 fragment acted as a dominant-negative inhibitor. XIAP levels were increased by TRAIL in combination with z-VAD, whereas XIAP levels were decreased by TRAIL alone. Cleavage of p65 was also detected after FRO thyroid cancer cells were treated with TRAIL. These results suggest that TRAIL induces NF-kappaB activation, but simultaneously abrogates NF-kappaB activation by cleaving p65, and thereby inhibits the induction of anti-apoptotic proteins such as XIAP, which contributes to the strong apoptotic activity of TRAIL compared with other TNF family members.     

Lack of p38 MAP kinase activation in TRAIL-resistant cells is not related to the resistance to TRAIL-mediated cell death

Activation of MAP kinases is involved in various cellular processes, including immunoregulation, inflammation, cell growth, cell differentiation, and cell death. To investigate the role of p38 MAP kinase activation in the signaling pathway of TRAIL-mediated apoptosis, we compared TRAIL-mediated MAP kinase activation in TRAIL-susceptible human colon cancer cell line DLD1 and TRAIL-resistant DLD1/TRAIL-R cells. TRAIL-mediated activation of ERK occurred in both cell lines. In contrast, both DLD1 and DLD1/TRAIL-R cells showed no obvious JNK activation after treatment with TRAIL. Interestingly, TRAIL-mediated activation of p38 MAP kinases was observed in DLD1 cells but not in DLD1/TRAIL-R cells. However, activation of p38 MAP kinases was observed in both DLD1 and DLD1/TRAIL-R cells after treatment with anisomycin. Furthermore, inhibiting activated p38 MAP kinases with known inhibitors or with an adenovector expressing dominant negative p38alpha did not block TRAIL-mediated cell death in DLD1 cells. Moreover, activation of p38 MAP kinases by adenovectors expressing constitutive MKK3 or MKK6 (Ad/MKK3bE or Ad/MKK6bE) did not induce cell death in either DLD1 or DLD1/TRAIL-R cell lines. Our results suggest that activation of p38 MAP kinases does not play a major role in TRAIL-mediated apoptosis in DLD1 cells and that lack of TRAIL-mediated p38 MAP kinase activation may not be the mechanism of TRAIL-resistance in DLD1/TRAIL-R cells.