Antitumor mechanism of antisense cantide targeting human telomerase reverse transcriptase

AIM: To investigate the anti-tumor mechanism of antisenseoligodeoxynucleotide cantide against hTERT.METHODS: Tumor cells were cultured overnight and grownto 50-60% confluence. HepG2 and SMMC-7721 were treatedwith cantide mixed with lipofectin, or lipofectin alone. Afterinducted for 6 h at 37℃, 10% FCS in DMEM was replacedin each well. After the treatment repeated twice to threetimes in each concentration of cantide, hTERT mRNA andprotein expression were measured by RT-PCR and Westernblot analysis, respectively. Telomerase aclivity was determinedby TRAP-ELISA assay. CPP32- and ICE-like activity was alsoinvestigated using CasPACE assay system at 48 h aftercantide treatment, and apoptosis was evaluated using theDeadEnd assay at 24, 48 and 72 h after cantide treatment.RESULTS: Compared to the control cells, the cells treated with cantide showed a dose-dependent decrease in hTERT mRNA levels at 24 h and in protein levels at 48 h respectively.The telomerase activity was decreased as the concentration of cantide increased at 48 h. At the concentration of 800 nM,the telomerase activity in the treated HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells was only 17.1% (P＜0.01) and 20.3% (P＜0.01)of that in untreated cells. The levels of CPP32-like protease activity in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 increased by 2.8- and 3.0-fold (P＜0.05) at 48 h, and the levels of ICE-like protease activity also increased by 2.6- and 3.2-fold (P＜0.05)respectively. The percentage of apoptosis in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells treated with 800 nM cantide at 72 h was 63% and 52% (P＜0.01), respectively. By contrast, 8%and 9% of the cells were apoptosis after 72 h treatment with lipofectin alone.CONCLUSION: Cantide can decrease telomerase activity by inhibiting the expression of hTERT gene and has a rapid anti-tumor effect through inducing the Caspase-dependent apoptosis. The rapid inhibitory effect of cantide on tumor growth demonstrates its feasibility in cancer treatment.     

人端粒酶逆转录酶干扰增强肿瘤坏死因子相关的凋亡诱导配体诱导肝癌细胞凋亡的机制

目的探讨人端粒酶逆转录酶(hTERT)干扰增加肿瘤坏死因子相关的凋亡诱导配体(TRAIL)诱导肝癌HepG2和SMMC 7721细胞凋亡的分子机制。方法采用膜联蛋白V/碘化丙锭染色的流式细胞术方法检测细胞凋亡;采用Western blot方法检测凋亡相关蛋白Procaspase-8、9、-3及Bax、Bcl-2和hTERT表达;采用端粒重复扩增法和端粒数量和长度测定法检测端粒酶活陛和端粒长度。结果hTERT干扰显著增加TRAIL诱导的肝癌细胞凋亡。100 ng/ml TRAIL作用24 h后,HepG2细胞凋亡率由5.53%增加至10.35%;SMMC 7721细胞凋亡率由14.73%增加至77.24%。hTERT干扰明显增加Procaspase-8、-9和Bcl-2表达,显著降低Bax表达,明显促进TRAIL作用后Procaspase-8、-9、-3活化,并且hTERT干扰后端粒酶活性显著降低,端粒长度明显缩短,然而对照细胞与未转染细胞相比各指标均无明显变化。结论hTERT干扰明显增加TRAIL诱导的肝癌细胞凋亡,其机制可能与Procaspase-8、-9表达增加,端粒酶活性降低和端粒长度缩短有关,而与Bcl-2和Bax表达无关。     

A dyskerin motif reactivates telomerase activity in X-linked dyskeratosis congenita and in telomerase-deficient human cells

Dyskerin gene is mutated in patients with X-linked dyskeratosis congenita (X-DC), which results in greatly reduced levels of telomerase activity. A genetic suppressor element (GSE) termed GSE24-2 has been isolated in a screening for cisplatin resistance. GSE24-2-expressing cells presented impaired telomerase inhibition following in vitro exposure to chemotherapies, such as cisplatin, or telomerase inhibitors. The promoter of the telomerase component hTERT was constitutively activated in GSE24-2 cells in a c-myc expression-dependent manner. Deletion analyses and mutagenesis of the human c-myc promoter demonstrated that the target sequence for activation was the nuclease hypersensitive element-III (NHEIII) site located upstream to the P1 region of the promoter. Further, expression of GSE24-2 in cell lines derived from patients with X-DC and in VA13 cells induced increased hTERT RNA and hTR levels and recovery of telomerase activity. Finally, expression of GSE24-2 was able to rescue X-DC fibroblasts from premature senescence. These data demonstrate that this domain of dyskerin plays an important role in telomerase maintenance following cell insults such as cisplatin treatment, and in telomerase-defective cells in patients with X-DC. The expression of this dyskerin fragment has a dominant function in X-DC cells and could provide the basis for a therapeutic approach to this disease.     

人端粒酶催化亚单位锤头状核酶诱导肝癌细胞凋亡的作用

目的 构建带有U6启动子的人端粒酶催化亚单位锤头状核酶真核表达质粒及其突变体,转染入肝癌细胞株SMMC7721,观察端粒酶活性、细胞增殖和凋亡的情况。 方法 用分子克隆技术构建由U6作为启动子、绿色荧光蛋白基因作为报告基因的核酶真核表达质粒pGTRz-U6及其突变体pGTmRz-U6,并以空质粒pEGFP-C1作为对照。Lipofectamine2000转染人肝癌细胞株SMMC7721,G418筛选阳性克隆。RT-PCR检测核酶及hTERT基因的表达,四甲基偶氮唑盐(MTT)作细胞生长曲线观察其生长情况,TRAP-银染法检测端粒酶活性变化,流式细胞计数(FCM)法检测细胞的凋亡水平。 结果 核酶、突变核酶在SMMC7721中持续表达;凝胶成像系统分析SMMC7721-pEGFP-C1、SMMC7721-mRz、SMMC7721-Rz hTERT基因表达,用SPSS10.0软件对3种细胞进行分析,发现三者hTERT基因表达水平不同(F=47.987,P<0.01);t检验分析得出SMMC7721-Rz hTERT基因表达明显低于SMMC7721-mRz和SMMC7721- pEGFP-C1(t值分别为-7.640和-11.602,P值均<0.01)。SMMC7721-pEGFP-C1和SMMC7721-mRz hTERT表达没有区别(t=-0.178,P>0.05)。TRAP-银染及FCM结果分别显示,随着细胞的分裂,SMMC7721-Rz和SMMC7721-mRz细胞端粒酶活性逐渐降低,凋亡水平逐渐增加,7PDS细胞凋亡率分别是29.86％和9.87％,而对照组SMMC