顺铂增加人脑胶质瘤细胞U251对TRAIL敏感性的实验研究

目的 研究顺铂在增加人脑胶质瘤细胞U251对肿瘤坏死因子相关凋亡诱导配体(TRAIL)敏感性的作用,并探讨其分子机制.方法 通过倒置荧光显微镜下观察重组腺病毒载体携带的绿色荧光蛋白的表达确定最适感染复数MOI;运用MTT法检测细胞增殖活性;倒置荧光显微镜下观察Hoechst33342染色细胞凋亡形态;PI染色后通过流式细胞术检测诱导凋亡作用,RT-PCR法检测凋亡相关基因.结果 感染后TRAIL基因的表达明显上调.顺铂增敏TRAIL组与单独组相比,有显著抑制细胞增殖作用(P<0.05),Hoechst33342染色观察有明显的核固缩,核碎裂.流式细胞术检测细胞有凋亡峰的出现,增敏组与单独组有显著性差异(P<0.05).RT-PCR检测到TRAIL、DB5、caspase-3基因上调,survivin基因下调,DB4表达无明显变化.结论 顺铂可以增加人脑胶质瘤细胞U251对TRAIL的敏感性,其分子机制可能与DR5、caspase-3基因上调,survivin基因下调有关.     

RNA interference targeting survivin exerts antitumoral effects in vitro and in established glioma xenografts in vivo

Malignant glioma represents the most common primary adult brain tumor in Western industrialized countries. Despite aggressive treatment modalities, the median survival duration for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the highest grade malignant glioma, has not improved significantly over past decades. One promising approach to deal with GBM is the inactivation of proteins essential for survival or progression of glioma cells by means of RNA interference (RNAi) techniques. A likely candidate for an RNAi therapy of gliomas is the inhibitor of apoptosis protein survivin. Survivin is involved in 2 main cellular processes-cell division and inhibition of apoptosis. We show here that stable RNAi of survivin induced polyploidy, apoptosis, and impaired proliferation of human U343-MG, U373-MG, H4, and U87-MG cells and of primary glioblastoma cells. Proteome profiler arrays using U373-MG cells identified a novel set of differentially expressed genes upon RNAi-mediated survivin knockdown. In particular, the death receptor TRAIL R2/DR5 was strongly upregulated in survivin-depleted glioma cells, inducing an enhanced cytotoxic response of allogeneic human NK cells. Moreover, an experimental in vivo therapy using polyethylenimine (PEI)/siRNA complexes for survivin knockdown efficiently blocked tumor growth of established subcutaneous U373-MG tumors and enhanced survival of NMRI(nu/nu) mice orthopically transplanted with U87-MG cells. We conclude that survivin is functionally relevant in gliomas and that PEI-mediated exogenous delivery of siRNA targeting survivin is a promising strategy for glioblastoma therapy.     

IFN-γ联合阿霉素或依托泊苷增强TRAIL对神经母细胞瘤细胞的诱导凋亡作用

  目的  探讨半胱-天冬氨酸蛋白酶8(Caspase 8)和死亡受体(DR)在肿瘤坏死因子相关凋亡诱导配体(TRAIL)诱导神经母细胞瘤(NB)细胞凋亡中的作用。  方法  应用RT-PCR方法检测γ干扰素(IFN-γ)作用前后NB细胞Caspase 8 mRNA的表达; 应用Western blot方法检测Caspase 8、DR4和DR5蛋白表达; 应用四甲基偶氮唑蓝(MTT)比色法及流式细胞术检测IFN-γ, TRAIL, IFN-γ+TRAIL, Caspase 8抑制剂+TRAIL及IFN-γ+阿霉素/依托泊苷+TRAIL对NB细胞株生长及凋亡的影响。  结果  IFN-γ在NB细胞株SKNDZ中诱导了Caspase 8mRNA及蛋白表达。SY5Y细胞对TRAIL不敏感, 而IFN-γ与TRAIL或阿霉素, 依托泊苷联用对SY5Y细胞有明显诱导凋亡作用。IFN-γ+TRAIL组SY5Y细胞早期凋亡率(23.09+2.35)%高于TRAIL组[(6.15±0.54)%(P< 0.01)], 但低于IFN-γ+阿霉素/依托泊苷+TRAIL组[(43.41±6.46)%/(38.86±7.29)%, P< 0.01]。阿霉素或依托泊苷可以诱导NB细胞株DR5蛋白表达, 但未诱导DR4蛋白表达。IFNγ诱导后表达Caspase 8的SKNDZ细胞对TRAIL的诱导凋亡作用仍不敏感, 而阿霉素或依托泊苷处理后同时表达DR5的SKNDZ细胞对TRAIL的诱导凋亡作用相对敏感。IFN-γ+阿霉素/依托泊苷+TRAIL组SKNDZ细胞早期凋亡率(11.54±2.49)%/(13.38±1.65)%高于IFN-γ+TRAIL组(P< 0.01)。  结论  IFN-γ上调Caspase 8表达及化疗药阿霉素或依托泊苷诱导DR5表达可以恢复NB细胞对TRAIL的敏感性, Caspase 8和DR5在TRAIL诱导NB细胞凋亡中起着十分关键的作用。      

Embelin 通过上调死亡受体 DR4 / DR5 mRNA 表达增加 HL - 60 细胞对 TRAIL的敏感性

目的：探讨Embelin增加HL-60细胞对肿瘤坏死因子相关凋亡诱导配体（TRAIL）的敏感性及可能的作用机制.方法：TRAIL 1、5、10、50及100 ng/ml分别处理HL-60细胞6、12、24及48h,MTT法绘制细胞生长曲线;TRAIL 10 ng/ml±亚细胞毒浓度的Embelin处理HL-60细胞6、12、24及48h,Annexin V/PI复染流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡,Western blot检测24h时Caspase-3、8及9的表达;亚细胞毒浓度的Embelin处理HL-60细胞6、12、24及48h,实时荧光定量PCR检测DR4及DR5 mRNA 的表达.结果：TRAIL对HL-60 细胞具有增殖抑制作用.亚细胞毒浓度的Embelin联合10 ng/ml TRAIL作用于HL-60细胞时细胞凋亡率较单独应用TRAIL时增加,相应的Caspase-3、8及9的表达也随之增加.结论：亚细胞毒浓度的Embelin可以增加HL-60细胞对TRAIL的敏感性,其机制可能与上调DR4及DR5 mRNA表达并进而启动凋亡途径有关.     

Quercetin promotes degradation of survivin and thereby enhances death-receptor-mediated apoptosis in glioma cells

The flavonoid quercetin has been reported to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, whereas it has no effect on nonneoplastic cells. U87-MG, U251, A172, LN229, and U373 malignant glioma cells were treated with quercetin (50-200 microM). Quercetin did not cause cytotoxicity 24 h after treatment. Combining quercetin with tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) strongly augmented TRAIL-mediated apoptosis in U87-MG, U251, A172, and LN229 glioma cells; U373 cells could not be sensitized by quercetin to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. TRAIL-induced apoptosis was enhanced by quercetin-induced reduction of survivin protein levels. Upon treatment with quercetin, the protein level of survivin was strongly suppressed in U87-MG, U251, and A172 but not in U373 glioma cells. Quercetin exposure resulted in proteasomal degradation of survivin. TRAIL-quercetin-induced apoptosis was markedly reduced by overexpression of survivin. In addition, upon treatment with quercetin, downregulation of survivin was also regulated by the Akt pathway. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that quercetin sensitizes glioma cells to death-receptor-mediated apoptosis by suppression of inhibitor of the apoptosis protein survivin.     

重组人TRAIL蛋白联合顺铂对人卵巢癌细胞生长及凋亡的影响

背景与目的：研究发现肿瘤坏死因子的相关凋亡诱导配体(tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand,TRAIL)可以增强化疗药物对肿瘤细胞的杀伤作用。本研究旨在探讨TRAIL与顺铂联合应用对体外培养的卵巢癌细胞SKOV3和OVCAR3生长凋亡的影响及可能的诱导机制。方法：利用MTT法和流式细胞仪检测在顺铂和重组人TRAIL蛋白共同作用下,SKOV3和OVCAR3细胞的增殖抑制效应及细胞凋亡程度;并应用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应(real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction,RTFQ-PCR)检测药物处理后TRAIL死亡受体DR4、DR5的mRNA表达水平;同时用蛋白[质]印迹法(Western blot)检测DR4、DR5的蛋白表达水平。结果：SKOV3和OVCAR3细胞均对TRAIL蛋白敏感,随着TRAIL蛋白浓度的升高,细胞的生长抑制率可达64%;而TRAIL与顺铂联合用药对两种细胞的抑制率均达到92%以上,对细胞的增殖抑制呈现高效协同作用,与单独用药组比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);TRAIL和顺铂联合组两种细胞凋亡率分别为(31.50±0.79)%和(36.60±1.31)%,显著高于单独用药组;RTFQ-PCR和Western blot检测结果显示,SKOV3和OVCAR3细胞在TRAIL与顺铂联合用药后,死亡受体DR4、DR5表达水平均显著上调。结论：在体外,TRAIL与化疗药物顺铂联用能明显抑制卵巢癌细胞增殖,诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡。TRAIL能明显增强顺铂对卵巢癌细胞的敏感性,其诱导机制可能与死亡受体DR4、DR5表达水平上调有关。     

Adenovirus E1A reverses the resistance of normal primary human lung fibroblast cells to TRAIL through DR5 upregulation and caspase 8-dependent pathway

Expression of the adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) E1A enhances tumor cells to apoptosis by TNF-alpha, Fas-ligand and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). In this study, we found that E1A expression reversed the resistance of normal primary human lung fibroblast cells (P-HLF) to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, TRAIL dramatically induced apoptosis of P-HLF cells that expressed E1A following either infection with Ad-E1A or transfection with pcDNA3-E1A. Further results demonstrated that E1A specifically upregulated DR5 levels but had nearly no effect on the levels of DR4. E1A dramatically upregulated the exogenous TRAIL, and then increased a substantial amount of TRAIL on the surface of P-HLF cells treated with the expression vectors, both Ad-TRAIL and pIRES-EGFP-TRAIL. The dominant negative FADD mutation (FADD-DN) results revealed that the apoptosis in Ad-E1A and Ad-TRAIL coinfected P-HLF cells was completely blocked following inhibition of the death receptors-associated apoptosis-inducing molecules FADD. Moreover, the caspase 8 inhibitor (Z-IETD-FMK) could efficiently block caspase 8 activation and resulted in inhibition of caspase 3 activation and cleavage. However, The caspase 9 specific inhibitor (Z-LEHD-FMK) could not counteract the synergistic effect of TRAIL-induced apoptosis in combination with E1A, and caspase 3 activation and cleavage were not inhibited by Z-LEHD-FMK. Thus, our results suggest that adenovirus E1A sensitizes P-HLF cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis involving DR5 upregulation and the caspase 8-dependent pathway. These findings provide the first direct evidence for molecular mechanisms of adenovirus E1A gene products to sensitize normal cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis.     

Pharmacological inhibition of Bcl-2 family members reactivates TRAIL-induced apoptosis in malignant glioma

The major aim of this study was to develop novel therapeutic approaches to potentiate and reactivate apoptosis induced by TNF-Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) in malignant glioma. Analysis of five glioma cell lines (U87, U251, U373, MZ-54 and MZ-18) indicated that only two of the cell lines were sensitive to apoptosis induced by TRAIL alone. TRAIL resistance was not correlated to expression levels of the death receptors DR4 and DR5 or the decoy receptors DcR1 and DcR2, suggesting that it was mediated by inactivation of TRAIL-induced downstream signalling. Activation of the BH3 only protein Bid and subsequent activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway are known to play a pivotal role in TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Since this process is blocked by overexpression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, we analyzed the therapeutic potential of BH3 mimetics in potentiating TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Treatment with TRAIL in combination with the specific Bcl-2 inhibitor HA14-1 and the Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitor BH3I-2′ potently enhanced apoptosis in TRAIL-sensitive U87 cells in a dose-dependent fashion. TRAIL-induced apoptosis was significantly reactivated by HA14-1 and BH3I-2′ in one (U343) and two (MZ-54 and MZ-18) of three investigated TRAIL-insensitive cell lines, respectively. Knockdown of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member Mcl-1 by RNA interference had no additional effect on apoptosis induced by TRAIL and HA14-1 in U87 and U343 cells. Our data indicate that Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL play fundamental roles in TRAIL resistance of malignant glioma and suggest that using TRAIL or agonistic TRAIL receptor antibodies in combination with BH3 mimetics may represent a promising approach to reactivate apoptosis in therapy-resistant high grade gliomas.     

Inhibition of DNA methylation sensitizes glioblastoma for tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-mediated destruction

Life expectancy of patients affected by glioblastoma multiforme is extremely low. The therapeutic use of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been proposed to treat this disease based on its ability to kill glioma cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Here, we show that, differently from glioma cell lines, glioblastoma multiforme tumors were resistant to TRAIL stimulation because they expressed low levels of caspase-8 and high levels of the death receptor inhibitor PED/PEA-15. Inhibition of methyltransferases by decitabine resulted in considerable up-regulation of TRAIL receptor-1 and caspase-8, down-regulation of PED/PEA-15, inhibition of cell growth, and sensitization of primary glioblastoma cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Exogenous caspase-8 expression was the main event able to restore TRAIL sensitivity in primary glioblastoma cells. The antitumor activity of decitabine and TRAIL was confirmed in vivo in a mouse model of glioblastoma multiforme. Evaluation of tumor size, apoptosis, and caspase activation in nude mouse glioblastoma multiforme xenografts showed dramatic synergy of decitabine and TRAIL in the treatment of glioblastoma, whereas the single agents were scarcely effective in terms of reduction of tumor mass, apoptosis induction, and caspase activation. Thus, the combination of TRAIL and demethylating agents may provide a key tool to overcome glioblastoma resistance to therapeutic treatments.     

Let-7b expression determines response to chemotherapy through the regulation of Cyclin D1 in Glioblastoma

Background

Glioblastoma is the most common type of primary brain tumors. Cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent for Glioblastoma patients. Despite a consistent rate of initial responses, cisplatin treatment often develops chemoresistance, leading to therapeutic failure. Cellular resistance to cisplatin is of great concern and understanding the molecular mechanisms is an utter need.

Methods

Glioblastoma cell line U251 cells were exposed to increasing doses of cisplatin for 6 months to establish cisplatin-resistant cell line U251R. The differential miRNA expression profiles in U251 and U251R cell lines were identified by microarray analysis and confirmed by Q-PCR. MiRNA mimics were transfected into U251R cells, and cellular response to cisplatin-induced apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were examined by FACS analysis.

Results

U251R cells showed 3.1-fold increase in cisplatin resistance compared to its parental U251 cells. Microarray analysis identified Let-7b and other miRNAs significantly down-regulated in U251R cells compared to U251 cells. Transfection of Let-7b mimics greatly re-sensitized U251R cells to cisplatin, while transfection of other miRNAs has no effect or slightly effect. Cyclin D1 is predicted as a target of Let-7b through bioinformatics analysis. Over-expression of Let-7b mimics suppressed cyclin D1 protein expression and inhibited cyclin D1-3’-UTR luciferase activity. Knockdown of cyclin D1 expression significantly increased cisplatin-induced G1 arrest and apoptosis.

Conclusions

Collectively, our results indicated that cisplatin treatment leads to Let-7b suppression, which in turn up-regulates cyclin D1 expression. Let-7b may serve as a marker of cisplatin resistance, and can enhance the therapeutic benefit of cisplatin in glioblastoma cells.     

抑制LITAF基因对人脑胶质母细胞瘤U251细胞增殖、凋亡和放疗敏感度的影响

 目的 分析人脑胶质母细胞瘤组织中LITAF基因mRNA表达情况,并通过抑制人脑胶质母细胞瘤U251细胞中LITAF基因表达,观察其对U251细胞增殖、凋亡和放疗敏感度的影响。方法 分析TCGA数据库中人脑胶质母细胞瘤组织中LITAF基因mRNA表达;通过RNAi抑制U251细胞中LITAF基因表达,采用胸腺嘧啶核苷类似物（EDU）检测U251细胞增殖变化,流式细胞仪分析U251细胞凋亡的变化,克隆形成实验和流式细胞分析U251细胞放疗敏感度的变化。 结果 TCGA数据库分析结果显示人脑胶质母细胞瘤组织LITAF表达显著高于正常脑组织;抑制LITAF表达后,U251细胞的增殖和凋亡未见明显变化,但在电离辐射后,LITAF抑制组U251细胞凋亡显著低于对照组,克隆形成显著高于对照组,对放疗敏感度减弱。结论 LITAF基因高表达于人脑胶质母细胞瘤组织,抑制人脑胶质母细胞瘤U251细胞中LITAF基因表达不影响细胞的增殖和凋亡,但显著降低细胞的放疗敏感度。     

Recombinant adenoviruses expressing TRAIL demonstrate antitumor effects on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

INTRODUCTION: Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in a variety of malignant cells, but not in normal cells. This preferential toxicity to the abnormal cells renders TRAIL potentially a very powerful therapeutic weapon against cancer. However, a requirement for large quantities of TRAIL to suppress tumor growth in vivo is one of the major factors that has hindered it from being widely applied clinically. To overcome this, we constructed a replication-deficient adenovirus that carries a human full-length TRAIL gene (Ad-TRAIL) and tested its efficacy against a lung cancer model system in comparison to that of the recombinant soluble TRAIL protein. METHODS: To investigate the antitumor activity and therapeutic value of the Ad-TRAIL on the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), four NSCLC cell lines, namely, YTMLC, GLC, A549, and H460 cells, were used. TRAIL protein expression was determined by Western blotting and flow cytometry. Cell viability was analyzed by proliferation assay, and DNA ladder and cell-cycle analysis were used to identify apoptosis. To further evaluate the effect of Ad-TRAIL in vivo, YTMLC cells were inoculated to the subcutis of nude mice. The Ad-TRAIL was subsequently administered into the established tumors. Tumor growth and the TRAIL toxicity were evaluated after treatment. RESULTS: YTMLC cells infected with Ad-TRAIL showed decreased cell viability and a higher percentage of apoptosis. Similar, Ad-TRAIL treatment also significantly suppressed tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: TRAIL gene therapy provides a promising therapy for the treatment of NSCLC.     

Prucalopride通过促进自噬抑制胶质瘤细胞U251增殖

目的:研究Prucalopride对胶质瘤U251细胞增殖、自噬、凋亡的影响,并探讨其相关信号通路。方法:通过CCK8检测细胞增殖的变化;Transwell检测迁移和侵袭的变化;细胞流式实验、Western blot检测细胞凋亡的变化;Western blot检测自噬相关蛋白LC3、Beclin1、p62的表达;AKT/mTOR通路相关蛋白的变化。结果:CCK8显示Prucalopride显著抑制U251细胞的增殖（P＜0.05）;Transwell侵袭实验显示Prucalopride可以抑制脑胶质瘤细胞的迁移和侵袭（P＜0.05）;细胞流式实验显示Prucalopride促进U251细胞的凋亡（P＜0.05）,Prucalopride处理后细胞凋亡相关蛋白Bax、Active Caspase3水平升高,Bcl-2表达降低;自噬相关蛋LC3、Beclin1表达上调,p62表达下调;p-AKT蛋白和p-mTOR蛋白水平显著降低。结论:Prucalopride通过抑制AKT/mTOR信号通路激活自噬抑制U251细胞增殖和迁移,促进其凋亡。     

肿瘤细胞对TRAIL敏感性与其表面DR5表达水平的相关性研究

目的　探讨肿瘤细胞表面DR5表达水平与其对肿瘤坏死因子相关的凋亡诱导配体(TRAIL)敏感性之间的关系。方法　利用抗DR5特异性单克隆抗体 ,采用流式细胞仪技术直接检测不同肿瘤细胞系表面DR5的表达水平 ,并采用TRAIL凋亡检测试剂盒检测肿瘤细胞对TRAIL诱导凋亡的敏感性 ,研究两者之间的关系。结果　不同肿瘤细胞表面DR5的表达水平分别为 :U937细胞97.9%、Jurkat细胞 95 .1%、SW4 80细胞 93.8%、HCT116细胞 86 .2 %、HL 6 0细胞 6 4 .2 %、HeLa细胞4 6 .6 %、K5 6 2细胞 13.1% ;TRAIL诱导的细胞凋亡率分别为 :U937细胞 72 .6 %、Jurkat细胞 85 .2 %、SW4 80细胞 78.6 %、HCT116细胞 70 .2 %、HL 6 0细胞 6 0 .1%、HeLa细胞 4 5 .4 %、K5 6 2细胞 12 .3%。经统计学分析 ,两者之间呈现非常明显的正相关 (r=0 .997,P <0 .0 0 1)。结论　肿瘤细胞对TRAIL的敏感性与其表面DR5表达水平有关 ,表明DR5的表达水平在TRAIL诱导细胞凋亡方面起着十分重要的作用     

Interferon-α sensitizes human gastric cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis via activation of the c-CBL-dependent MAPK/ERK pathway

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor family that induces apoptosis in cancer cells. However, gastric cancer cells are insensitive to TRAIL. In the present study, we show that pretreatment with IFN-α enhanced TRAIL-induced apoptosis of gastric cancer MGC803 cells. IFN-α up-regulated death receptor 5 (DR5) expression and down-regulated survivin expression. Furthermore, extracellular-regulated protein kinase (ERK1/2) activation was induced by IFN-α, and a combination of IFN-α and TRAIL led to further activation of ERK1/2. Inhibition of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway partially reversed apoptosis, as well as the expression patterns of DR5 and survivin. Moreover, the expression of the c-casitas B-lineage lymphoma (c-Cbl) family was down-regulated by IFN-α. Transfection of c-Cbl suppressed IFN-α-induced ERK activation. These results indicate that IFN-α enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in gastric cancer cells at least partially via downregulation of c-Cbl, and subsequent up-regulation of the MAPK/ERK pathway.     

YM155 sensitizes triple‐negative breast cancer to membrane‐bound TRAIL through p38 MAPK‐ and CHOP‐mediated DR5 upregulation

Because available treatments have limited efficacy in triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC), the identification of new therapeutic strategies to improve patients' outcome is urgently needed. In our study, we investigated the effects of the administration of the small molecule selective survivin suppressant YM155, alone or in association with CD34+ cells transduced with a replication‐deficient adenovirus encoding the human tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) gene (CD34‐TRAIL+ cells), in three TNBC cell models. YM155 exposure significantly impaired TNBC cell growth and selectively modulated survivin expression at both mRNA and protein level. In addition, co‐culturing YM155‐treated TNBC cells with CD34‐TRAIL+ cells resulted in markedly increased cytotoxic effect and apoptotic response in comparison with single treatments. Such a chemosensitizing effect was observed only in TNBC cells inherently expressing DR5 and relied on the ability of YM155 to upregulate DR5 expression through a p38 MAPK‐ and CHOP‐dependent mechanism. YM155/CD34‐TRAIL+ combination also showed a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of DR5‐expressing TNBC cells following xenotransplantation into NOD/SCID mice, in the absence of toxicity. Overall, our data (i) provide, for the first time, evidence that YM155 sensitizes TNBC cells to CD34‐TRAIL+ cells‐induced apoptosis by a mechanism involving the downregulation of survivin and the simultaneous p38 MAPK‐ and CHOP‐mediated upregulation of DR5, and (ii) suggest the combination of YM155 with TRAIL‐armed CD34+ progenitor cells as a promising therapeutic option for patients with TNBC expressing DR5.     

Synergistic antitumor activity of TRAIL combined with chemotherapeutic agents in A549 cell lines in vitro and in vivo

Purpose To investigate the synergistic cytotoxicity of TRAIL in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in A549 cell lines, we systematically evaluated the cytotoxicity of TRAIL alone and TRAIL in combination with cisplatin, paclitaxel (Taxol) or actinomycin D in A549 cell lines in vitro and in vivo, and whether the sensitivity was correlated with the expression level of TRAIL receptors.Methods We investigated the cytotoxicity of TRAIL alone and the synergistic antitumor effects of TRAIL in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in A549 cells by crystal violet staining and FACS in vitro. The expression levels of DR4, DR5, DcR1 and DcR2 were measured in TRAIL-treated and chemotherapeutic agent-treated A549 cells by Western blotting. The growth inhibition of tumors was evaluated in terms of incidence, volume and weight in a A549-implanted nude mice model.Results Chemotherapeutic agents cisplatin (5.56 g/ml), Taxol (10 and 30 g/ml) or actinomycin D (9.26, 83.3 and 750 ng/ml) augmented the cytotoxicity of TRAIL in A549 cell lines within a range of concentrations of TRAIL (1.98–160 ng/ml) in vitro. The expression levels of DR4 and DR5 were not significantly different and the expression of DcR2 was slightly downregulated, but the expression of DcR1 was not detected in non-treated, TRAIL-treated and chemotherapeutic agent-treated A549 cells. The rates of tumor inhibition following treatment with TRAIL alone (15 mg/kg per day, daily for 10 days) and TRAIL/cisplatin (15 mg/kg per day TRAIL, daily for 10 days; 1.5 mg/kg per day cisplatin, daily for 10 days with 7-day intervals) were 28.3% and 76.8% by tumor weight (P<0.05 for TRAIL alone versus control, P<0.05 for TRAIL/cisplatin versus cisplatin alone and TRAIL alone) on day 65 in vivo.Conclusion TRAIL in combination with chemotherapeutic agents cisplatin, Taxol or actinomycin D exerted synergistic antitumor effects in A549 cell lines in vitro and TRAIL/cisplatin demonstrated synergistic antitumor effects in vivo. The expression levels of TRAIL receptors suggested that the synergistic effects of TRAIL in combination with chemotherapeutic agents are not at the receptor level in A549 cell lines.Abbreviations TNF Tumor necrosis factor - TRAIL TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand - NSCLC Non-small cell lung cancer - DR Death receptor - DcR Decoy receptor - IB Inclusion body - FACS Fluorescence activated cell sorter - PI Propidium iodide - IR Rate of inhibition - PMSF Phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride