Neoplastic cell apoptosis in nude mice transplants with nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines

We know that tumor growth speed is criticallyinfluenced by the ratio of neoplastic cell proliferation andcell death, and there are two patterns of cell death, namely,necrosis and apoptosis. What is the proportion of necrosisand apoptosis seen in nude mice transplants ofnasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines, CNE-1 andCNE-2? Does the apoptosis play an important role inneoplastic cell death? If so, what is the pathway ofapoptosis developed in those transplants?MATERIALS AND METHODS…     

Bcl-w is an important determinant of damage-induced apoptosis in epithelia of small and large intestine

The potential role of the bcl-2 relative bcl-w as a physiological regulator of apoptosis in intestinal epithelia has been investigated. Immunoblots for bcl-w with new monoclonal antibodies revealed that it was expressed in the small intestine and colon, among other murine tissues, as well as in six human tumour cell lines of epithelial origin, including two colon carcinoma lines. To assess whether bcl-w regulates either spontaneous or damage-induced apoptosis in the small intestine or colon, apoptosis in intestinal crypts of bcl-w -/- and wild-type mice was quantified microscopically on a cell positional basis. Spontaneous apoptosis within crypt epithelia was not significantly increased by loss of bcl-w, in either the small intestine or midcolon. However, after treatment with the cytotoxic drug 5-fluorouracil or with gamma-radiation, the bcl-w-null animals exhibited substantially more apoptosis than their wild-type counterparts in both tissues. The greatest enhancement of apoptosis attributable to the absence of bcl-w (up to sixfold) occurred in the small intestine. Hence, bcl-w is an important determinant of damage-induced apoptosis in intestinal epithelia, and unlike bcl-2, which regulates only colonic apoptosis, plays a major role in small intestinal epithelium.     

Apoptotic activity is increased in parallel with the metaplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence of the bronchial epithelium

A high level of apoptotic activity and an independence of apoptosis from the expression of p53 and bcl-2 have been observed in non-small-cell lung carcinoma. We examined 44 samples of normal, metaplastic and premalignant (i.e. mild, moderate and severe dysplasias and carcinoma in situ) bronchial epithelia to evaluate whether differences in the apoptotic activity could already be seen in the stages preceding squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (SQCLC). Apoptotic cells and bodies were visualized by 3' end labelling. The expression of p53 and members of the bcl-2 gene family, such as bcl-2, bax and mcl-1, were determined immunohistochemically with specific antibodies. The relative number of apoptotic cells and bodies [apoptotic index (AI%)] was already increased threefold as the normal bronchial epithelium changed to squamous metaplasia, and the AIs of the dysplastic lesions were about four times higher than those of the normal epithelium. Apoptosis was significantly associated with cell proliferation, as determined by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunohistochemistry. However, the extent of apoptosis did not correlate with the expression of p53, bcl-2, bax and mcl-1. We conclude that, in the metaplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence in the lung, the elevation of the AI% is an early event associated with cell proliferation activity, but is independent of the expression of p53, bcl-2, mcl-1 and bax.     

The relationship between ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis and stem cells in the small and large intestine.

Apoptosis is observed in the crypts of the small intestine of healthy animals and man (spontaneous apoptosis). The levels can be dramatically elevated 3-6 h following ionizing radiation exposure. Both the spontaneous and radiation-induced apoptosis in the small intestine crypts are most frequently observed at the positions in the crypt associated with stem cells (about four cell positions from the base of the crypt). The number of apoptotic deaths can be counted in routine histological preparations, but interpretation of the counts is complicated by numerous factors. However, recording the number of cells containing one or more apoptotic fragments in crypt sections provides a good estimate for the absolute number of cell deaths in crypts. Similarities are noted in the frequency and cell positional relationship of radiation-induced apoptosis in the small intestine of various strains of mice and one strain of rat. Apoptosis in the large intestine is generally lower in frequency than in the small intestine and, for the mid-colonic and rectal regions, has a different cell positional frequency distribution, with the highest apoptotic yield at the crypt base. The caecal colon has a pattern of apoptotic distribution more similar to that in the small intestine. After exposure to 1 Gy ionizing radiation, the maximum apoptotic yield occurs over a period of 3-6 h in the small intestine. There is some unexplained variability in the values between groups of mice and between different mouse strains. After 8 Gy, the yield remains elevated for several days, however a similar maximum yield is still observed at the early times. In mouse large intestine and rat small intestine, the yield continues to rise until about 6 Gy in mouse large intestine and until at least 10 Gy in rat small intestine. Spontaneous apoptosis is interpreted as part of the homeostatic mechanism regulating stem cell numbers. About 1.6 cells per crypt are dying at any one time. Following irradiation, there is an apparent relationship between mitotic and apoptotic levels, suggesting that these processes are linked. The dose-response relationship suggests that there are about six apoptosis-susceptible cells in crypts of the small intestine, with about 2-4 of these occurring at cell positions in which there are other more resistant clonogenic cells. In the large intestine, the position of these apoptosis-susceptible cells varies with region, but the numbers are similar.     

TgN(p53mt_LMP1)/HT小鼠鼻腔和鼻咽黏膜上皮细胞增殖与凋亡相关基因表达的关系

背景与目的： 探讨TgN(p53mt_LMP1)/HT小鼠鼻腔和鼻咽黏膜上皮癌前病变发生与细胞周期分布,凋亡相关基因bax、bcl_2和增殖相关基因PCNA的表达水平及它们与p53mt基因表达的相关关系。 材料与方法： HE染色法观察G4代12月龄TgN(p53mt_LMP1)/HT转基因阳性和阴性小鼠鼻腔和鼻咽黏膜上皮病理组织学变化,流式细胞术测定细胞周期分布特点,免疫组织化学法检测组织中p53mt、bax、bcl_2和PCNA表达水平,综合分析其相关性。 结果： 转基因阴性小鼠和阳性小鼠鼻腔或鼻咽黏膜上皮癌前病变发生率分别为0和63.64％(P<0.01)。与转基因阴性小鼠比较,转基因阳性小鼠鼻腔和鼻咽黏膜上皮组织G0/G1期细胞数量减少,S期、G2/M期细胞数量增多,细胞增殖指数增高(P均<0.01),p53mt、bcl_2和PCNA表达水平显著增高(P<0.01),bax表达水平显著降低,bcl_2/bax比值升高(P<0.01)。 结论： TgN(p53mt_LMP1)/HT转基因阳性小鼠p53mt的表达可引起bax表达抑制,bcl_2表达水平增高,bcl_2/bax比值升高,PCNA表达增强,由此导致细胞凋亡活性降低,细胞增殖活性升高,细胞转化机率增加,可能与鼻腔或鼻咽黏膜上皮癌前病变有密切关系。     

Spontaneous apoptosis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma is independent of bcl-2 and bax protein expression

BACKGROUND: bcl-2 and bax genes are known to be involved in the control of apoptotic cell death, an important mechanism of growth regulation that influences the biologic behavior of tumors. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship of bcl-2 and bax expression to the rate of spontaneous apoptosis in laryngeal carcinomas, and to assess its relations to clinicopathologic features of tumors. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analyses for bcl-2 and bax were performed on paraffin embedded tissue sections from 134 primary laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas. To visualize apoptotic cells, the nick end labeling method was used. The proliferative activity of tumors was analyzed by determination of mitotic indices. RESULTS: bcl-2 immunoreactivity was positively correlated with tumor grade (P < 0.00001), high T category (P < 0.02), metastatic involvement of cervical lymph nodes (P < 0.003), and supraglottic or subglottic location of primary tumors (P < 0.00005). An inverse relation was found between bcl-2 and bax expression (P < 0.004). The frequency of spontaneous apoptosis was closely associated with mitotic activity (P < 0.0004) but appeared to be unrelated to protein levels of bcl-2 or bax as well as to bcl-2:bax ratios. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study point to the significance of cell proliferation as a major determinant of the rate of spontaneous apoptosis in laryngeal carcinomas. The bcl-2:bax expression ratio obviously does not affect the incidence of apoptosis, but it may be considered as a marker of disease progression and poor prognosis.     

Adenovirus-mediated transfer of wild-type p53 gene results in apoptosis or growth arrest in human cultured gastric carcinoma cells.

We examined the susceptibility of six human gastric carcinoma cell lines to infection with recombinant p53 adenovirus vector (AxCA-p53). AxCA-p53 infection at a muliplicity of infection (MOI) of 50 resulted in apoptotic cell death (MKN-1 cells), growth arrest (MKN-45, MKN-74 and KATO-III cells), or non-effectiveness (TMK-1 and OCUM-2M cells). Western blot analysis revealed increasing expression levels of p21/WAF1 protein after infection with AxCA-p53 in all the cell lines. After infection with AxCA-p53, the expression levels of bax or bcl-XL protein changed in MKN-1, but not in the other cell lines. These results suggest that the apoptotic pathway (dependence on the expressions of bcl-2 family proteins) dominates the growth arrest pathway (dependence on the expressions of p21/WAF1 protein) after infection with AxCA-p53. Thus, the bcl-2 family might play a crucial role in p53-mediated growth arrest and apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma cells.     

Androgen receptor expression in relation to apoptosis and the expression of cell cycle related proteins in prostate cancer

The expression of several genes involved in the regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis may be regulated via the androgen receptor (AR) in the prostate. AR may have a role in the prognosis of prostatic carcinoma. The aim was to examine AR expression status and its relationship with markers of proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle control in prostate cancer. Expression of AR, bcl-2, bax, Ki-67 and p53 was examined in paraffin-embedded tissues from 50 cases of prostate carcinoma by immunohistochemistry and evaluated using an index of staining. Detection of apoptotic cells was performed by TUNEL method. Correlation between AR expression and apoptosis, proliferation index, bcl-2, bax and p53 and also clinicopathological parameters including stage, pathological grade and Gleason score were determined. AR expression was observed in all cases with mean expression of 81%±15 and mean staining index of 141±65. No correlation was found between AR expression and apoptosis detected in patients. The mean AR staining index was 170±72 in bcl-2 positive tumors versus 120±53 in bcl-2 negative tumors showing a significant association between AR and bcl-2 expression (p=0.015). AR expression also showed a significant association with bcl-2/bax ratio (r=0.321, p=0.023) and Ki-67 proliferation staining index (r=0.396, p=0.004). Although a significant correlation between Ki-67 and p53 with differentiation status of the tumors was observed (p<0.004) no correlation was found with AR. AR expression showed no prognostic value regarding its correlation with stage and differentiation status of the prostate carcinoma. However, its significant correlation with Ki-67 and bcl-2 that are markers of cell survival suggest its contribution to tumor cell progression.     

EMP INDUCES APOPTOSIS IN HUMAN LUNG CARCINOMA CELL LINE GLC-82

The possibility of health risks resulting from exposure to electric and magnetic fields provides a strong motivation to determine how such fields interact with cells. The short, intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP) produced by high-altitude nuclear explosions may radiate over many hundreds of miles. Basically, EMP consists of a pulse of radio-frequency waves with a nearly instantaneous rise in the electric and magnetic fields and a subsequent decline in the fields. EMP radiation may be repre…     

紫杉醇诱发人乳癌细胞凋亡的机制研究

探讨紫杉醇诱发人乳腺癌细胞凋亡的发生机制。方法应用细胞形态观察、琼脂糖凝胶电泳、流式细胞仪、活细胞视频观察和蛋白印迹免疫法进行检测和观察。结果癌细胞在紫杉醇作用下,细胞分裂阻滞在分裂期的中期,并诱导细胞发生凋亡。凋亡细胞表现为细胞固缩,核染色质凝聚或者断裂。细胞ＤＮＡ裂解片段呈现典型的“阶梯状”排列的条带。凋亡抑制基因Ｂｃｌ－２在细胞凋亡过程中呈低表达并发生修饰反应,而凋亡诱导基因Ｂａｘ先呈高表达然后表达降低。结论紫杉醇诱发的人乳癌细胞的凋亡与细胞分裂期阻滞密切相关,Ｂｃｌ－２和Ｂａｘ在紫杉醇诱发的人乳癌细胞凋亡中可能起着重要的调控作用     

HIFU诱导人肺癌细胞凋亡及其可能机制

目的 研究高强度聚焦超声(HIFU)诱导人肺癌细胞凋亡的作用及可能机制。方法 用不同剂量HIFU作用于人肺癌细胞株A549，分别应用MTT试验、集落形成试验及流式细胞仪检测细胞存活、增殖、凋亡及相关基因表达的改变。结果 一定剂量的HIFU可通过影响细胞增殖和凋亡相关的基因(p53、fas、bax及HSP70)表达，阻止细胞于G0／G1期，抑制细胞增殖和集落形成，诱导细胞凋亡。结论 一定剂量的HIFU可抑制体外培养的人肺癌细胞增殖，诱导细胞凋亡，其作用机制可能与其调控细胞增殖、凋亡相关的基因表达有关。     

Prognostic significance of the bcl-2 apoptotic family of proteins in primary and recurrent cervical cancer.

bcl-2 is one of a family of genes that control the apoptotic threshold of a cell. bcl-2 protein and its anti-apoptotic homologue, mcl-1, with the pro-apoptotic protein, bax, are thought to function by forming homo- and heterotypic dimers that then control the progression to apoptosis. p53 is also involved as a down-regulator of bcl-2 and a promoter of bax. To determine the effect of these apoptotic mechanisms, we used immunohistochemistry to determine the prognostic significance of the expression of bcl-2, mcl-1, bax and p53 in primary and recurrent cervical cancer. Tissues from 46 patients with primary cervical cancer and 28 women with recurrent carcinoma were stained for bcl-2, mcl-1, bax and p53. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed using the log-rank test for differences between groups. In the primary disease group, positive staining for bcl-2 was associated with a better 5-year survival (bcl-2 +ve, 84% vs bcl-2 -ve, 53%, P = 0.03). Positive staining for p53 was associated with a survival disadvantage (p53 +ve, 4-year survival 38% vs p53 -ve, 4-year survival 78%, P = 0.02). mcl-1 and bax staining were not useful as prognostic indicators in primary disease. No marker was prognostic in recurrent disease. Positive bcl-2 staining defines a group of patients with primary disease with a good prognosis. p53, an activator of the bax promoter, identifies a group with a worse outcome. In recurrent disease, none of the markers reflected prognosis.     

Arsenic trioxide induces apoptosis of rat hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vivo

The aim of this work was to study the effect of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) on rat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and investgate on the mechanisms of its antitumor effect. HCC was induced by chemocarcinogen diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in Wistar rats, that were then treated with As2O3 intraperitoneally in three different concentrations once a day for two weeks, and twice a week for another two weeks. The histological and ultrastructural changes in liver tissue were observed under microscope and electronic microscope on the 7th, 14th and 28th day after drug administration. The apoptosis and cellular dynamic parameters of tumor cells were observed by flow cytometry. The expression of bcl-2, bax, and proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) of rat liver cancer cells on the 7th day after drug administration was determined by using immunohistochemical technique. Treatment with As2O3 caused HCC cells death via both apoptotic and non-apoptotic mechanisms when the dose was high (5 mg.kg(-1)), while necrosis was rare and apoptosis was common when the dose was appropriate (1 mg.kg(-1)). This effect was obviously accompanied with accumulation of cells in G2/M phases (G2/M restriction). Many apoptotic cells were also found in G2/M phases. The expression intensity of bcl-2 or bax varied depending on the dose administrated. Downregulation of bcl-2/bax was observed, accompanied with upregulation of apoptosis. However, the ratio of bcl-2/bax and the percentage of apoptosis were not the utmost when the dose administered was the highest. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that As2O3 induces apoptosis of rat HCC cells, and it is closely associated with G2/M restriction when apoptosis reaches the top. Apoptosis can be observed in all three phases of cell cycle, but it is more common in G2/M phase when the dose is appropriate. It is suggested that arsenic trioxide may be an atypical cell cycle specific agent. Apoptosis of tumor cells is closely associated with down-regulation of the ratio of bcl-2/bax, but that may not be the only dominant factor.     

Growth inhibition, cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in human T-cell leukemia by the isothiocyanate sulforaphane

Glucosinolates (GL) can inhibit, retard or reverse experimental multistage carcinogenesis. When brassica plant tissue is broken, GLs are hydrolyzed by the endogenous enzyme myrosinase (Myr), releasing many products including isothiocyanates (ITC). Synthetic ITCs like sulforaphane exert chemopreventive effects against chemically induced tumors in animals, modulating enzymes required for carcinogens' activation/detoxification and/or the induction of cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in tumor cell lines. To investigate the chemopreventive potential of ITCs while reproducing the circumstances of dietary contact with sulforaphane, we studied proliferation, apoptosis induction and p53, bcl-2 and bax protein expression in Jurkat T-leukemia cells by sulforaphane, the ITC generated in situ in a quantitative manner by Myr starting from glucoraphanin (GRA). Jurkat cells were treated with different doses of GRA-Myr mixture. Effects on cell growth or survival were evaluated by counting trypan blue-excluding cells. Cell-cycle progression, apoptosis and expression of p53, bax and bcl-2 proteins were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results were analyzed by two-sided Fisher's exact test. Sulforaphane, but not GRA, caused G(2)/M-phase arrest (P = 0.028) and increase of apoptotic cell fraction (P < 0.0001) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Necrosis was observed after prolonged exposure to elevated sulforaphane doses. Moreover, it markedly increased p53 and bax protein expression, and slightly affected bcl-2 expression. These findings indicate that sulforaphane but not the native GL GRA can exert both protective and toxic effects inhibiting leukemic cell growth. Sulforaphane therefore deserves study as a potential chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic antileukemic agent.     

The apoptosis of experimental colorectal carcinoma cells induced by peptidoglycan of bifidobacterium and the expression of apoptotic regulating genes

Bifidobacteriaarepredominantn0rmalbacteriaintheintestinesofthehumanb0dy.Theyp1ayanimportantroleonmaintenanceofthemicrobialbalanceintheintestineandthestate0fhealthofthebody.Wh0lepeptid0glycan(WPG)isapred0ndnantpr0p0rtionofthecellwallofbifidobacteria.Itcaninhibittheoccurrenceanddevelopmentofmanykinds0ftum0rsinvivo,suchasMethAfibr0sarc0ma,mammarycarcinoma,livercarcinomaandetc.ll]Ourdataals0suggestthatWPGofBifidobacteriabifidumcanmarkedlyinhibitthegrowth0fcolorectalcarcinomatransplantationtUmo…     

The significance of spontaneous and induced apoptosis in the gastrointestinal tract of mice

The crypts of the gastrointestinal mucosa are highly structured and polarised organs with rapid cell proliferation and an hierarchical organisation with relatively few stem cells. These tend to be located at specific positions in the tissue—at the crypt base in the colon and about four cell positions from the base (above the Paneth cells) in the small intestine.A small but constant level of spontaneous cell death occurs in the crypt. The levels of cell death are elevated by small exposures to radiation or cytotoxic drugs. The morphology of the cell death is typical of apoptosis. The maximum yield of cell death following cytotoxic exposure is observed at about 3–6h after treatment and for many agents the death is characteristically located at the fourth (stem) cell position in the small intestine.The significance and implications of these observations are discussed in relation to the internal screening and programming within damage cells and with respect to tissue homeostatic mechanisms.     

Evidence of reciprocity of bcl-2 and p53 expression in human colorectal adenomas and carcinomas.

Evidence of accumulating for the failure of apoptosis as an important factor in the evolution of colorectal cancer and its poor response to adjuvant therapy. The proto-oncogene bcl-2 suppresses apoptosis. Its expression could provide an important survival advantage permitting the development of colorectal cancer. The expression of bcl-2 and p53 was determined by immunohistochemistry in 47 samples of histologically normal colonic mucosa, 19 adenomas and 53 adenocarcinomas. Expression of bcl-2 in colonic crypts > 5 cm from the tumours was confined to crypt bases but was more extensive and intense in normal crypts < 5 mm from cancers. A higher proportion of adenomas (63.2%) than carcinomas (36.5%) expressed bcl-2 (P < 0.05). A lower proportion of adenomas (31.6%) than carcinomas (62.3%) expressed p53 (P < 0.02). A total of 26.3% of adenomas and 22% of carcinomas expressed both bcl-2 and p53. To determine whether these samples contained cells which expressed both proteins, a dual staining technique for bcl-2 and p53 was used. Only 1/19 adenomas and 2/53 carcinomas contained cells immunopositive for both bcl-2 and p53. Moreover there was evidence of reciprocity of expression of bcl-2 and p53 in these three double staining neoplasms. We suggest that bcl-2 provides a survival advantage in the proliferative compartment of normal crypts and colorectal neoplasms. However, its expression is lost during the evolution from adenoma to carcinoma, whereas p53 expression is increased, an event generally coincident with the expression of stabilised p53, which we presume to represent the mutant form.     

p53-Independent induction of apoptosis in human melanoma cells by a bcl-2/bcl-xL bispecific antisense oligonucleotide.

Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene are implicated in defective apoptotic response of tumors to genotoxic damage and, thus, are major determinants of resistance to a variety of anticancer agents. Because even melanomas harboring wild-type (wt) p53 show an abnormal response to radiation and p53 mutations occur late during melanoma progression, we investigated whether the effect of the bcl-2/bcl-xL bispecific antisense oligonucleotide 4625 is dependent on the p53 status in human C8161 melanoma cells. Upon treatment with oligonucleotide 4625, p53-mut C8161 cells showed earlier DNA damage, which occurred concomitantly with the reduction of bcl-2 and bcl-xL expression and the increase in the expression of proapoptotic bax. Loss of cell viability, bcl-2 down-regulation, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, indicative of apoptosis, also occurred in wt p53 C8161 cells on treatment with oligonucleotide 4625. These effects, however, were mediated by strong induction of p53 without changes in p21 WAF1 expression in wt p53 cells, whereas a 70% decrease in p21 WAF1 expression was observed in mut p53 cells. In contrast to many other anticancer agents to which the apoptotic response is decreased because of p53 mutations, our data suggest that the bcl-2/bcl-xL bispecific antisense oligonucleotide 4625 effectively induces p53-independent apoptosis in human C8161 melanoma cells.