Lipopolyamine treatment increases the efficacy of intoxication with saporin and an anticancer saporin conjugate.

Saporin is a type I ribosome-inactivating protein that is often appended with a cell-binding domain to specifically target and kill cancer cells. Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)-saporin, for example, is an anticancer toxin that consists of a chemical conjugate between the human uPA and native saporin. Both saporin and uPA-saporin enter the target cell by endocytosis and must then escape the endomembrane system to reach the cytosolic ribosomes. The latter process may represent a rate-limiting step for intoxication and would therefore directly affect toxin potency. In the present study, we document two treatments (shock with dimethylsulfoxide and lipopolyamine coadministration) that generate substantial cellular sensitization to saporin/uPA-saporin. With the use of lysosome-endosome X (LEX)1 and LEX2 mutant cell lines, an endosomal trafficking step preceding cargo delivery to the late endosomes was identified as a major site for the dimethylsulfoxide-facilitated entry of saporin into the cytosol. Dimethylsulfoxide and lipopolyamines are known to disrupt the integrity of endosome membranes, so these reagents could facilitate the rapid movement of toxin from permeabilized endosomes to the cytosol. However, the same pattern of toxin sensitization was not observed for dimethylsulfoxide- or lipopolyamine-treated cells exposed to diphtheria toxin, ricin, or the catalytic A chain of ricin. The sensitization effects were thus specific for saporin, suggesting a novel mechanism of saporin translocation by endosome disruption. Lipopolyamines have been developed as in vivo gene therapy vectors; thus, lipopolyamine coadministration with uPA-saporin or other saporin conjugates could represent a new approach for anticancer toxin treatments.

Formation of a beta1 integrin signaling complex in Schwann cells is independent of rho.

Schwann cell adhesion to basal lamina is essential for peripheral nerve development. beta(1) integrin receptors for extracellular matrix cooperate with other receptors to transmit signals that coordinate cell cycle progression and initiation of differentiation, including myelin-specific gene expression. In Schwann cell/sensory neuron cocultures, beta(1) integrins complex with focal adhesion kinase (FAK), fyn kinase, paxillin, and schwannomin in response to basal lamina adhesion. To study the assembly of this signaling complex in Schwann cells (SCs), we induced beta(1) integrin clustering on suspended cells using an immobilized antibody and recovered a complex containing beta(1) integrin, FAK, paxillin, and schwannomin. In adherent subconfluent cells, the proteins colocalized to filopodia, ruffling membranes and focal contacts. We assessed the role of rhoGTPase in the process of integrin complex assembly by introducing C3 transferase (C3T), a rho inhibitor, into the cells. Although C3T caused dose-dependent morphological abnormalities, FAK, paxillin, and schwannomin were able to coimmunoprecipitate with beta(1) integrin. Additionally, colocalization of FAK, paxillin, and schwannomin with beta(1) integrin in filopodia and small focal contacts remained unchanged. We conclude that SCs do not require active rho to recruit signaling and structural proteins to beta(1) integrins clustered at the plasma membrane. Rho is required to establish large focal adhesions and to spread and stabilize plasma membrane extensions.