Inhibition of monoamine oxidase activity by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: implications for inter-train interval and frequency.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a neuromodulation technique that stimulates cortical regions via time-varying electromagnetic fields; in several countries this technique has been approved as a treatment for major depressive disorder. One empirically established target in antidepressant pharmacotherapy is the flavin-containing monoamine oxidoreductase (MAO). The function of MAO enzymes is based on oxidation processes that may be sensitive towards strong electromagnetic fields. Therefore, we hypothesized that rTMS-induced electromagnetic fields impact the activity of this enzyme. Using crude synaptosomal cell preparations from human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and rat cortex as well as viable cells, we assessed the effects of rTMS on MAO-A and -B activity in a well-controlled in vitro set up. In short, samples were stimulated at maximal intensity with an equal number of total stimuli at frequencies of 5, 20, and 100 Hz. Sham stimulation was performed in parallel. Treatment at frequencies of 5 and 20 Hz significantly decreased mainly MAO-B activity in all tissue preparations and species, whereas 100 Hz stimulation remained without effect on any MAO activity. Our results support the hypothesis, that rTMS-induced electromagnetic fields affect MAO activity and provide further evidence for intracellular effects possibly contributing to therapeutic effects of this neuromodulatory method. On a cautionary note, however, our findings are solely based on in vitro evidence.

Specific antioxidant compounds differentially modulate cytotoxic activity of doxorubicin and cisplatin: in vitro and in vivo study.

AIM: To use the antioxidant compounds (sodium selenite, selenomethionine, D-pantethine) for modulation of cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin and cisplatin toward wild type and drug-resistant mutants of several human tumor cells. Similar treatments were applied in vivo toward adult male Wistar rats. METHODS: Human tumor cells of different lines (HCT-116, Jurkat and HL-60) with various mechanisms of drug-resistance were treated with doxorubicin or cisplatin, alone or in combination with sodium selenite, selenomethionine, or D-pantethine. Cell viability, induction of apoptosis, and production of O2- radicals were measured. Activity of redox potential modulating enzymes was measured in the liver and blood plasma of adult male Wistar rats subjected to similar treatments. RESULTS: All antioxidants used in physiologically harmless concentration inhibited cytotoxic action of doxorubicin toward tumor cells sensitive to chemotherapy treatment by 15%-30%, and slightly enhanced cytotoxic effect of this medicine toward drug-resistant malignant cells. At the same time, there was no significant effect of these antioxidants on cisplatin action. Such effects were accompanied by a complete inhibition of production of superoxide radicals induced by doxorubicin. The results of in vivo study in adult male Wistar rats were in agreement with the results of in vitro study of human tumor cells. CONCLUSION: Protective effect of specific antioxidant agents during cytotoxic action of doxorubicin was demonstrated in vitro in drug-sensitive human tumor cells and in adult male Wistar rats, while there was no protective effect in drug-resistant sub-lines of these tumor cells during action of doxorubicin and cisplatin.

Irreversible pan-ERBB inhibitor canertinib elicits anti-leukaemic effects and induces the regression of FLT3-ITD transformed cells in mice.

Recent findings have indicated that tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting the ERBB receptor family display anti-leukaemic effects, despite the lack of receptor expression on human leukaemic cells. The occurrence of activating mutations in the gene encoding FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) has rendered inhibition of this receptor a promising therapeutic target. Due to possibility of cross-reactivity, we investigated the effect of the irreversible pan-ERBB inhibitor canertinib (CI-1033) on leukaemic cells expressing FLT3. The drug had anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects on primary AML cells and human leukaemic cell lines expressing mutated FLT3. In several AML patient samples, a blast cell population expressing FLT3-internal tandem duplication (ITD) was eradicated by canertinib. Canertinib inhibited receptor autophosphorylation and kinase activity of both mutated and FLT3 ligand stimulated wildtype FLT3, leading to inhibition of the PI3-kinase and MAP kinase pathways. Apoptotic induction was dependent on pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein BCL2L11/BIM because siRNA silencing attenuated apoptosis. Moreover, the drug induced regression of cells expressing FLT3-ITD in a murine in vivo-transplantation model at previously described tolerated doses. These results indicate that canertinib, as an irreversible TKI, could constitute a novel treatment regimen in patients with mutated or overexpressed FLT3.

Primary human acute myelogenous leukemia cells release matrix metalloproteases and their inhibitors: release profile and pharmacological modulation.

OBJECTIVES: Angiogenesis seems important for both leukemogenesis and chemosensitivity in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Angiogenesis is regulated by the balance between pro- and antiangiogenic cytokines, which also indicates an important role of matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) and their natural inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteases (TIMPs). We investigated the constitutive release of MMPs and TIMPs for a large group of consecutive AML patients. METHODS: AML cells were cultured in vitro either alone or together with microvascular endothelial cells, and levels of MMPs and TIMPs were determined in culture supernatants. RESULTS: AML cells showed constitutive release of several MMPs and TIMPs. For all patients, detectable MMP-10 release was observed, and most patients showed detectable release of at least one additional MMP, usually MMP-9 or MMP-2. A significant correlation was found between MMP-9 and TIMP-1 release and the release of several CCL and CXCL chemokines. MMP-9 release was higher for AML cells with monocytic differentiation corresponding to the FAB-subtype M4/M5 AML; it was mainly released in its inactive form, but endogenously active MMP-9 could be detected even in the presence of the constitutively released TIMP-1/2. Endothelial cells released relatively high levels of MMP-10, and these levels were further increased by coculture with AML cells. Patients achieving complete hematological remission after only one induction cycle showed relatively low constitutive MMP-2 release. CONCLUSION: We conclude that primary human AML cells show constitutive release of both MMPs and TIMPs, and this release may be important for leukemogenesis and possibly also for chemosensitivity.

Role of the proteolytic hierarchy between cathepsin L, cathepsin D and caspase-3 in regulation of cellular susceptibility to apoptosis and autophagy.

The present investigation was undertaken to measure the relative abilities of pro-death versus pro-survival proteases in degrading each other and to determine how this might influence cellular susceptibility to death. For this, we first carried out in vitro experiments in which recombinant pro-death proteases (caspase-3 or cathepsin D) were incubated with the pro-survival protease (cathepsin L) in their respective optimal conditions and determined the effects of these reactions on enzyme integrity and activity. The results indicated that cathepsin L was able to degrade cathepsin D, which in turn cleaves caspase-3, however the later enzyme was unable to degrade any of the cathepsins. The consequences of this proteolytic sequence on cellular ability to undergo apoptosis or other types of cell death were studied in cells subjected to treatment with a specific inhibitor of cathepsin L or the corresponding siRNA. Both treatments resulted in suppression of cellular proliferation and the induction of a cell death with no detectable caspase-3 activation or DNA fragmentation, however, it was associated with increased accumulation of cathepsin D, cellular vaculolization, expression of the mannose-6-phosphate receptor, and the autophagy marker LC3-II, all of which are believed to be associated with autophagy. Genetic manipulations leading either to the gain or loss of cathepsin D expression implicated this enzyme as a key player in the switch from apoptosis to autophagy. Overall, these findings suggest that a hierarchy between pro-survival and pro-death proteases may have important consequences on cell fate.

Activation of pro-urokinase and plasminogen on human sarcoma cells: a proteolytic system with surface-bound reactants.

Human HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells produce urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1). We found that after incubation of monolayer cultures with purified native human plasminogen in serum-containing medium, bound plasmin activity could be eluted from the cells with tranexamic acid, an analogue of lysine. The bound plasmin was the result of plasminogen activation on the cell surface; plasmin activity was not taken up onto cells after deliberate addition of plasmin to the serum-containing medium. The cell surface plasmin formation was inhibited by an anticatalytic monoclonal antibody to u-PA, indicating that this enzyme was responsible for the activation. Preincubation of the cells with diisopropyl fluorophosphate-inhibited u-PA led to a decrease in surface-bound plasmin, indicating that a large part, if not all, of the cell surface plasminogen activation was catalyzed by surface-bound u-PA. In the absence of plasminogen, most of the cell surface u-PA was present in its single-chain proenzyme form, while addition of plasminogen led to formation of cell-bound two-chain u-PA. The latter reaction was catalyzed by cell-bound plasmin. Cell-bound u-PA was accessible to inhibition by endogenous PAI-1 and by added PAI-2, while the cell-bound plasmin was inaccessible to serum inhibitors, but accessible to added aprotinin and an anticatalytic monoclonal antibody. A model for cell surface plasminogen activation is proposed in which plasminogen binding to cells from serum medium is followed by plasminogen activation by trace amounts of bound active u-PA, to form bound plasmin, which in turn serves to produce more active u-PA from bound pro-u-PA. This exponential process is subject to regulation by endogenous PAI-1 and limited to the pericellular space.

pp60c-src is a positive regulator of growth factor-induced cell scattering in a rat bladder carcinoma cell line.

The NBT-II rat carcinoma cell line exhibits two mutually exclusive responses to FGF-1 and EGF, entering mitosis at cell confluency while undergoing an epithelium-to-mesenchyme transition (EMT) when cultured at subconfluency. EMT is characterized by acquisition of cell motility, modifications of cell morphology, and cell dissociation correlating with the loss of desmosomes from cellular cortex. The pleiotropic effects of EGF and FGF-1 on NBT-II cells suggest that multiple signaling pathways may be activated. We demonstrate here that growth factor activation is linked to at least two intracellular signaling pathways. One pathway leading to EMT involves an early and sustained stimulation of pp60c-src kinase activity, which is not observed during the growth factor-induced entry into the cell cycle. Overexpression of normal c-src causes a subpopulation of cells to undergo spontaneous EMT and sensitizes the rest of the population to the scattering activity of EGF and FGF-1 without affecting their mitogenic responsiveness. Addition of cholera toxin, a cAMP-elevating agent, severely perturbs growth factor induction of EMT without altering pp60c-src activation, therefore demonstrating that cAMP blockade takes place downstream or independently of pp60c-src. On the other hand, overexpression of a mutated, constitutively activated form of pp60c-src does not block cell dispersion while strongly inhibiting growth factor-induced entry into cell division. Moreover, stable transfection of a dominant negative mutant of c-src inhibits the scattering response without affecting mitogenesis induced by the growth factors. Altogether, these results suggest a role for pp60c-src in epithelial cell scattering and indicate that pp60c-src might contribute unequally to the two separate biological activities engendered by a single signal.

PKC epsilon-related kinase associates with and phosphorylates cytokeratin 8 and 18.

A 40-kD protein kinase C (PKC)epsilon related activity was found to associate with human epithelial specific cytokeratin (CK) polypeptides 8 and 18. The kinase activity coimmunoprecipitated with CK8 and 18 and phosphorylated immunoprecipitates of the CK. Immunoblot analysis of CK8/18 immunoprecipitates using an anti-PKC epsilon specific antibody showed that the 40-kD species, and not native PKC epsilon (90 kD) associated with the cytokeratins. Reconstitution experiments demonstrated that purified CK8 or CK18 associated with a 40-kD tryptic fragment of purified PKC epsilon, or with a similar species obtained from cells that express the fragment constitutively but do not express CK8/18. A peptide pseudosubstrate specific for PKC epsilon inhibited phosphorylation of CK8/18 in intact cells or in a kinase assay with CK8/18 immunoprecipitates. Tryptic peptide map analysis of the cytokeratins that were phosphorylated by purified rat brain PKC epsilon or as immunoprecipitates by the associated kinase showed similar phosphopeptides. Furthermore, PKC epsilon immunoreactive species and CK8/18 colocalized using immunofluorescent double staining. We propose that a kinase related to the catalytic fragment of PKC epsilon physically associates with and phosphorylates cytokeratins 8 and 18.

Regulation of the synthesis and activity of urokinase plasminogen activator in A549 human lung carcinoma cells by transforming growth factor-beta.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) is a regulator of cellular proliferation which can alter the proteolytic activity of cultured cells by enhancing the secretion of endothelial type plasminogen activator inhibitor and affecting the secretion of plasminogen activators (PAs) in cultured fibroblastic cells. We used the TGF beta-responsive malignant human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 to study the relationships between the known TGF beta-induced growth inhibition and the effects of TGF beta on the secretion of PA activity by A549 cells. PA activity was quantitated by caseinolysis assays, and characterized by urokinase mRNA analysis, immunoprecipitation, and zymography assays. PA-inhibitor production was observed in autoradiograms of SDS-polyacrylamide gels and reverse zymography assays. It was found that TGF beta enhanced the production of PA activity by these cells, in accordance with an enhancement of urokinase mRNA levels. A concomitant stimulation of type 1 PA-inhibitor production was also observed in A549 cells in response to TGF beta. In contrast to the observations of A549 cells, TGF beta caused a decrease in the expression of both urokinase and the tissue-type PA mRNA in human embryonic WI-38 lung fibroblasts indicating opposite regulation of the expression of PAs in these cells. The results suggest that TGF beta may play a role in the regulation of the invasive, proteolytically active phenotype of certain lung carcinoma cells.

In vivo evidence that the stromelysin-3 metalloproteinase contributes in a paracrine manner to epithelial cell malignancy.

Stromelysin-3 (ST3; Basset, P., J.P. Bellocq, C. Wolf, I. Stoll, P. Hutin, J.M. Limacher, O.L. Podhajcer, M.P. Chenard, M.C. Rio, P. Chambon. 1990. Nature. 348:699-704) is a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expressed in mesenchymal cells located close to epithelial cells, during physiological and pathological tissue remodeling processes. In human carcinomas, high ST3 levels are associated with a poor clinical outcome, suggesting that ST3 plays a role during malignant processes. In this study we report the ST3 gene inactivation by homologous recombination. Although ST3 null mice (ST3-/-) were fertile and did not exhibit obvious alterations in appearance and behavior, the lack of ST3 altered malignant processes. Thus, the suppression of ST3 results in a decreased 7, 12-dimethylbenzanthracene-induced tumorigenesis in ST3-/- mice. Moreover, ST3-/- fibroblasts have lost the capacity to promote implantation of MCF7 human malignant epithelial cells in nude mice (P < 0.008). Finally, we show that this ST3 paracrine function requires extracellular matrix (ECM)-associated growth factors. Altogether, these findings give evidence that ST3 promotes, in a paracrine manner, homing of malignant epithelial cells, a key process for both primary tumors and metastases. Therefore, ST3 represents an appropriate target for specific MMP inhibitor(s) in future therapeutical approaches directed against the stromal compartment of human carcinomas.

Characterization of a new human osteosarcoma cell line OHS-4.

We present a new human osteosarcoma cell line designated OHS-4. These cells showed a high alkaline phosphatase activity that is not regulated by 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3. They exhibited a sensitive adenylate cyclase response to parathyroid hormone but not to prostaglandin E2 or human calcitonin. By Northern blot analysis we could detect type I collagen mRNA but none for type III collagen. The cells were able to produce human osteocalcin at a maximum level of 35 ng per million cells when exposed to 2.4 nM 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 for 96 h. We purified this protein from conditioned media using successive chromatography and assessed its identity by partial amino acid sequencing. When injected into nude mice, the cells retained their osteogenic activity and developed calcified tumors. After Von Kossa staining, we observed nonmineralized osteoid deposits and mineralized deposits with a structure similar to that of trabecular bone by light microscopy. On the basis of its osteoblastic characteristics, this new osteosarcoma cell line may represent the human counterpart of the ROS 17/2 cell line. This cell line represents a valuable model for the isolation and characterization of human bone specific proteins.

Anterograde and retrograde traffic between the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex.

The transfer of newly synthesized membrane proteins moving from the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) to the Golgi complex has been studied by electron microscopy in HEp-2 cells transfected with cDNAs for chimeric proteins. These proteins consist of a reporter enzyme, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), anchored to the transmembrane domains of two integral membrane proteins, the transferrin receptor and sialyl-transferase. The chimeras are distributed throughout the nuclear envelope, RER, vesicular tubular clusters (VTCs) and a network of tubules in the cis-Golgi area. At 20 degrees C tubules containing chimera connect the RER to the VTCs and to the cis-Golgi network. On transfer to 37 degrees C in the presence of dithiothreitol (DTT), the chimeras are seen to move from the RER and through the Golgi stack. With this temperature shift the direct connections with the RER are lost and free vesicles form; some of these vesicles contain HRP reaction product which is much more concentrated than in the adjacent RER while others lack reaction product entirely. In cells expressing SSHRPKDEL, DAB reaction product remains distributed throughout the RER, the VTCs, and the cis-Golgi network for prolonged periods in the presence of DTT and almost all of the vesicles which form at 37 degrees C are DAB-positive. Together these observations demonstrate that all three chimeras are transported from the RER to the cis-Golgi in free, 40-60-nm vesicles at 37 degrees C. They also suggest that the retrograde traffic which carries SSHRPKDEL back to the RER is probably mediated by vesicles with a similar morphology but which, in cells expressing membrane-anchored chimeras, lack detectable reaction product.

Caspase cleavage of keratin 18 and reorganization of intermediate filaments during epithelial cell apoptosis.

Keratins 8 (K8) and 18 (K18) are major components of intermediate filaments (IFs) of simple epithelial cells and tumors derived from such cells. Structural cell changes during apoptosis are mediated by proteases of the caspase family. During apoptosis, K18 IFs reorganize into granular structures enriched for K18 phosphorylated on serine 53. K18, but not K8, generates a proteolytic fragment during drug- and UV light-induced apoptosis; this fragment comigrates with K18 cleaved in vitro by caspase-6, -3, and -7. K18 is cleaved by caspase-6 into NH2-terminal, 26-kD and COOH-terminal, 22-kD fragments; caspase-3 and -7 additionally cleave the 22-kD fragment into a 19-kD fragment. The cleavage site common for the three caspases was the sequence VEVD/A, located in the conserved L1-2 linker region of K18. The additional site for caspases-3 and -7 that is not cleaved efficiently by caspase-6 is located in the COOH-terminal tail domain of K18. Expression of K18 with alanine instead of serine at position 53 demonstrated that cleavage during apoptosis does not require phosphorylation of serine 53. However, K18 with a glutamate instead of aspartate at position 238 was resistant to proteolysis during apoptosis. Furthermore, this cleavage site mutant appears to cause keratin filament reorganization in stably transfected clones. The identification of the L1-2 caspase cleavage site, and the conservation of the same or very similar sites in multiple other intermediate filament proteins, suggests that the processing of IFs during apoptosis may be initiated by a similar caspase cleavage.

Caspases disrupt the nuclear-cytoplasmic barrier.

During apoptosis, caspases, a family of proteases, disassemble a cell by cleaving a set of proteins. Caspase-3 plays a major role in the dissassembly of the nucleus by processing several nuclear substrates. The question is how caspase-3 which is usually cytoplasmic, gains access to its nuclear targets. It was suggested that caspase-3 is actively transported to the nucleus through the nuclear pores. We found that caspase-9, which is activated earlier than caspase-3, directly or indirectly inactivates nuclear transport and increases the diffusion limit of the nuclear pores. This increase allows caspase-3 and other molecules that could not pass through the nuclear pores in living cells to enter or leave the nucleus during apoptosis by diffusion. Hence, caspase-9 contributes to cell disassembly by disrupting the nuclear cytoplasmic barrier.

Inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase activity triggers neuronal differentiation of mouse neuroblastoma cells.

Studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal differentiation are frequently performed using cell lines established from neuroblastomas. In this study we have used mouse N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells that undergo neuronal differentiation in response to DMSO. During differentiation, cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) activities decline and phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma gene product (pRb) is lost, leading to the appearance of a pRb-containing E2F DNA-binding complex. The loss of cdk2 activity is due to a decrease in cdk2 abundance whereas loss of cdk4 activity is caused by strong association with the cdk inhibitor (CKI) p27KIP1 and concurrent loss of cdk4 phosphorylation. Moreover, neuronal differentiation can be induced by overexpression of p27KIP1 or pRb, suggesting that inhibition of cdk activity leading to loss of pRb phosphorylation, is the major determinant for neuronal differentiation.

Prolonged induction of p21Cip1/WAF1/CDK2/PCNA complex by epidermal growth factor receptor activation mediates ligand-induced A431 cell growth inhibition.

Proliferation of some cultured human tumor cell lines bearing high numbers of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors is paradoxically inhibited by EGF in nanomolar concentrations. In the present study, we have investigated the biochemical mechanism of growth inhibition in A431 human squamous carcinoma cells exposed to exogenous EGF. In parallel, we studied a selected subpopulation, A431-F, which is resistant to EGF-mediated growth inhibition. We observed a marked reduction in cyclin-dependent kinase-2 (CDK2) activity when A431 and A431-F cells were cultured with 20 nM EGF for 4 h. After further continuous exposure of A431 cells to EGF, the CDK2 activity remained at a low level and was accompanied by persistent G1 arrest. In contrast, the early reduced CDK2 activity and G1 accumulation in A431-F cells was only transient. We found that, at early time points (4-8 h), EGF induces p21Cip1/WAF1 mRNA and protein expression in both EGF-sensitive A431 cells and EGF-resistant A431-F cells. But only in A431 cells, was p21Cip1/WAF1 expression sustained at a significantly increased level for up to 5 d after addition of EGF. Induction of p21Cip1/WAF1 by EGF could be inhibited by a specific EGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, tyrphostin AG1478, suggesting that p21Cip1/WAF1 induction was a consequence of receptor tyrosine kinase activation by EGF. We also demonstrated that the increased p21Cip1/WAF1 was associated with both CDK2 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Taken together, our results demonstrate that p21Cip1/WAF1 is an important mediator of EGF-induced G1 arrest and growth inhibition in A431 cells.

Maintenance of calcium homeostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum by Bcl-2.

The oncogene bcl-2 encodes a 26-kD protein localized to intracellular membranes, including the ER, mitochondria, and perinuclear membrane, but its mechanism of action is unknown. We have been investigating the hypothesis that Bcl-2 regulates the movement of calcium ions (Ca2+) through the ER membrane. Earlier findings in this laboratory indicated that Bcl-2 reduces Ca2+ efflux from the ER lumen in WEHI7.2 lymphoma cells treated with the Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin (TG) but does not prevent capacitative entry of extracellular calcium. In this report, we show that sustained elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ due to capacitative entry is not required for induction of apoptosis by TG, suggesting that ER calcium pool depletion may trigger apoptosis. Bcl-2 overexpression maintains Ca2+ uptake in the ER of TG-treated cells and prevents a TG-imposed delay in intralumenal processing of the endogenous glycoprotein cathepsin D. Also, Bcl-2 overexpression preserves the ER Ca2+ pool in untreated cells when extracellular Ca2+ is low. However, low extracellular Ca2+ reduces the antiapoptotic action of Bcl-2, suggesting that cytosolic Ca2+ elevation due to capacitative entry may be required for optimal ER pool filling and apoptosis inhibition by Bcl-2. In summary, the findings suggest that Bcl-2 maintains Ca2+ homeostasis within the ER, thereby inhibiting apoptosis induction by TG.

Protein kinase C activation upregulates intercellular adhesion of alpha-catenin-negative human colon cancer cell variants via induction of desmosomes.

The alpha-catenin molecule links E-cadherin/ beta-catenin or E-cadherin/plakoglobin complexes to the actin cytoskeleton. We studied several invasive human colon carcinoma cell lines lacking alpha-catenin. They showed a solitary and rounded morphotype that correlated with increased invasiveness. These round cell variants acquired a more normal epithelial phenotype upon transfection with an alpha-catenin expression plasmid, but also upon treatment with the protein kinase C (PKC) activator 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Video registrations showed that the cells started to establish elaborated intercellular junctions within 30 min after addition of TPA. Interestingly, this normalizing TPA effect was not associated with alpha-catenin induction. Classical and confocal immunofluorescence showed only minor TPA-induced changes in E-cadherin staining. In contrast, desmosomal and tight junctional proteins were dramatically rearranged, with a conversion from cytoplasmic clusters to obvious concentration at cell-cell contacts and exposition at the exterior cell surface. Electron microscopical observations revealed the TPA-induced appearance of typical desmosomal plaques. TPA-restored cell-cell adhesion was E-cadherin dependent as demonstrated by a blocking antibody in a cell aggregation assay. Addition of an antibody against the extracellular part of desmoglein-2 blocked the TPA effect, too. Remarkably, the combination of anti-E-cadherin and anti-desmoglein antibodies synergistically inhibited the TPA effect. Our studies show that it is possible to bypass the need for normal alpha-catenin expression to establish tight intercellular adhesion by epithelial cells. Apparently, the underlying mechanism comprises upregulation of desmosomes and tight junctions by activation of the PKC signaling pathway, whereas E-cadherin remains essential for basic cell-cell adhesion, even in the absence of alpha-catenin.

VDAC-dependent permeabilization of the outer mitochondrial membrane by superoxide induces rapid and massive cytochrome c release.

Enhanced formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide (O2*-), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) may result in either apoptosis or other forms of cell death. Here, we studied the mechanisms underlying activation of the apoptotic machinery by ROS. Exposure of permeabilized HepG2 cells to O2*- elicited rapid and massive cytochrome c release (CCR), whereas H2O2 failed to induce any release. Both O2*- and H2O2 promoted activation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore by Ca2+, but Ca2+-dependent pore opening was not required for O2*--induced CCR. Furthermore, O2*- alone evoked CCR without damage of the inner mitochondrial membrane barrier, as mitochondrial membrane potential was sustained in the presence of extramitochondrial ATP. Strikingly, pretreatment of the cells with drugs or an antibody, which block the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), prevented O2*--induced CCR. Furthermore, VDAC-reconstituted liposomes permeated cytochrome c after O2*- exposure, and this release was prevented by VDAC blocker. The proapoptotic protein, Bak, was not detected in HepG2 cells and O2*--induced CCR did not depend on Bax translocation to mitochondria. O2*--induced CCR was followed by caspase activation and execution of apoptosis. Thus, O2*- triggers apoptosis via VDAC-dependent permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane without apparent contribution of proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins.

A natural hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor autocrine loop in myoblast cells and the effect of the constitutive Met kinase activation on myogenic differentiation.

As a rule, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) is produced by mesenchymal cells, while its receptor, the tyrosine kinase encoded by the met proto-oncogene, is expressed by the neighboring epithelial cells in a canonical paracrine fashion. In the present work we show that both HGF/SF and met are coexpressed by undifferentiated C2 mouse myoblasts. In growing cells, the autocrine loop is active as the receptor exhibits a constitutive phosphorylation on tyrosine that can be abrogated by exogenously added anti-HGF/SF neutralizing antibodies. The transcription of HGF/SF and met genes is downregulated when myoblasts stop proliferating and differentiate. The coexpression of HGF/SF and met genes is not exclusive to C2 cells since it has been assessed also in other myogenic cell lines and in mouse primary satellite cells, suggesting that HGF/SF could play a role in muscle development through an autocrine way. To analyze the biological effects of HGF/SF receptor activation, we stably expressed the constitutively activated receptor catalytic domain (p65(tpr-met)) in C2 cells. This active kinase determined profound changes in cell shape and inhibited myogenesis at both morphological and biochemical levels. Notably, a complete absence of muscle regulatory markers such as MyoD and myogenin was observed in p65(tpr-met) highly expressing C2 clones. We also studied the effects of the ectopic expression of human isoforms of met receptor (h-met) and of HGF/SF (h-HGF/SF) in stable transfected C2 cells. Single constitutive expression of h-met or h-HGF/SF does not alter substantially the growth and differentiation properties of the myoblast cells, probably because of a species-specific ligand-receptor interaction. A C2 clone expressing simultaneously both h-met and h-HGF/SF is able to grow in soft agar and shows a decrease in myogenic potential comparable to that promoted by p65(tpr-met) kinase. These data indicate that a met kinase signal released from differentiation-dependent control provides a negative stimulus for the onset of myogenic differentiation.