Ecotoxicological Impact of the Marine Toxin Palytoxin on the Micro-Crustacean Artemia franciscana.

Palytoxin (PLTX) is a highly toxic polyether identified in various marine organisms, such as Palythoa soft corals, Ostreopsis dinoflagellates, and Trichodesmium cyanobacteria. In addition to adverse effects in humans, negative impacts on different marine organisms have been often described during Ostreopsis blooms and the concomitant presence of PLTX and its analogues. Considering the increasing frequency of Ostreopsis blooms due to global warming, PLTX was investigated for its effects on Artemia franciscana, a crustacean commonly used as a model organism for ecotoxicological studies. At concentrations comparable to those detected in culture media of O. cf. ovata (1.0-10.0 nM), PLTX significantly reduced cysts hatching and induced significant mortality of the organisms, both at larval and adult stages. Adults appeared to be the most sensitive developmental stage to PLTX: significant mortality was recorded after only 12 h of exposure to PLTX concentrations > 1.0 nM, with a 50% lethal concentration (LC50) of 2.3 nM (95% confidence interval = 1.2-4.7 nM). The toxic effects of PLTX toward A. franciscana adults seem to involve oxidative stress induction. Indeed, the toxin significantly increased ROS levels and altered the activity of the major antioxidant enzymes, in particular catalase and peroxidase, and marginally glutathione-S-transferase and superoxide dismutase. On the whole, these results indicate that environmentally relevant concentrations of PLTX could have a negative effect on Artemia franciscana population, suggesting its potential ecotoxicological impact at the marine level.

Interferon gamma inducible protein 16 (IFI16) expression is reduced in mantle cell lymphoma.

IFI16, member of the IFN-inducible PYHIN-200 gene family, modulates proliferation, survival and differentiation of different cell lineages. In particular, IFI16 expression, which is regulated during the differentiation of B cells, was recently studied in B-CLL as well. Here, we compared IFI16 expression in several lymphomas including Burkitt lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma with respect to normal cell counterparts. We observed that IFI16 expression was significantly deregulated only in mantle cell lymphoma (p < 0.05). Notably, IFI16 was associated with the expression of genes involved in interferon response, cell cycle, cell death and proliferation and, interestingly, lipid and glucose metabolism, suggesting that IFI16 deregulation might be associated with relevant changes in cell biology. In our group of mantle cell lymphoma samples a correlation between patient survival and IFI16 expression was not detected even though mantle cell lymphoma prognosis is known to be associated with cell proliferation. Altogether, these results suggest a complex relationship between IFI16 expression and MCL which needs to be analyzed in further studies.

IFI16 reduced expression is correlated with unfavorable outcome in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in adults. Its clinical course is typically indolent; however, based on a series of pathobiological, clinical, genetic, and phenotypic parameters, patient survival varies from less than 5 to more than 20 years. In this paper, we show for the first time that the expression of the interferon-inducible DNA sensor IFI16, a member of the PYHIN protein family involved in proliferation inhibition and apoptosis regulation, is associated with the clinical outcome in CLL. We studied 99 CLLs cases by immunohistochemistry and 10 CLLs cases by gene expression profiling. We found quite variable degrees of IFI16 expression among CLLs cases. Noteworthy, we observed that a reduced IFI16 expression was associated with a very poor survival, but only in cases with ZAP70/CD38 expression. Furthermore, we found that IFI16 expression was associated with a specific gene expression signature. As IFI16 can be easily detected by immunohistochemistry or flow cytometry, it may become a part of phenotypic screening in CLL patients if its prognostic role is confirmed in independent series.

Entrectinib, a Pan-TRK, ROS1, and ALK Inhibitor with Activity in Multiple Molecularly Defined Cancer Indications.

Activated ALK and ROS1 tyrosine kinases, resulting from chromosomal rearrangements, occur in a subset of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) as well as other tumor types and their oncogenic relevance as actionable targets has been demonstrated by the efficacy of selective kinase inhibitors such as crizotinib, ceritinib, and alectinib. More recently, low-frequency rearrangements of TRK kinases have been described in NSCLC, colorectal carcinoma, glioblastoma, and Spitzoid melanoma. Entrectinib, whose discovery and preclinical characterization are reported herein, is a novel, potent inhibitor of ALK, ROS1, and, importantly, of TRK family kinases, which shows promise for therapy of tumors bearing oncogenic forms of these proteins. Proliferation profiling against over 200 human tumor cell lines revealed that entrectinib is exquisitely potent in vitro against lines that are dependent on the drug's pharmacologic targets. Oral administration of entrectinib to tumor-bearing mice induced regression in relevant human xenograft tumors, including the TRKA-dependent colorectal carcinoma KM12, ROS1-driven tumors, and several ALK-dependent models of different tissue origins, including a model of brain-localized lung cancer metastasis. Entrectinib is currently showing great promise in phase I/II clinical trials, including the first documented objective responses to a TRK inhibitor in colorectal carcinoma and in NSCLC. The drug is, thus, potentially suited to the therapy of several molecularly defined cancer settings, especially that of TRK-dependent tumors, for which no approved drugs are currently available. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(4); 628-39. ©2016 AACR.

The TPM3-NTRK1 rearrangement is a recurring event in colorectal carcinoma and is associated with tumor sensitivity to TRKA kinase inhibition.

The NTRK1 gene encodes Tropomyosin-related kinase A (TRKA), the high-affinity Nerve Growth Factor Receptor. NTRK1 was originally isolated from a colorectal carcinoma (CRC) sample as component of a somatic rearrangement (TPM3-NTRK1) resulting in expression of the oncogenic chimeric protein TPM3-TRKA, but there has been no subsequent report regarding the relevance of this oncogene in CRC. The KM12 human CRC cell line expresses the chimeric TPM3-TRKA protein and is hypersensitive to TRKA kinase inhibition. We report the detailed characterization of the TPM3-NTRK1 genomic rearrangement in KM12 cells and through a cellular screening approach, the identification of NMS-P626, a novel highly potent and selective TRKA inhibitor. NMS-P626 suppressed TPM3-TRKA phosphorylation and downstream signaling in KM12 cells and showed remarkable antitumor activity in mice bearing KM12 tumors. Finally, using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) we identified the TPM3-NTRK1 rearrangement in a CRC clinical sample, therefore suggesting that this chromosomal translocation is indeed a low frequency recurring event in CRC and that such patients might benefit from therapy with TRKA kinase inhibitors.

Analysis of the effects of HIV-1 Tat on the survival and differentiation of vessel wall-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

HIV infection is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis development and cardiovascular damage. As vessel wall mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are involved in the regulation of vessel structure homeostasis, we investigated the role of Tat, a key factor in HIV replication and pathogenesis, in MSC survival and differentiation. The survival of subconfluent MSCs was impaired when Tat was added at high concentrations (200-1,000 ng/ml), whereas lower Tat concentrations (1-100 ng/ml) did not promote apoptosis. Tat enhanced the differentiation of MSC toward adipogenesis by the transcription and activity upregulation of PPARγ. This Tat-related modulation of adipogenesis was tackled by treatment with antagonists of Tat-specific receptors such as SU5416 and RGD Fc. In contrast, Tat inhibited the differentiation of MSCs to endothelial cells by downregulating the expression of VEGF-induced endothelial markers such as Flt-1, KDR, and vWF. The treatment of MSCs with Tat-derived peptides corresponding to the cysteine-rich, basic, and RGD domains indicated that these Tat regions are involved in the inhibition of endothelial marker expression. The Tat-related impairment of MSC survival and differentiation might play an important role in vessel damage and formation of the atherosclerotic lesions observed in HIV-infected patients.

HIV-1 Tat protein enhances RANKL/M-CSF-mediated osteoclast differentiation.

Impaired osteoblast/osteoclast cross-talk and bone structure homeostasis resulting in osteopenia/osteoporosis are often observed in HIV seropositive patients but the causal mechanisms remain unsettled. This study analyzed the biological effects of Tat on peripheral blood monocyte-derived osteoclast differentiation. Tat enhances osteoclast differentiation and activity induced by RANKL plus M-CSF treatment increasing both the mRNA expression of specific osteoclast differentiation markers, such as cathepsin K and calcitonin receptor, and TRAP expression and activity. These Tat-related biological effects may be related, at least in part, to the induction of c-fos expression and AP-1 activity. c-fos up-regulation was triggered by Tat when cell cultures were co-treated with RANKL/M-CSF and an analysis of c-fos promoter with c-fos deletion mutant constructs disclosed specific c-fos promoter domains targeted by Tat. Together, these results show that Tat may be considered a viral factor positively modulating the osteoclastogenesis and then bone resorption activity suggesting a pathogenetic role of this viral protein in the HIV-related osteopenia/osteoporosis.

HIV-1 triggers apoptosis in primary osteoblasts and HOBIT cells through TNFalpha activation.

Several HIV-1 infected patients show bone loss and osteopenia/osteoporosis during the course of disease. The mechanisms underlying this degenerative process are largely unsettled and it has not been determined yet whether bone dysfunction is linked to HIV-1-mediated direct and/or indirect effects on osteoblasts/osteoclasts cross-talk regulation. This study investigated the effects of HIV-1(IIIb) and HIV-1(ADA) strains on osteoblasts using the osteoblast-derived cell line (HOBIT) and primary human osteoblasts as cellular models. The challenge of these cell cultures by both HIV-1 strains triggered a significant apoptosis activation unrelated to viral infection, since proviral HIV-1 DNA and supernatant HIV-1 RNA were not detected by real time PCR or b-DNA assays respectively. Under the experimental conditions, even heat-inactivated HIV-1 or cross-linked recombinant gp120 treatment of HOBIT and osteoblasts induced programmed cell death, suggesting that apoptosis is regulated by the interaction between HIV-1 gp120 and cell membrane. The analysis of cell culture supernatants showed a significant up-regulation of TNFalpha, a pleiotropic protein considered an apoptosis inducer in the osteoblast model. In fact, pretreatment of HOBIT and osteoblast cell cultures with anti-TNFalpha polyclonal antibody tackled effectively HIV-1 related induction of cell apoptosis. As a whole, these results indicate that HIV-1 may impair bone mass structure homeostasis by TNFalpha regulated osteoblast apoptosis.

Role of HIF-1 and NF-kappaB transcription factors in the modulation of transferrin receptor by inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals.

Inflammation generates various changes in body iron homeostasis, including iron sequestration in the reticuloendothelial system with ensuing hypoferremia and anemia of chronic disease. Increased iron accumulation is caused by hepcidin-mediated down-regulation of the iron export protein ferroportin and higher iron uptake. However, enhanced iron acquisition by macrophages cannot be accounted for by the previously reported transferrin receptor (TfR1) down-regulation in macrophages exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon gamma (IFNgamma) because it impairs a major iron uptake mechanism. Because TfR1 is up-regulated by the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1), we investigated the effect of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals on HIF-1-mediated TfR1 gene expression. Exposure of mouse macrophages (RAW 264.7 and J774A.1 cells or peritoneal macrophages) to LPS/IFNgamma up-regulated NF-kappaB, which in turn rapidly and transiently activated HIF-1-dependent TfR1 expression and iron uptake. Activation of an anti-inflammatory pathway by pre-exposure to the adenosine A(2A) receptor agonist CGS21680 prevented the inducing effect of LPS/IFNgamma on HIF-1 and TfR1 expression by inhibiting NF-kappaB activity, whereas treatment with CGS21680 alone increased HIF-1-mediated TfR1 expression by means of an NF-kappaB-independent signaling pathway. In conclusion, an interplay of the HIF-1 and NF-kappaB pathways controls TfR1 transcription in inflammation. The consequent changes in TfR1 expression may be involved in modulating iron retention in inflammatory macrophages, thus possibly contributing to the development of hypoferremia in the early phases preceding the down-regulation of macrophage ferroportin by hepcidin.

Adenosine-dependent activation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 induces late preconditioning in liver cells.

UNLABELLED: The cellular mechanisms by which ischemic preconditioning increases liver tolerance to ischemia/reperfusion injury are still poorly understood. This study investigated the role of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) in the protection associated with the late phase of liver preconditioning. Late preconditioning was induced in primary cultured rat hepatocytes by a transient (10 minute) hypoxic stress or by 15 minutes incubation with the adenosine A(2A) receptors agonist CGS21680 24 hours before exposure to 90 minutes of hypoxia in a serum-free medium. Late preconditioning induced the nuclear translocation of HIF-1 and the expression of carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), a HIF-1-regulated transmembrane enzyme that catalyzes bicarbonate production. Such effects were associated with prevention of hepatocyte killing by hypoxia and the amelioration of intracellular acidosis and Na+ accumulation. The inhibition of PKC-mediated and PI3-kinase-mediated signals with, respectively, chelerythrine and wortmannin abolished HIF-1 activation and blocked both CAIX expression and the protective action of late preconditioning. CAIX expression was also prevented by interfering with the transcriptional activity of HIF-1 using a dominant negative HIF-1beta subunit. The inhibition of CAIX with acetazolamide or the block of bicarbonate influx with disodium-4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanato-stilben-2,2'-disulfonate also reverted the protective effects of late preconditioning on intracellular acidosis and Na+ accumulation. CONCLUSION: The stimulation of adenosine A(2A) receptors induced late preconditioning in liver cells through the activation of HIF-1. HIF-1-induced expression of CAIX increases hepatocyte tolerance to ischemia by maintaining intracellular Na+ homeostasis. These observations along with the importance of HIF-1 in regulating cell survival indicates HIF-1 activation as a possible key event in liver protection by late preconditioning.

Sparc localizes to the blebs of hobit cells and human primary osteoblasts.

Secreted protein acidic and rich in cystein (SPARC) is a secreted glycoprotein involved in several biological processes such as tissue remodeling, embryonic development, cell/extracellular matrix interactions, and cell migration. In particular, SPARC affects bone remodeling through the regulation of both differentiation/survival of osteoblasts and bone extracellular matrix synthesis/turnover. Here, we investigated SPARC subcellular localization in the human osteoblastic HOBIT cell line by immunocytochemistry and western blot analysis. We show that, under normal exponential cell growth conditions, SPARC localized both to cell nucleus and to cytoplasm, with no co-localization on actin stress fibers. However, in colchicine-treated HOBIT cells and human primary osteoblasts undergoing blebs formation, SPARC showed a different cellular distribution, with an additional marked compartmentalization inside the blebs, where it co-localized with globular actin and actin-binding proteins such as alpha-actinin, cortactin, and vinculin. Moreover, we demonstrate by an in vitro assay that the addition of SPARC to actin and alpha-actinin inhibited the formation of cross-linked actin filaments and disrupted newly formed filaments, most likely due to a direct interaction between SPARC and alpha-actinin, as indicated by immunoprecipitation assay. The specific silencing of SPARC RNA expression markedly decreased the ability of colchicine-treated HOBIT cells to undergo blebbing, suggesting a direct role for SPARC in cell morphology dynamics during cytoskeletal reorganization.

Adenosine A2a receptor-mediated, normoxic induction of HIF-1 through PKC and PI-3K-dependent pathways in macrophages.

Adenosine released by cells in injurious or hypoxic environments has tissue-protecting and anti-inflammatory effects, which are also a result of modulation of macrophage functions, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. As VEGF is a well-known target of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), we hypothesized that adenosine may activate HIF-1 directly. Our studies using subtype-specific adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists showed that by activating the A(2A) receptor, adenosine treatment induced HIF-1 DNA-binding activity, nuclear accumulation, and transactivation capacity in J774A.1 mouse macrophages. Increased HIF-1 levels were also found in adenosine-treated mouse peritoneal macrophages. The HIF-1 activation induced by the A(2A) receptor-specific agonist CGS21680 required the PI-3K and protein kinase C pathways but was not mediated by changes in iron levels. Investigation of the molecular basis of HIF-1 activation revealed the involvement of transcriptional and to a larger extent, translational mechanisms. HIF-1 induction triggered the expression of HIF-1 target genes involved in cell survival (aldolase, phosphoglycerate kinase) and VEGF but did not induce inflammation-related genes regulated by HIF-1, such as TNF-alpha or CXCR4. Our results show that the formation of adenosine and induction of HIF-1, two events which occur in response to hypoxia, are linked directly and suggest that HIF-1 activation through A(2A) receptors may contribute to the anti-inflammatory and tissue-protecting activity of adenosine.

NK cells and cancer.

In this review, we overview the main features and functions of NK cells, focusing on their role in cell-mediated immune response to tumor cells. In parallel, we discuss the information available in the field of NK cell receptors and offer a wide general overview of functional aspects of cell targeting and killing, focusing on the recent acknowledgments on the efficacy of NK cells after cytokine and mAb administration in cancer therapy. Since efficacy of NK cell-based immunotherapy has been proven in KIR-mismatch regimens or in TRAIL-dependent apoptosis, the ability to manipulate the balance of activating and inhibitory receptors on NK cells and of their cognate ligands, as well as the sensitivity of tumor cells to apoptosis, opens new perspectives for NK cell-based immunotherapy.

HIV-1 negatively affects the survival/maturation of cord blood CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells differentiated towards megakaryocytic lineage by HIV-1 gp120/CD4 membrane interaction.

To investigate the mechanisms involved in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-related thrombocytopenia (TP), human umbilical cord blood (UCB) CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) were challenged with HIV-1(IIIb) and then differentiated by thrombopoietin (TPO) towards megakaryocytic lineage. This study showed that HIV-1, heat-inactivated HIV-1, and HIV-1 recombinant gp120 (rgp120) activated apoptotic process of megakaryocyte (MK) progenitors/precursors and decreased higher ploidy MK cell fraction. All these inhibitory effects on MK survival/maturation and platelets formation were elicited by the interaction between gp120 and CD4 receptor on the cell membrane in the absence of HIV-1 productive infection. In fact, in our experimental conditions, HPCs were resistant to HIV-1 infection and no detectable productive infection was observed. We also evaluated whether the expression of specific cytokines, such as TGF-beta1 and APRIL, involved in the regulation of HPCs and MKs proliferation, was modulated by HIV-1. The specific protein and mRNA detection analysis, during TPO-induced differentiation, demonstrated that HIV-1 upregulates TGF-beta1 and downregulates APRIL expression through the CD4 engagement by gp120. Altogether, these data suggest that survival/differentiation of HPCs committed to MK lineage is negatively affected by HIV-1 gp120/CD4 interaction. This long-term inhibitory effect is also correlated to specific cytokines regulation and it may represent an additional mechanism to explain the TP occurring in HIV-1 patients.

Up regulation of IL-6 by ischemic preconditioning in normal and fatty rat livers: association with reduction of oxidative stress.

We analyzed the role of IL-6 in the protection that ischemic preconditioning (IP) exerts against hepatic ischemia reperfusion-mediated (I/R) oxidative damage, particularly in fatty livers. IP-related IL-6 up-regulation during reperfusion in steatotic and non-steatotic livers was correlated with reduced indices of liver damage, as also demonstrated by pharmacological modulation of IL-6. IP activated NF-kB and HSF during ischemia (Isc), whereas AP-1 activity was unaffected. IP blunted the activation of STAT3 and stress-responsive genes, such as NF-kB, AP-1 and heme oxygenase (HO-1) during reperfusion. The role of reduced oxidative stress in hepatoprotection of fatty livers was further demonstrated by the fact that: (i) IP prevented the decrease of glutathione levels and the increase of lipid peroxidation; (ii) the anti-oxidant GSH-ester prevented lipid peroxidation and necrosis. In conclusion, IP modulates the activity of transcription factors and triggers IL-6 production; this may prevent hepatic I/R damage in a oxidative stress-dependent way, particularly in fatty livers.

PKCepsilon controls protection against TRAIL in erythroid progenitors.

Apoptosis plays a central role in the regulation of the size of the hematopoietic stem cell pool as well as in the processes of cell differentiation along the various hematopoietic lineages. TRAIL is a member of the TNF family of cytokines with a known apoptogenic role against a variety of malignant cells and an emerging role in the modulation of normal hematopoiesis. Here we worked on the hypothesis that PKCepsilon could act as a switch of the cellular response to TRAIL during erythropoiesis. We demonstrate that EPO-induced erythroid CD34 cells are insensitive to the apoptogenic effect of TRAIL at day 0 due to the lack of specific receptor expression. From day 3 onward, erythroid cells express surface death receptors and become sensitive to TRAIL up to day 7/8 when, notwithstanding death-receptor expression, the EPO-driven up-regulation of PKCepsilon intracellular levels renders differentiating erythroid cells resistant to TRAIL likely via Bcl-2 up-regulation. Our conclusion is that in human CD34 cells, EPO promotes a series of events that, being finely regulated in their kinetics, restricts the sensitivity of these cells to TRAIL to a specific period of time, which therefore represents the "TRAIL window" for the negative regulation of erythroid-cell numbers.

Different levels of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase isoform modulate the rate of osteoclastic differentiation of TIB-71 and CRL-2278 RAW 264.7 murine cell clones.

It has been clearly established that osteoclasts, which play a crucial role in bone resorption, differentiate from hematopoietic cells belonging to the monocyte/macrophage lineage in the presence of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL). We have here investigated the M-CSF- and RANKL-induced osteoclastic differentiation of two distinct clones of the murine monocytic/macrophagic RAW 264.7 cell line, known as TIB-71 and CRL-2278, the latter cell clone being defective for the expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase isoform in response to interferon-gamma or lipopolysaccharide. CRL-2278 cells demonstrated a more rapid osteoclastic differentiation than TIB-71 cells, as documented by morphology, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase positivity, and bone resorption activity. The enhanced osteoclastic differentiation of CRL-2278 was accompanied by a higher rate of cells in the S/G2-M phases of cell cycle as compared to TIB-71. The analysis of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms clearly demonstrated that only neuronal NOS was detectable at high levels in CRL-2278 but not in TIB cells under all tested conditions. Moreover, the broad inhibitor of NOS activity L-NAME significantly inhibited osteoclastic differentiation of CRL-2278 cells. Altogether, these results demonstrate that a basal constitutive neuronal NOS activity positively affects the RANKL/M-CSF-related osteoclastic differentiation.

HIV-1 Tat protein concomitantly down-regulates apical caspase-10 and up-regulates c-FLIP in lymphoid T cells: a potential molecular mechanism to escape TRAIL cytotoxicity.

In this study, we showed the existence of a positive correlation between the amount of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) RNA in HIV-1 seropositive subjects and the plasma levels of TRAIL. Since it has been previously demonstrated that HIV-1 Tat protein up-regulates the expression of TRAIL in monocytic cells whereas tat-expressing lymphoid cells are more resistant to TRAIL cytotoxicity, we next investigated the effect of Tat on the expression/activity of both apical caspase-8 and -10, which play a key role in mediating the initial phases of apoptosis by TRAIL, and c-FLIP. Jurkat lymphoblastoid human T cell lines stably transfected with a plasmid expressing wild-type (HIV-1) tat gene showed normal levels of caspase-8 but significantly decreased levels of caspase-10 at both mRNA and protein levels with respect to Jurkat transfected with the control plasmid or with a mutated (cys22) non-functional tat cDNA. A significant decrease of caspase-10 expression/activity was also observed in transient transfection experiments with plasmid carrying tat cDNA. Moreover, c-FLIP(L) and c-FLIP(S) isoforms were up-regulated in tat-expressing cells at both mRNA and protein level in comparison with control cells. Taken together, these results provide a molecular basis to explain the resistance of tat-expressing Jurkat cells to apoptosis induced by TRAIL and, possibly, to other death-inducing ligands.

Phospholipase-C beta1 is predominantely expressed in the granular layer of rat cerebellar cortex.

The beta1 isoform of phospholipase-C is exclusively present in the nucleus of several hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cell lines and primary cells of different species. When present, it represents the key enzyme for initiating the nuclear phospholipid breakdown that is involved in the cellular response to proliferating and differentiating stimuli. We have studied the expression of this enzyme isoform in the rat cerebellar cortex. We demonstrate that phospholipase-C beta1 (PLCbeta1) is predominantly expressed in the neurons of the granular layer, while it is virtually absent in the molecular and Purkinje cell layers of rat cerebellar cortex. This pattern of expression is partially different from that of the mouse cerebellar cortex, where not only granular cells, but also Purkinje cells express PLCbeta1. The high level of synaptic inputs that converge on granular cells may imply a constantly active nuclear phospholipid metabolism that may not be strictly required for the appropriate cellular responses of the other cell types of rat cerebellar cortex.

Activated human NK and CD8+ T cells express both TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and TRAIL receptors but are resistant to TRAIL-mediated cytotoxicity.

The expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and TRAIL receptors was investigated in resting and cytokine-activated purified primary human natural killer (NK) and CD8(+) T cells. Resting NK and CD8(+) T cells expressed the mRNA for all TRAIL receptors, but TRAIL-R4 was the only receptor clearly detectable on the surface of both cell types. NK cells were activated by interleukin 2 (IL-2) or IL-15, whereas CD8(+) T cells were activated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) + IL-2 followed by IL-2 alone for up to 10 days. On activation, both cell types rapidly expressed TRAIL-R2 and TRAIL-R3, whose expression peaked at day 10 of culture. TRAIL-R1, however, was never expressed at any time point examined, whereas the expression of TRAIL-R4, which showed a progressive increase in CD8(+) T cells, remained constant in NK cells. Notwithstanding the expression of TRAIL-R2, recombinant TRAIL did not show any cytotoxic activity on either NK or CD8(+) T cells. Both resting and activated NK and CD8(+) T cells were found to express high levels of the 2 isoforms of c-FLIP (cellular Fas-associated death domain protein [FADD]-like IL-1-converting enzyme [FLICE]-inhibitory protein). Small interference RNA-mediated inhibition of c-FLIP expression in NK cells abrogated their resistance to the apoptotic effect of soluble TRAIL. Thus, once activated the major cytotoxic effector cells are potentially sensitive to TRAIL but are physiologically protected from its apoptotic action by intracellular level of c-FLIP.