A comparison of replicative senescence and doxorubicin-induced premature senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells isolated from human aorta.

Senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contributes to aging as well as age-related diseases of the cardiovascular system. Senescent VSMCs have been shown to be present in atherosclerotic plaques. Both replicative (RS) and stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) accompany cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to establish the signature of RS and SIPS of VSMCs, induced by a common anticancer drug, doxorubicin, and to discover the so far undisclosed features of senescent cells that are potentially harmful to the organism. Most of the senescence hallmarks were common for both RS and SIPS; however, some differences were observed. 32 % of doxorubicin-treated cells were arrested in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, while 73 % of replicatively senescing cells were arrested in the G1 phase. Moreover, on the basis of alkaline phosphatase activity measurements, we show that a 7-day treatment with doxorubicin (dox), does not cause precocious cell calcification, which is a characteristic feature of RS. We did not observe calcification even though after 7 days of dox-treatment many other markers characteristic for senescent cells were present. It can suggest that dox-induced SIPS does not accelerate the mineralization of vessels. We consider that detailed characterization of the two types of cellular senescence can be useful in in vitro studies of potential anti-aging factors.

[Markers of cellular senescence]. / Znaczniki starzenia komórkowego.

Cellular senescence is a complex process associated with irreversible cell cycle arrest. We can distinguish replicative senescence, which is telomere dependent and stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS), which is telomere independent. Replicative senescence can be observed in culture after a few weeks or months, depending on the cell type. On the other hand SIPS can be observed a few days after treating with a senescence inducing agent. Till now a universal marker of senescence has not been decribed. Studies concerning senescence are possible thanks to the existance of many markers of senescence which enable to observe molecular as well as biochemical changes associated with this process. The presence of a few markers of senescence allows us to be sure that cells underwent senescence.

[The role of the DNA damage response in apoptosis and cell senescence]. / Rola szlaku indukowanego uszkodzeniami DNA w apoptozie i starzeniu komórkowym.

The genetic material is constantly subjected to DNA damage which is caused by physiological processes occuring in the cell and is exposed to exogenous DNA damaging agents. Eucariotic cells have developed a system called the DNA damage response (DDR), which is responsible for maintaining genomic inegrity. DNA damage can lead to senescence, DNA repair as well as to cell death. The key protein in the DDR pathway is p53. This protein undergoes numerous posttranslational modifications and can be involved in the activation of many genes and proteins leading to survival or cell death. In cell senescence the p53 protein leads to the induction of p21, which causes cell cycle arrest. In apoptosis p53 participates in the activation of caspases, which are responsible for the degradation of many proteins.

DNA damage-independent apoptosis induced by curcumin in normal resting human T cells and leukaemic Jurkat cells.

Curcumin, a phytochemical derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, is a very potent inducer of cancer cell death. It is believed that cancer cells are more sensitive to curcumin treatment than normal cells. Curcumin has been shown to act as a prooxidant and induce DNA lesions in normal cells. We were interested in whether curcumin induces DNA damage and the DNA damage response (DDR) signalling pathway leading to apoptosis in normal resting human T cells. To this end, we analysed DNA damage after curcumin treatment of resting human T cells (CD3(+)) and of proliferating leukaemic Jurkat cells by the fluorimetric detection of alkaline DNA unwinding (FADU) assay and immunocytochemical detection of γ-H2AX foci. We showed that curcumin-treated Jurkat cells and resting T cells showed neither DNA lesions nor did they activate key proteins in the DDR signalling pathway, such as phospho-ATM and phospho-p53. However, both types of cell were equally sensitive to curcumin-induced apoptosis and displayed activation of caspase-8 but not of DNA damage-dependent caspase-2. Altogether, our results revealed that curcumin can induce apoptosis of normal resting human T cells that is not connected with DNA damage.

Insight into the role of PIKK family members and NF-кB in DNAdamage-induced senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype of colon cancer cells.

Senescence of cancer cells is an important outcome of treatment of many cancer types. Cell senescence is a permanent cell cycle arrest induced by stress conditions, including DNA damage. DNA damage activates DNA damage response (DDR), which involves members of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase (PIKK) superfamily: protein kinases ATM, ATR, and DNA-PKcs. The so-far collected data indicate that ATM, with its downstream targets CHK2, p53, and p21, is the key protein involved in DDR-dependent senescence. It was also documented that the so-called senescence-associated secretory phenotype-SASP relies on ATM/CHK2, and not on p53 signaling. Moreover, genotoxic agents used in cancer treatment can activate NF-κB, which also induces transcription of SASP genes. In this paper, we have studied the involvement of three PIKK family members in colon cancer cell senescence and connection between DNA-damage-induced senescence and NF-κB-regulated SASP in p53-proficient and p53-deficient colon cancer cells treated with doxorubicin. We showed that doxorubicin induced cell senescence in both p53+/+ and p53-/- HCT116 cells, proving that this process is p53-independent. Senescence was successfully abrogated by a PIKK inhibitor, caffeine, or by simultaneous silencing of three PIKKs by specific siRNAs. By silencing individual members of PIKK family and analyzing common markers of senescence, the level of p21 and SA-ß-Gal activity, we came to the conclusion that ATR kinase is crucial for the onset of senescence as, in contrast to ATM and DNA-PKsc, it could not be fully substituted by other PIKKs. Moreover, we showed that in case of silencing the three PIKKs, there was no SASP reduction accompanying the decrease in the level of p21 and SA-ß-Gal (Senescence-Associated-ß-Galactosidase) activity; whereas knocking down the NF-κB component, p65, abrogated SASP, but did not affect other markers of senescence, proving that DNA damage regulated senescence independently and NF-κB evoked SASP.

Polyploidy Formation in Doxorubicin-Treated Cancer Cells Can Favor Escape from Senescence.

Cancer cells can undergo stress-induced premature senescence, which is considered to be a desirable outcome of anticancer treatment. However, the escape from senescence and cancer cell repopulation give rise to some doubts concerning the effectiveness of the senescence-induced anticancer therapy. Similarly, it is postulated that polyploidization of cancer cells is connected with disease relapse. We postulate that cancer cell polyploidization associated with senescence is the culprit of atypical cell divisions leading to cancer cell regrowth. Accordingly, we aimed to dissociate between these two phenomena. We induced senescence in HCT 116 cells by pulse treatment with doxorubicin and observed transiently increased ploidy, abnormal nuclear morphology, and various distributions of some proteins (e.g., p21, Ki-67, SA-ß-galactosidase) in the subnuclei. Doxorubicin-treated HCT 116 cells displayed an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) possibly caused by an increased amount of mitochondria, which are characterized by low membrane potential. A decrease in the level of ROS by Trolox partially protected the cells from polyploidization but not from senescence. Interestingly, a decreased level of ROS prevented the cells from escaping senescence. We also show that MCF7 cells senesce, but this is not accompanied by the increase of ploidy upon doxorubicin treatment. Moreover, they were stably growth arrested, thus proving that polyploidy but not senescence per se enables to regain the ability to proliferate. Our preliminary results indicate that the different propensity of the HCT 116 and MCF7 cells to increase ploidy upon cell senescence could be caused by a different level of the mTOR and/or Pim-1 kinases.

The role of nibrin in doxorubicin-induced apoptosis and cell senescence in Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome patients lymphocytes.

Nibrin plays an important role in the DNA damage response (DDR) and DNA repair. DDR is a crucial signaling pathway in apoptosis and senescence. To verify whether truncated nibrin (p70), causing Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome (NBS), is involved in DDR and cell fate upon DNA damage, we used two (S4 and S3R) spontaneously immortalized T cell lines from NBS patients, with the founding mutation and a control cell line (L5). S4 and S3R cells have the same level of p70 nibrin, however p70 from S4 cells was able to form more complexes with ATM and BRCA1. Doxorubicin-induced DDR followed by cell senescence could only be observed in L5 and S4 cells, but not in the S3R ones. Furthermore the S3R cells only underwent cell death, but not senescence after doxorubicin treatment. In contrary to doxorubicin treatment, cells from all three cell lines were able to activate the DDR pathway after being exposed to γ-radiation. Downregulation of nibrin in normal human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) did not prevent the activation of DDR and induction of senescence. Our results indicate that a substantially reduced level of nibrin or its truncated p70 form is sufficient to induce DNA-damage dependent senescence in VSMCs and S4 cells, respectively. In doxorubicin-treated S3R cells DDR activation was severely impaired, thus preventing the induction of senescence.

Curcumin induces permanent growth arrest of human colon cancer cells: link between senescence and autophagy.

Curcumin, a natural polyphenol derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, is a potent anticancer agent, which restricts tumor cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Thus far curcumin was shown to induce death of cancer cells. This study reports the induction of cellular senescence of human colon cancer cells HCT116 upon curcumin treatment. The SA-ß-galactosidase activation was observed both in p53+/+ and p53-/- cells, however the latter ones were less sensitive to the prosenescent activity of curcumin. Upregulation of p53 and p21 proteins was observed in p53+/+ HCT116, while p53-independent induction of p21 was noticed in p53-/- HCT116. Moreover, the senescence of HCT116 cells was accompanied by autophagy, that was confirmed by electron microscopy observations of autophagosomes in the curcumin-treated cells as well as LC3-II expression, punctue staining of LC3 and increased content of acidic vacuoles. Inhibition of autophagy, due to the diminished expression of ATG5 by RNAi decreased the number of senescent cells induced by curcumin, but did not lead to increased cell death. Altogether, we demonstrated a new antitumor activity of curcumin leading to cancer cell senescence and revealed the presence of a functional link between senescence and autophagy in curcumin-treated cells.