Anti-apoptotic Effects of Human Wharton's Jelly-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Skeletal Muscle Cells Mediated via Secretion of XCL1.

The role of Wharton's jelly-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) in inhibiting muscle cell death has been elucidated in this study. Apoptosis induced by serum deprivation in mouse skeletal myoblast cell lines (C2C12) was significantly reduced when the cell lines were cocultured with WJ-MSCs. Antibody arrays indicated high levels of chemokine (C motif) ligand (XCL1) secretion by cocultured WJ-MSCs and XCL1 protein treatment resulted in complete inhibition of apoptosis in serum-starved C2C12 cells. Apoptosis of C2C12 cells and loss of differentiated C2C12 myotubes induced by lovastatin, another muscle cell death inducer, was also inhibited by XCL1 treatment. However, XCL1 treatment did not inhibit apoptosis of cell lines other than C2C12. When XCL1-siRNA pretreated WJ-MSCs were cocultured with serum-starved C2C12 cells, apoptosis was not inhibited, thus confirming that XCL1 is a key factor in preventing C2C12 cell apoptosis. We demonstrated the therapeutic effect of XCL1 on the zebrafish myopathy model, generated by knock down of a causative gene ADSSL1. Furthermore, the treatment of XCL1 resulted in significant recovery of the zebrafish skeletal muscle defects. These results suggest that human WJ-MSCs and XCL1 protein may act as promising and novel therapeutic agents for treatment of myopathies and other skeletal muscle diseases.

Amyloid ß-induced FOXRED2 mediates neuronal cell death via inhibition of proteasome activity.

Proteasome inhibition has been regarded as one of the mediators of Aß neurotoxicity. In this study, we found that FOXRED2, a novel endoplasmic reticulum (ER) residential protein, is highly up-regulated by Aß in rat cortical neurons and SH-SY5Y cells. Over-expression of FOXRED2 inhibits proteasome activity in the microsomal fractions containing ER and interferes with proteasome assembly, as evidenced by gel filtration and native gel electrophoresis analysis. In contrast, reduced expression of FOXRED2 rescues Aß-induced inhibition of proteasome activity. FOXRED2 is an unstable protein with two degradation boxes and one KEN box, and its N-terminal oxidoreductase domain is required for proteasome inhibition. Ectopic expression of FOXRED2 induces ER stress-mediated cell death via caspase-12, which is inhibited by Salubrinal. Further, down-regulation of FOXRED2 expression attenuates Aß-induced cell death and the ER stress response. These results suggest that up-regulated FOXRED2 inhibits proteasome activity by interfering with 26S proteasome assembly to contribute to Aß neurotoxicity via an ER stress response.

Agouti Related Peptide Secreted Via Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Upregulates Proteasome Activity in an Alzheimer's Disease Model.

The activity of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is downregulated in aggregation diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of the Agouti-related peptide (AgRP), which is secreted by human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), in terms of its effect on the regulation of proteasome activity in AD. When SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were co-cultured with MSCs isolated from human Wharton's Jelly (WJ-MSC), their proteasome activity was significantly upregulated. Further analysis of the conditioned media after co-culture allowed us to identify significant concentrations of a neuropeptide, called AgRP. The stereotactic delivery of either WJ-MSCs or AgRP into the hippocampi of C57BL6/J and 5XFAD mice induced a significant increase of proteasome activity and suppressed the accumulation of ubiquitin-conjugated proteins. Collectively, these findings suggest strong therapeutic potential for WJ-MSCs and AgRP to enhance proteasome activity, thereby potentially reducing abnormal protein aggregation and delaying the clinical progression of various neurodegenerative diseases.

Inhibition of never in mitosis A (NIMA)-related kinase-4 reduces survivin expression and sensitizes cancer cells to TRAIL-induced cell death.

The tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) preferentially induces apoptosis in cancer cells. However, many tumors are resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis, and resistance mechanisms are not fully understood. To identify novel regulatory molecules of TRAIL resistance, we screened a siRNA library targeting the human kinome, and NEK4 (NIMA-related kinase-4) was identified. Knockdown of NEK4 sensitized TRAIL-resistant cancer cells and in vivo xenografts to cell death. In contrast, over expression of NEK4 suppressed TRAIL-induced cell death in TRAIL-sensitive cancer cells. In addition, loss of NEK4 resulted in decrease of the anti-apoptotic protein survivin, but an increase in apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, NEK4 was highly upregulated in tumor tissues derived from patients with lung cancer and colon cancer. These results suggest that inhibition of NEK4 sensitizes cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis by regulation of survivin expression.

iRhom1 regulates proteasome activity via PAC1/2 under ER stress.

Proteasome is a protein degradation complex that plays a major role in maintaining cellular homeostasis. Despite extensive efforts to identify protein substrates that are degraded through ubiquitination, the regulation of proteasome activity itself under diverse signals is poorly understood. In this study, we have isolated iRhom1 as a stimulator of proteasome activity from genome-wide functional screening using cDNA expression and an unstable GFP-degron. Downregulation of iRhom1 reduced enzymatic activity of proteasome complexes and overexpression of iRhom1 enhanced it. Native-gel and fractionation analyses revealed that knockdown of iRhom1 expression impaired the assembly of the proteasome complexes. The expression of iRhom1 was increased by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stressors, such as thapsigargin and tunicamycin, leading to the enhancement of proteasome activity, especially in ER-containing microsomes. iRhom1 interacted with the 20S proteasome assembly chaperones PAC1 and PAC2, affecting their protein stability. Moreover, knockdown of iRhom1 expression impaired the dimerization of PAC1 and PAC2 under ER stress. In addition, iRhom1 deficiency in D. melanogaster accelerated the rough-eye phenotype of mutant Huntingtin, while transgenic flies expressing either human iRhom1 or Drosophila iRhom showed rescue of the rough-eye phenotype. Together, these results identify a novel regulator of proteasome activity, iRhom1, which functions via PAC1/2 under ER stress.

Bay 61-3606 Sensitizes TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis by Downregulating Mcl-1 in Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer cells generally develop resistance to TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) and, therefore, assistance from sensitizers is required. In our study, we have demonstrated that Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor Bay 61-3606 was identified as a TRAIL sensitizer. Amplification of TRAIL-induced apoptosis by Bay 61-3606 was accompanied by the strong activation of Bak, caspases, and DNA fragmentation. In mechanism of action, Bay 61-3606 sensitized cells to TRAIL via two mechanisms regulating myeloid cell leukemia sequence-1 (Mcl-1). First, Bay 61-3606 triggered ubiquitin-dependent degradation of Mcl-1 by regulating Mcl-1 phosphorylation. Second, Bay 61-3606 downregulates Mcl-1 expression at the transcription level. In this context, Bay 61-3606 acted as an inhibitor of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase (CDK) 9 rather than Syk. In summary, Bay 61-3606 downregulates Mcl-1 expression in breast cancer cells and sensitizes cancer cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis.

CGP74514A enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells by reducing X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein.

BACKGROUND: Despite the selectivity of Tumor necrosis factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) for cancer cell killing activity, breast cancer cells are resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis for various reasons. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From a functionally-characterized small-molecule dataset, CGP74514A was identified as a TRAIL sensitizer in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Combination of sub-toxic dose of TRAIL with CGP74514A was evaluated in three TRAIL-resistant breast cancer cells, MCF-7, T47D and SK-BR-3. RESULTS: In all tested cells, CGP74514A enhanced TRAIL sensitivity. Combination treatment triggered apoptotic events faster than single treatment. Regarding its mechanism of action, CGP74514A reduced cytosolic X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP). Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown experiments showed that reduction of XIAP is the reason of sensitization. CONCLUSION: CGP74514A sensitized breast cancer cells to TRAIL via reduction of XIAP expression level.