Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM) reduces cell number in canine histiocytic sarcoma cell lines.

Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM) is initially reported to protect macrophages from apoptosis. In this study, we determined the effect of AIM on the macrophage-derived tumor, histiocytic sarcoma cell lines (HS) of dogs. Five HS and five other tumor cell lines were used. When recombinant canine AIM was applied to non-serum culture media, cell numbers of all the HS and two of other tumor cell lines decreased dose-dependently. The DNA fragmentation, TUNEL staining and flow cytometry tests revealed that AIM induced both of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the HS. Although AIM is known as an apoptosis inhibitor, these results suggest that a high dose of AIM could have an opposite function in HS and some tumor cell lines.

Non-essential roles of cysteine residues in functional expression and redox regulatory pathways for canine glutamate/aspartate transporter based on mutagenic analysis.

A redox regulatory mechanism and a molecular link between oxidative and excitotoxic neurodegeneration have been postulated for high-affinity Na(+)-dependent glutamate transporters. In the present study, mutations were introduced at three cysteine residues in canine glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST) to investigate the functional significance of thiol groups in response to oxidation. Cys(-) GLAST, in which all cysteines were replaced by other amino acids, as well as other mutants with disruption of one of three cysteine residues, showed insoluble oligomer formation, which was considered to be due to spontaneous and excessive oxidation as observed in wild-type GLAST. The mutant transporters also showed plasma-membrane localization and glutamate-transport kinetics that were very similar to those of wild-type GLAST. Glutamate-transport activities in COS-7 cells transfected with wild-type and Cys(-) GLAST were inhibited to the same degree when cells were exposed to Hg(2+) and were recovered by the addition of thiol-specific reductant dithiothreitol. These findings suggest that cysteine residues are not critical in functional expression of GLAST and the redox-sensing pathway via glutamate transporters.