The Bcl-w promoter is activated by beta-catenin/TCF4 in human colorectal carcinoma cells.

The antiapoptotic BCL-2 family protein BCL-W is often overexpressed in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) where it correlates with advanced stage and expression of p53. In this work we have analysed the Bcl-w promoter to identify potential regulators of BCL-W expression in CRC cells. The Bcl-w promoter was highly active in cell lines derived from CRC as well as other cancer types. Although expression of p53 and BCL-W correlate in CRC, overexpression of wild type or mutant p53 did not significantly alter Bcl-w promoter activity, and deletion of endogenous p53 did not alter the expression of Bcl-w RNA in HCT116 cells. Promoter deletion analysis lead to the identification of a potential binding site for TCF/LEF factors, obligate binding partners for beta-catenin, a downstream target of the WNT signalling pathway. TCF4 and beta-catenin interacted with the Bcl-w promoter in intact HCT116 cells and mutation of this site significantly decreased promoter activity. The activity of the Bcl-w promoter was increased or decreased, respectively, by overexpression of beta-catenin or dominant negative TCF4. beta-catenin is activated in the majority of CRC and these results suggest that BCL-W may function as a downstream effector of inappropriate WNT/beta-catenin signalling.

Inhibition of proteasomal degradation of Mcl-1 by cobalt chloride suppresses cobalt chloride-induced apoptosis in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells.

Cobalt promotes apoptosis in multiple cell systems, however, the molecular mechanisms that influence cobalt-induced apoptosis are not fully understood. We investigated mechanisms of cobalt chloride induced apoptosis in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. Cobalt chloride induced dose dependent apoptosis in HCT116 cells (250-750 muM) which, at higher concentrations (500-750 muM), was associated with an increase in the expression of the Bcl-2-related Mcl-1 survival protein. Cobalt chloride caused the accumulation of higher molecular weight ubiquitin-conjugates of Mcl-1 in intact HCT116 cells and inhibited the activity of the trypsin-like site of the 20S proteasome in an in vitro assay. Although siRNA-mediated knockdown of Mcl-1 increased apoptosis in HCT116 cells, the combination of Mcl-1 siRNA and cobalt chloride induced very high levels of cell killing. Therefore, inhibition of the proteasome by cobalt chloride leads to the accumulation of Mcl-1 which acts to limit cobalt chloride induced apoptosis.

Mcl-1 is required for Akata6 B-lymphoma cell survival and is converted to a cell death molecule by efficient caspase-mediated cleavage.

Enforced expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Mcl-1 promotes lymphomagenesis in the mouse; however, the functional role of Mcl-1 in human B-cell lymphoma remains unclear. We demonstrate that Mcl-1 is widely expressed in malignant B-cells, and high-level expression of Mcl-1 is required for B-lymphoma cell survival, since transfection of Mcl-1-specific antisense oligodeoxynucleotides was sufficient to promote apoptosis in Akata6 lymphoma cells. Mcl-1 was efficiently cleaved by caspases at evolutionarily conserved aspartic acid residues in vitro, and during cisplatin-induced apoptosis in B-lymphoma cell lines and spontaneous apoptosis of primary malignant B-cells. Overexpression of the Mcl-1 cleavage product that accumulated during apoptosis was sufficient to kill cells. Therefore, Mcl-1 is an essential survival molecule for B-lymphoma cells and is cleaved by caspases to a death-promoting molecule during apoptosis. In contrast to Mcl-1, Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL were relatively resistant to caspase cleavage in vitro and in intact cells. Interfering with Mcl-1 function appears to be an effective means of inducing apoptosis in Mcl-1-positive B-cell lymphoma, and the unique sensitivity of Mcl-1 to caspase-mediated cleavage suggests an attractive strategy for converting it to a proapoptotic molecule.

BAG-1 in carcinogenesis.

BAG-1 is a multifunctional protein that exists as several differentially localised and functionally distinct isoforms. BAG-1 isoforms interact with a diverse array of molecular targets and regulate a wide range of cellular processes, including proliferation, survival, transcription, apoptosis, metastasis and motility. The BAG domain of BAG-1 interacts with chaperone molecules and this is considered important for many BAG-1 functions. The ability of BAG-1 to regulate such a wide variety of cellular processes suggests it might play an important role in many cancer types. For example, regulation of nuclear hormone receptor function and susceptibility to apoptosis might have a major impact on cancer development, progression and response to therapy. There is also increasing evidence that BAG-1 expression is altered in a variety of human malignancies relative to normal cells, and with further understanding of BAG-1 function it might become a powerful prognostic/predictive marker in human cancer. This review describes the structure and function of BAG-1 isoforms and the potential clinical implications of their expression in tumour cells.

Total synthesis of spiruchostatin A, a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor.

The total synthesis of spiruchostatin A was accomplished, unambiguously confirming its structure. Key steps included the use of the Nagao thiazolidinethione auxiliary for a diastereoselective acetate aldol reaction and as an activated acylating agent for amide formation, and macrolactonization by the Yamaguchi protocol. Spiruchostatin A is shown to have biological activity similar to that of FK228, a potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor in clinical trials. The spiruchostatin A analogue, epimeric at the beta-hydroxy acid, is inactive, highlighting the importance of stereochemistry at this position for interactions with HDACs.

The nuclear BAG-1 isoform, BAG-1L, enhances oestrogen-dependent transcription.

BAG-1 is a multifunctional protein that interacts with a wide range of cellular targets including heat-shock proteins and some nuclear hormone receptors. BAG-1 exists as three major isoforms, BAG-1L, BAG-1M and BAG-1S. BAG-1L contains a nuclear localization signal, which is not present in the other isoforms, and is predominantly localized in the cell nucleus. Here we have investigated the effects of BAG-1 on function of the oestrogen receptor (ER), a key growth control molecule and target for hormonal therapy in breast cancer. We demonstrate that BAG-1L, but not BAG-1S or BAG-1M, increased oestrogen-dependent transcription in breast cancer cells. BAG-1L interacted with and stimulated the activity of both ER alpha and beta. Although BAG-1L and ERs colocalize to the nucleus, fusing BAG-1S to an heterologous nuclear localization sequence was not sufficient to stimulate transcription. Consistent with an important effect on receptor function, nuclear BAG-1 expression in breast cancers was associated with expression of the progesterone receptor, a transcriptional target of ERalpha, and was associated with improved survival in patients treated with hormonal therapy. These data suggest that BAG-1L is an important determinant of ER function in vitro and in human breast cancer.

BAG-1 prevents stress-induced long-term growth inhibition in breast cancer cells via a chaperone-dependent pathway.

BAG-1 is a multifunctional protein that interacts with a wide range of cellular targets. There is accumulating evidence that overexpression of BAG-1 may play an important role in breast cancer; however, the functional consequences of BAG-1 expression and its mechanism of action in breast cancer cells have not been studied in detail. Here we demonstrate that BAG-1 overexpression completely protected breast cancer cells from apoptosis and long-term growth inhibition induced by heat shock and also partially protected cells from other stresses, including hypoxia, radiation, and chemotoxic drugs. BAG-1 exists as three protein isoforms, and all isoforms prevented stress-induced growth inhibition. This required a conserved lysine in the BAG-1S ubiquitin-like domain thought to be important for proteasome binding and COOH-terminal amino acids required for interaction with the chaperone molecules, Hsc70 and Hsp70. Although expression of BAG-1 was unaltered by heat shock, endogenous and overexpressed BAG-1S relocalized from the cytoplasm to the nucleus after heat shock. The endogenous BAG-1S.Hsc70/Hsp70 complex dissociated after heat shock but was maintained at a detectable level in cells overexpressing BAG-1S. BAG-1-mediated resistance to stress-induced growth inhibition is likely to have a major impact on the development and response to therapy of breast cancer. Targeting the interaction of BAG-1 with chaperones is an attractive strategy to counter the biological effects of BAG-1.

BAG-1: a multifunctional regulator of cell growth and survival.

BAG-1 is multifunctional protein which interacts with a wide range of cellular targets to regulate growth control pathways important for normal and malignant cells, including apoptosis, signaling, proliferation, transcription and cell motility. Of particular relevance to tumour cells, BAG-1 interacts with the anti-apoptotic BCL-2 protein, various nuclear hormone receptors and the 70 kDa heat shock proteins, Hsc70 and Hsp70. Interaction with chaperones may account for many of the pleiotropic effects associated with BAG-1 overexpression. Recent studies have shown that BAG-1 expression is frequently altered in malignant cells, and BAG-1 expression may have clinical value as a prognostic/predictive marker. This review summarises current understanding of molecular mechanisms of BAG-1 expression and function.