5-Fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR), a potent anticancer agent, exerts its effects by inhibiting thymidylate synthase, an essential machinery for DNA synthesis in cell proliferation. Also, cell death is caused by FUdR, primarily due to an imbalance in the nucleotide pool resulting from this enzyme inhibition. We have investigated the cancer cell death induced by FUdR, focusing on its molecular mechanisms. Using mouse mammary tumor FM3A cell lines, the original clone F28-7 and its variant F28-7-A cells, we previously reported an interesting observation that FUdR induces a necrotic morphology in F28-7, but induces, in contrast, an apoptotic morphology in F28-7-A cells. In the present study, to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying these differential cell deaths, i.e., necrosis and apoptosis, we investigated the gene expression changes occurring in these processes. Using the cDNA microarray technology, we found 215 genes being expressed differentially in the necrosis and apoptosis. Further analysis revealed differences between these cell lines in terms of the expressions of both a cluster of heat shock protein (HSP)-related genes and a cluster of apoptosis-related genes. Notably, inhibition of HSP90 in F28-7 cells caused a shift from the FUdR-induced necrosis into apoptosis. These findings are expected to lead to a better understanding of this anticancer drug FUdR for its molecular mechanisms and also of the general biological issue, necrosis and apoptosis.
We have investigated the molecular mechanisms regulating the necrosis and apoptosis that occur on treatment of mouse mammary tumor FM3A cells with 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR), a potent anticancer agent, using the original clone F28-7 and its variant F28-7-A cells. Previously, we reported an interesting observation that FUdR induces a necrotic morphology in F28-7 but an apoptotic morphology in F28-7-A cells. We have now analyzed the protein expression profiles of these FUdR-induced necrosis and apoptosis. Thus, proteome analysis of these clones by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry showed that the cytoplasmic intermediate filament protein, cytokeratin-19, is expressed at a significantly higher level in F28-7 than in F28-7-A cells. This strong expression was detected both in untreated and FUdR-treated stages of F28-7 cells. We interpreted this phenomenon as suggesting that cytokeratin-19 possesses a function in leading the cell to apoptosis. We performed a knockdown of cytokeratin-19 expression in F28-7 cells by use of the small interfering RNA technique. Indeed, a lowering of the cytokeratin-19 expression down to the level in F28-7-A occurred, and the FUdR-induced death morphology of this knockdown F28-7 was apoptosis, instead of the necrosis usually observable in the FUdR-treated F28-7. It is known that the cytoskeletal protein cytokeratin-19 undergoes caspase-mediated degradation during apoptosis. Our present finding provides an interesting possibility that cytokeratin-19 may have a key role in regulating cell-death morphology.
Ribavirin (RBV) is often used in conjunction with interferon-based therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C. There is a drastic difference in the anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity of RBV between the HuH-7-derived assay system, OR6, possessing the RBV-resistant phenotype (50% effective concentration [EC 50 ]: >100 mM) and the recently discovered Li23-derived assay system, ORL8, possessing the RBV-sensitive phenotype (EC 50 : 8 mM; clinically achievable concentration). This is because the anti-HCV activity of RBV was mediated by the inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase in RBV-sensitive ORL8 cells harboring HCV RNA. By means of comparative analyses using RBV-resistant OR6 cells and RBV-sensitive ORL8 cells, we tried to identify host factor(s) determining the anti-HCV activity of RBV. We found that the expression of adenosine kinase (ADK) in ORL8 cells was significantly higher than that in RBV-resistant OR6 cells harboring HCV RNA. Ectopic ADK expression in OR6 cells converted them from an RBV-resistant to an RBV-sensitive phenotype, and inhibition of ADK abolished the activity of RBV. We showed that the differential ADK expression between ORL8 and OR6 cells was not the result of genetic polymorphisms in the ADK gene promoter region and was not mediated by a microRNA control mechanism. We found that the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of ADK messenger RNA in ORL8 cells was longer than that in OR6 cells, and that only a long 5' UTR possessed internal ribosome entry site (IRES) activity. Finally, we demonstrated that the long 5' UTR functioned as an IRES in primary human hepatocytes. Conclusion: These results indicate that ADK acts as a determinant for the activity of RBV and provide new insight into the molecular mechanism underlying differential drug sensitivity. (HEPATOLOGY 2013;58:1236-1244 See Editorial on Page 1203 H epatitis C virus (HCV) is an enveloped RNA virus, the genome of which consists of a positive-stranded 9.6-kilobase (kb) RNA encoding 10 structural and nonstructural (NS) proteins. 1 The combination of pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) was the standard treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) until last year, when a new triple-agent combination therapy using an inhibitor of HCV NS3-4A protease (i.e., either telaprevir or boceprevir), in combination with Peg-IFN and RBV, was started. 2 The sustained virologic response (SVR) rate of genotype 1 using this new therapy is expected to increase from 55% to more than 70%. 3 However, there has also been an increase in side effects by RBV in the triple therapy, including several severe side effects, such as skin rash by telaprevir, ageusia by boceprevir, and advanced anemia by telaprevir/boceprevir. 3,4
Necrosis and apoptosis are the two major forms of cell death. We have studied the mechanisms that regulate the cell death observed during treatment of mouse cancer cell line FM3A with the anticancer drug 5-fluoro-2 0 -deoxyuridine (FUdR). To detect causal differences between necrosis and apoptosis, we exploited the necrosis in original clone F28-7 and the apoptosis in its variant F28-7-A that occur on treatment with FUdR. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) was strongly induced during necrosis but not apoptosis. In addition, we found that ATF3 expression is regulated by heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) at the mRNA stage. Knockdown of Atf3 by siRNA in the F28-7 cells resulted in apoptotic morphology rather than necrotic morphology. These results suggest that ATF3 is a cell-death regulator in necrosis and apoptosis.
Cell-death can be necrosis and apoptosis. We are investigating the mechanisms regulating the cell death that occurs on treatment of mouse cancer cell-line FM3A with antitumor 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR): necrosis occurs for the original clone F28-7, and apoptosis for its variant F28-7-A. Here we report that a microRNA (miR-351) regulates the cell death pattern. The miR-351 is expressed strongly in F28-7-A but only weakly in F28-7. Induction of a higher expression of miR-351 in F28-7 by transfecting an miRNA mimic into F28-7 resulted in a change of the death mode; necrosis to apoptosis. Furthermore, transfection of an miR-351 inhibitor into F28-7-A resulted in the morphology change, apoptosis to necrosis, in this death-by-FUdR. Possible mechanism involving lamin B1 in this miR-351’s regulatory action is discussed.
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