No abstract

Glucocorticoids (GCs) induce apoptosis in lymphoid lineage cells and are therefore used in the therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and related malignancies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and the related mirtrons are B22 nucleotide RNAs derived from polymerase-II transcripts and implicated in the control of essential biological functions, including apoptosis. Whether GCs regulate miRNA-encoding transcription units is unknown. We investigated miRNA/mirtron expression and GC regulation in 8 leukemia/lymphoma in vitro models and 13 ALL children undergoing systemic GC monotherapy using a combination of expression profiling techniques, real time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and northern blotting to detect mature miRNAs and/or their precursors. We found that mature miRNA regulations can be inferred from expression data of their host genes. Although a simple miRNA-initiated canonical pathway to GC-induced apoptosis or cell cycle arrest did not emerge, we identified several miRNAs/mirtrons that were regulated by GC in patients and cell lines, including the myeloid-specific miR-223 and the apoptosis and cell cycle arrest-inducing miR15B16 clusters. In an in vitro model, overexpression of miR15bB16 mimics increased and silencing by miR15bB16 inhibitors decreased GC sensitivity. Thus, the observed complex changes in miRNA/mirtron expression during GC treatment might contribute to the anti-leukemic GC effects in a cell context-dependent manner.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) specifically induce apoptosis in malignant lymphoblasts and are thus pivotal in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, GC-resistance is a therapeutic problem with an unclear molecular mechanism. We generated approximately 70 GC-resistant sublines from a GC-sensitive B- and a T-ALL cell line and investigated their mechanisms of resistance. In response to GCs, all GC-resistant subclones analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) showed a deficient up-regulation of the GC-receptor (GR) and its downstream target, GC-induced leucine zipper. This deficiency in GR up-regulation was confirmed by Western blotting and on retroviral overexpression of GR in resistant subclones GC-sensitivity was restored. All GC-resistant subclones were screened for GR mutations using denaturing high-pressure liquid chromatography (DHPLC), DNA-fingerprinting, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Among the identified mutations were some previously not associated with GC resistance: A484D, P515H, L756N, Y663H, L680P, and R714W. This approach revealed three genotypes, complete loss of functional GR in the mismatch repair deficient T-ALL model, apparently normal GR genes in B-ALLs, and heterozygosity in both. In the first genotype, deficiency in GR up-regulation was fully explained by mutational events, in the second by a putative regulatory defect, and in the third by a combination thereof. In all instances, GC-resistance occurred at the level of the GR in both models.

Aspergillus fumigatus is an ubiquitous, filamentous and opportunistic pathogenic fungus which causes fatal invasive aspergillosis among immuno-compromised patients. Since therapeutic strategies are currently limited, the mortality rate of invasive aspergillosis is high and thus, alternative antifungal strategies are required. In this study, we demonstrate that during vegetative growth Aspergillus fumigatus is able to scavenge nucleic acids within its cell wall with accumulation rates of several thousand-fold, compared to the surrounding medium. To investigate, whether nucleic acids, attached to the fungal cell wall, are able to move further into the cytoplasm of fungal cells, we directly applied siRNAs, in the absence of lipo-transfection reagents, to growing A. fumigatus cells. In fact, addition of two 21-nt siRNA duplexes resulted in knock-down of their corresponding target mRNAs, odcA and pyrG, respectively. These findings indicate that RNA interference, mediated by siRNAs, can be used as a fast and efficient tool to investigate the functions of genes within filamentous fungi. In addition, siRNA-based therapies may provide novel approaches for antifungal treatment.