Heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) has been reported to block apoptosis by binding apoptosis protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1), thereby preventing constitution of the apoptosome, the Apaf-1/cytochrome c/caspase-9 activation complex [1,2]. Here we show that overexpression of Hsp70 protects Apaf-1-/- cells against death induced by serum withdrawal, indicating that Apaf-1 is not the only target of the anti-apoptotic action of Hsp70. We investigated the effect of Hsp70 on apoptosis mediated by the caspase-independent death effector apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), which is a mitochondrial intermembrane flavoprotein [3,4]. In a cell-free system, Hsp70 prevented the AIF-induced chromatin condensation of purified nuclei. Hsp70 specifically interacted with AIF, as shown by ligand blots and co-immunoprecipitation. Cells overexpressing Hsp70 were protected against the apoptogenic effects of AIF targeted to the extramitochondrial compartment. In contrast, an anti-sense Hsp70 complementary DNA, which reduced the expression of endogenous Hsp70, increased sensitivity to the lethal effect of AIF. The ATP-binding domain of Hsp70 seemed to be dispensable for inhibiting cell death induced by serum withdrawal, AIF binding and AIF inhibition, although it was required for Apaf-1 binding. Together, our data indicate that Hsp70 can inhibit apoptosis by interfering with target proteins other than Apaf-1, one of which is AIF.
Inactivation of the tumour suppressor p53 is the most common defect in cancer cells. p53 is a sequence specific transcription factor that is activated in response to various forms of genotoxic stress to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Induction of p53 is subjected to complex and strict control through several pathways, as it will often determine cellular fate. The p73 protein shares strong structural and functional similarities with p53 such as the potential to activate p53 responsive genes and the ability to induce apoptosis. In addition to alternative splicing at the carboxyl terminus which yields several p73 isoforms, a p73 variant lacking the Nterminal transactivation domain (DNp73) was described in mice. In this study, we report the cloning and characterisation of the human DNp73 isoforms, their regulation by p53 and their possible role in carcinogenesis. As in mice, human DNp73 lacks the transactivation domain and starts with an alternative exon (exon 3'). Its expression is driven by a second promoter located in a genomic region upstream of this exon, supporting the idea of two independently regulated proteins, derived from the same gene. As anticipated, DNp73 is capable of regulating TAp73 and p53 function since it is able to block their transactivation activity and their ability to induce apoptosis. Interestingly, expression of the DNp73 is strongly upregulated by the TA isoforms and by p53, thus creating a feedback loop that tightly regulates the function of TAp73 and more importantly of p53. The regulation of DNp73 is exerted through a p53 responsive element located on the DN promoter. Expression of DNp73 not only regulates the function of p53 and TAp73 but also shuts off its own expression, once again finely regulating the whole system. Our data also suggest that increased expression of DNp73, functionally inactivating p53, could be involved in tumorogenesis. An extensive analysis of the expression pattern of DNp73 in primary tumours would clarify this issue. Cell Death and Differentiation (2001) 8, 1213 ± 1223.
Chronic inflammation and cancer are intimately associated. This is particularly true for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which show a major increased risk for colorectal cancer. While the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of IBD has recently improved, the mechanisms that link these chronic inflammatory states to colorectal cancer development are in large part unknown. One of these mechanisms is NF-B pathway activation which in turn may contribute to tumor formation by providing anti-apoptotic survival signals to the epithelial cells. Based on the observation that netrin-1, the anti-apoptotic ligand for the dependence receptors DCC and UNC5H is up-regulated in colonic crypts in response to NF-B, we show here that colorectal cancers from inflammatory bowel diseases patients have selected up-regulation of netrin-1. Moreover, we demonstrate that this inflammation-driven netrin-1 up-regulation is causal for colorectal cancer development as interference with netrin-1 autocrine loop in a mouse model for ulcerative colitis-associated colorectal cancer, while showing no effect on inflammation, inhibits colorectal cancer progression.
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