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Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β)-modulated IFN-γ-induced inflammation has been reported; however, the mechanism that activates GSK-3β and the effects of activation remain unclear. Inhibiting GSK-3β decreased IFN-γ-induced inflammation. IFN-γ treatment rapidly activated GSK-3β via neutral sphingomyelinase- and okadaic acid-sensitive phosphatase-regulated dephosphorylation at Ser9, and proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2)-regulated phosphorylation at Tyr216. Pyk2 was activated through phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC)-, protein kinase C (PKC)-, and Src-regulated pathways. The activation of PC-PLC, Pyk2, and GSK-3β was potentially regulated by IFN-γ receptor 2-associated Jak2, but it was independent of IFN-γ receptor 1. Furthermore, Jak2/PC-PLC/PKC/cytosolic phospholipase A2 positively regulated neutral sphingomyelinase. Inhibiting GSK-3β activated Src homology-2 domain-containing phosphatase 2 (SHP2), thereby preventing STAT1 activation in the late stage of IFN-γ stimulation. All these results showed that activated GSK-3β synergistically affected IFN-γ-induced STAT1 activation by inhibiting SHP2.

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Inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 has been implicated in cancer progression. Previously, we showed an abundance of inactive GSK-3 in the human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell line. CML is a hematopoietic malignancy caused by an oncogenic Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase. In Bcr-Abl signaling, the role of GSK-3 is not well defined. Here, we report that enforced expression of constitutively active GSK-3 reduced proliferation and increased Bcr-Abl inhibition-induced apoptosis by nearly 1-fold. Bcr-Abl inhibition activated GSK-3 and GSK-3-dependent apoptosis. Inactivation of GSK-3 by Bcr-Abl activity is, therefore, confirmed. To reactivate GSK-3, we used glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) inhibitor PDMP to accumulate endogenous ceramide, a tumor-suppressor sphingolipid and a potent GSK-3 activator. We found that either PDMP or silence of GCS increased Bcr-Abl inhibition-induced GSK-3 activation and apoptosis. Furthermore, PDMP sensitized the most clinical problematic drug-resistant CML T315I mutant to Bcr-Abl inhibitor GNF-2-, imatinib-, or nilotinib-induced apoptosis by >5-fold. Combining PDMP and GNF-2 eliminated transplanted-CML-T315I-mutants in vivo and dose dependently sensitized primary cells from CML T315I patients to GNF-2-induced proliferation inhibition and apoptosis. The synergistic efficacy was Bcr-Abl restricted and correlated to increased intracellular ceramide levels and acted through GSK-3-mediated apoptosis. This study suggests a feasible novel anti-CML strategy by accumulating endogenous ceramide to reactivate GSK-3 and abrogate drug resistance.

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