A cDNA, GLX1, encoding glyoxalase-I was isolated by differential screening of salt-induced genes in tomato. Glyoxalases-I and -II are ubiquitous enzymes whose functions are not clearly understood. They may serve to detoxify methylglyoxal produced from triosephosphates in all cells. The protein encoded by GLX1 shared 49.4% and 58.5% identity with glyoxalase-I isolated from bacteria and human, respectively. Furthermore, yeast cells expressing GLX1 showed a glyoxalase-I specific activity 20-fold higher than non-transformed cells. Both GLX1 mRNA and glyoxalase-I polypeptide levels increased 2- to 3-fold in roots, stems and leaves of plants treated with either NaCl, mannitol, or abscisic acid. Immunohistochemical localization indicated that glyoxalase-I was expressed in all cell types, with preferential accumulation in phloem sieve elements. This expression pattern was not appreciably altered by salt-stress. We suggest that the increased expression of glyoxalase-I may be linked to a higher demand for ATP generation and to enhanced glycolysis in salt-stressed plants.

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine synthase (SAM; ATP: L-methionine adenosyltransferase, EC 2.5.1.6) catalyzes the biosynthesis of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet), a universal methyl-group donor. This enzyme is induced by salinity stress in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). To elucidate the role of SAM and AdoMet in the adaptation of plants to a saline environment, the expression pattern and histological distribution of SAM was investigated in control and salt-stressed tomato plants. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that SAM proteins were expressed in all cell types and plant organs, albeit with preferential accumulation in lignified tissues. Lignin deposition was estimated by histochemical tests and the extent of tissue lignification in response to salinity was quantified by image analysis. The average number of lignified cells in vascular bundles was significantly greater in plants under salt stress, with a maximal expansion of the lignified area found in the root vasculature. Accordingly, the greatest abundance of SAM gene transcripts and proteins occurred in roots. These results indicate that increased SAM activity correlated with a greater deposition of lignin in the vascular tissues of plants under salinity stress. A model is proposed in which an increased number of lignified tracheary elements in tomato roots under salt stress may enhance the cell-to-cell pathway for water transport, which would impart greater selectivity and reduced ion uptake, and compensate for diminished bulk flow of water and solutes along the apoplastic pathway.

The ubiquitin–proteasome system and the autophagy–lysosome pathway are the two main mechanisms for eukaryotic intracellular protein degradation. Proteasome inhibitors are used for the treatment of some types of cancer, whereas autophagy seems to have a dual role in tumor cell survival and death. However, the relationship between both pathways has not been extensively studied in tumor cells. We have investigated both proteolytic systems in the human epithelial breast non-tumor cell line MCF10A and in the human epithelial breast tumor cell line MCF7. In basal condition, tumor cells showed a lower proteasome function but a higher autophagy activity when compared with MCF10A cells. Importantly, proteasome inhibition (PI) leads to different responses in both cell types. Tumor cells showed a dose-dependent glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3)β inhibition, a huge increase in the expression of the transcription factor CHOP and an active processing of caspase-8. By contrast, MCF10A cells fully activated GSK-3β and showed a lower expression of both CHOP and processed caspase-8. These molecular differences were reflected in a dose-dependent autophagy activation and cell death in tumor cells, while non-tumor cells exhibited the formation of inclusion bodies and a decrease in the cell death rate. Importantly, the behavior of the MCF7 cells can be reproduced in MCF10A cells when GSK-3β and the proteasome were simultaneously inhibited. Under this situation, MCF10A cells strongly activated autophagy, showing minimal inclusion bodies, increased CHOP expression and cell death rate. These findings support GSK-3β signaling as a key mechanism in regulating autophagy activation or inclusion formation in human tumor or non-tumor breast cells, respectively, which may shed new light on breast cancer control.

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Targeting the ubiquitin proteasome pathway has emerged as a rational approach in the treatment of human cancers. Autophagy has been described as a cytoprotective mechanism to increase tumor cell survival under stress conditions. Here, we have focused on the role of proteasome inhibition in cell cycle progression and the role of autophagy in the proliferation recovery. The study was performed in the breast cancer cell line MCF7 compared to the normal mammary cell line MCF10A. We found that the proteasome inhibitor MG132 induced G1/S arrest in MCF10A, but G2/M arrest in MCF7 cells. The effect of MG132 on MCF7 was reproduced on MCF10A cells in the presence of the glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) inhibitor VII. Similarly, MCF7 cells overexpressing constitutively active GSK-3β behaved like MCF10A cells. On the other hand, MCF10A cells remained arrested after MG132 removal while MCF7 recovered the proliferative capacity. Importantly, this recovery was abolished in the presence of the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Thus, our results support the relevance of GSK-3β and autophagy as two targets for controlling cell cycle progression and proliferative capacity in MCF7, highlighting the co-treatment of breast cancer cells with 3-MA to synergize the effect of the proteasome inhibition.