Suppressive effect of Notch signal activation on apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells / 中国实验血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

The proliferation and apoptosis of multiple myeloma (MM) cells were regulated by bone marrow microenvironments in which Notch signal plays important role in mediating cell-cell communication. However, the regulatory effect of Notch signal on the proliferation and apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells remains unclear. In this study, regulatory effect of Notch signal on the apoptosis of MM cells induced by DMS (N, N-dimethylsphingosine) was investigated. RT-PCR was used to identify the expression of Notch receptor and related molecules such as Dll-1, Jagged-1, Deltex-1 in MM cell lines. The intracellular domain of Notch (ICN), active form of Notch, was transferred into MM cells by retrovirus. The apoptosis of MM cells was determined by trypan blue exclusion tests and TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The results showed that multiple myeloma cells expressed the Notch-1 and its related molecules. Notch activated multiple myeloma cell lines were obtained. Activation of Notch protected the multiple myeloma cells from the apoptosis induced by DMS,which was determined by cell viability and TUNEL assay. In conclusion, Notch signal suppressed the apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells and would possibly be a novel therapeutic target.