Involvement of Gas7 in nerve growth factor-independent and dependent cell processes in PC12 cells.

Gas7, a growth arrest-specific gene originally isolated from serum-starved mouse fibroblast cells, is expressed in vivo predominantly in the brain and is required for neurite formation in cultured mouse cerebellar neurons (Ju et al. [1998] Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 11423-11428). Here we report that Gas7 plays a key role in the morphological differentiation of PC12 preneuronal rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12 cells). We found that overexpression of murine Gas7 in PC12 cells leads to an expanded cell morphology and promotes spike-like cell processes that resemble the early stages of neurite formation. These processes undergo elongation upon addition of nerve growth factor (NGF). We also found that the addition of NGF induces the production of endogenous rat-Gas7 (rGas7), which is transiently elevated prior to the appearance of NGF-promoted neurite outgrowths. Furthermore, inhibition of endogenous rGas7 production by antisense nucleotides complimentary to the translation initiation region of a rGas7 cDNA (AJ131902) reduces the NGF-promoted neurite outgrowths. Our results demonstrate that Gas7 by itself influences early cell morphological development and likely functions as an early-stage intermediary in NGF-induced neuronal differentiation of PC12 culture cells.

Apaf-1 overexpression partially overcomes apoptotic resistance in a cisplatin-selected HeLa cell line.

Inhibition of caspase-3-mediated apoptosis has been hypothesized to be associated with chemoresistance. Investigations of apoptosis revealed that cytosolic cytochrome c is associated with a complex of apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1), an adapter molecule, and caspase-9 to activate caspase-3. However, whether these apoptotic molecules are involved in acquired cisplatin resistance is not understood. The present work shows reduced activation of caspase-3 and apoptosis in a cisplatin-selected HeLa cell line. Ac-DEVD-CHO, a caspase-3 inhibitor, inhibited cisplatin-induced apoptosis about 60-70% in both cell lines. Ac-LEHD-CHO, a caspase-9 inhibitor or Ac-IETD-CHO, a caspase-8 inhibitor, inhibited cisplatin-induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis similarly in both cell lines. In addition, cisplatin induced the activation of caspase-9, the upstream activator of caspase-3, in a dose-dependent manner, and the activation of caspase-9 was less induced in resistant cells. The accumulation of cytosolic cytochrome c, an activator of caspase-9, and the induction of the mitochondrial membrane-associated voltage-dependent anion channel were also reduced in cisplatin-resistant cells. However, the concentration of Bcl-2 family proteins in cisplatin-resistant cells was normal. The concentration of Apaf-1 was unaltered in both cell lines. Increasing the cellular concentration of Apaf-1 through the transient expression of the gene increased the induction of apoptosis in resistant cells, associated with enhanced activation of caspase-9, caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation factor. Regression analysis reveals that the modification factor, the ratio of the slope in the linear range of the dose-response curve with Apaf-1 to the slope without Apaf-1, is 1.5 and 4.75 in the HeLa and cisplatin-resistant HeLa cells, respectively. These results indicate that apoptosis and caspases are less induced in cisplatin-selected HeLa cells. They also suggest that ectopic overexpression of Apaf-1 may partially reverse the acquired cisplatin resistance.

Induction, not associated with host-cell re-activation of damaged plasmid DNA, of damaged-DNA-recognition proteins by retinoic acid and dibutyryl cyclic AMP in mammalian cells.

Our previous studies [Chao (1992) Biochem. J. 282, 203-207; C.C.-K. Chao, unpublished work] has suggested a correlation between the levels of constitutive UV-damaged-DNA-recognitionproteins (UVDRP) and cellular DNA repair in different cell types. In the present study, UVDRP were induced in F9 and NIH3T3 cells by 0.1 microM retinoic acid (RA) and 1 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP), which is sufficient to induce differentiation in murine F9 stem cells. The induction of UVDRP in F9 and NIH3T3 cells was optimized after 6 and 2 days incubation with RA/dbcAMP respectively. Since NIH3T3 cells were not induced to differentiate by RA/dbcAMP, the upregulation of the UVDRP in mammalian cells would thus seem not to be mediated directly by differentiation. Using a plasmid re-activation assay to estimate DNA repair, we did not find a correlation between DNA repair and UVDRP in RA/dbcAMP-treated cells. The results suggest that UVDRP may have a function other than, or in addition to, its role in DNA repair.

Overexpression of a UV-damage recognition protein in a UV-sensitive human colon cancer cell line that features multidrug-resistant phenotype.

We have previously hypothesized that the level of UV-damage recognition protein (UVDRP) is a potential indicator of DNA-damage-mediated sensitivity or resistance of human cells to UV radiation [Chao, C.C.-K., Biochem. J. 282, 203-207, 1992]. In this study, we detected a 2-fold increase in the UVDRP binding activity in a UV-sensitive multidrug-resistant (MDR) human colon cancer cells compared to the parental SW620 cells. However, the MDR cells did not display enhanced DNA repair. The data is consistent with the conclusion that DNA excision repair is not the sole determinant of cellular sensitivity to genotoxic agents. The results also suggest that recognition of damaged DNA may be associated with generating a signal which mediates cellular sensitivity to UV radiation.

Characterization of a DNA-damage-recognition protein from F9 teratocarcinoma cells, which is inducible by retinoic acid and cyclic AMP.

A nuclear protein that recognizes u.v.-damaged DNA was detected in extracts from murine F9 embryonic stem cells using a DNA-binding assay. The nuclear-protein-binding activity was increased in cells after treatment with retinoic acid/dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP), with optimum induction at 6 days. In vitro treatment of nuclear extracts with agents that affect protein conformation (such as urea, Nonidet P40 and Ca2+) slightly modulated the damage-recognition activity. Furthermore, treatment of nuclear extracts with phosphatase dramatically inhibited the binding activity. In addition, damaged-DNA recognition of the nuclear extracts was effectively inhibited by damaged double- and single-stranded DNA. The expression of the nuclear protein with similar characteristics was abundant in HeLa cells and was increased in drug- or u.v.-resistant cells. The findings suggest that the recognition of a u.v.-DNA adduct is modulated, at least in part, by an activity that is induced during retinoic acid/dbcAMP-induced differentiation. These results also imply that the identified damage-recognition protein may be important for the sensitivity or resistance of mammalian cells to DNA damage.