RNA interference targeting Akt promotes apoptosis in hypoxia-exposed human neuroblastoma cells.

Overactivation of the PI3 kinase/Akt pathway plays an essential role in the development and progression of various tumors. Akt is a key component of this pathway and hyperactivated in different tumors including neuroblastoma and glioma. In the present study, we tested the therapeutic efficacy of siRNA targeting Akt in inducing apoptotic cell death in NBFL cells (a human neuroblastoma cell line) subjected to anoxia/reoxygenation (A/R), a process that has been shown to modulate growth and progression of malignant tumors. We observed that siRNA targeting Akt effectively induced apoptotic cell death in NBFL cells (as determined by TUNEL assay and activated caspase-3 immunoreactivity) under normoxic conditions, an effect that was greatly enhanced under conditions of A/R. These findings underscore the importance of Akt signaling in promoting survival of neuroblastoma cells and may have potential therapeutic applications.

HIF-1alpha has an anti-apoptotic effect in human airway epithelium that is mediated via Mcl-1 gene expression.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) and myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) proteins have been shown to regulate apoptosis in some cell systems but have not been studied in this context in airway epithelium. Using a model of anoxia/reoxygenation (A/R), the present study employed RNA interference (RNAi) targeting HIF-1alpha and Mcl-1 to evaluate their possible anti-apoptotic effects on HBE1 cells, an immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell line. The cells were either cultured under normoxic conditions or were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes targeting HIF-1alpha or Mcl-1 mRNA and then immediately exposed to A/R. As controls, non-transfected HBE1 cells and cells transfected with scrambled RNA duplexes were subjected to A/R. Apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay and RNAi was assessed by knockdown of HIF-1alpha and Mcl-1 mRNA and protein expression using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (Q-PCR), immunohistochemistry, and Western blots. HBE1 cells transfected with siRNA duplexes targeting either HIF-1alpha or Mcl-1 and subjected to A/R manifested considerable apoptosis, a finding not observed in either non-transfected cells or cells transfected with scrambled RNA duplexes. Specific knockdown of mRNA and protein expression by RNAi in HBE1 cells after A/R was shown for siRNA duplexes targeting either HIF-1alpha or Mcl-1. Unexpectedly, knockdown of HIF-1alpha induced parallel knockdown of Mcl-1 mRNA and protein expression, whereas Mcl-1 knockdown had no noticeable effect on HIF-1alpha expression. Thus, although both of these proteins were shown to be anti-apoptotic, the action of HIF-1alpha appeared to be mediated in part via Mcl-1.

Akt phosphorylation and kinase activity are down-regulated during hibernation in the 13-lined ground squirrel.

Hibernation in mammals is a reversible state of suspended animation associated with tolerance to an otherwise lethal reduction of core body temperature and metabolism. An integral aspect of hibernation is tolerance to a profound decrease of cerebral perfusion. Identification of regulatory mechanisms that control hibernation in ground squirrels can guide efforts to develop improved treatment for stroke and brain trauma. In this study, we show in multiple tissues that S473 phosphorylation of Akt (Protein kinase B), a phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase-regulated serine/threonine kinase, was significantly reduced (P<0.001) as was its kinase activity (P=0.023) in the 13-lined ground squirrel, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus, during hibernation. T308 phosphorylation of Akt was relatively preserved. Brain immunohistochemical staining confirmed these results. In hibernating animals, reduction of immunoreactive phospho (S473)-Akt was noted throughout the brain. Akt is a key molecule in the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signal transduction pathway, which plays a critical role in the balance between survival and apoptosis. The data presented here raise the possibility that down-regulation of Akt phosphorylation plays a regulatory role in hibernation. This would resemble dauer larva formation in Caenorhabditis elegans where Akt inhibition is associated with energy conservation, fat storage, expression of antioxidant enzymes and growth arrest.

Antiapoptotic action of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha in human endothelial cells.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is the major transcription factor involved in the adaptive response to hypoxia and consists of HIF-1 alpha and HIF-1 beta subunits. Indirect evidence suggests that HIF-1 alpha may exert both proapoptotic and antiapoptotic actions in response to hypoxia. In this study, we evaluated the effects of RNA interference (RNAi) targeting HIF-1 alpha messenger RNA (mRNA) on apoptosis in primary cultured human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) exposed to anoxia and reoxygenation (A/R). HUVECs were transfected with specific 21-nt small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes targeting HIF-1 alpha mRNA sequences or scrambled RNA duplexes and subjected either to normoxia for 251/2 h or to anoxia for 11/2 h, and subsequently normoxia for 24 h (A/R). Control samples were subjected to A/R but not transfected. HUVECs apoptosis was evaluated by Tdt-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay and by activated caspase-3 immunostaining and immunoblotting. The efficacy of RNAi was assessed by knockdown of HIF-1 alpha mRNA and protein expression via in situ hybridization, real-time quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting. When compared with normoxic cultures, A/R significantly upregulated HIF- 1 alpha mRNA and protein expression in HUVECs, but did not appreciably alter the percentage of apoptotic cells. In contrast, a significantly greater proportion of HUVECs transfected with specific siRNA duplexes and exposed to A/R demonstrated evidence of apoptosis when compared with nontransfected cells. Transfection with specific siRNA duplexes knocked down HIF-1 alpha mRNA and protein expression in A/R-treated cells by approximately 60%, whereas transfection with scrambled siRNA duplexes had no noticeable effect on HIF-1 alpha expression. These findings strongly suggest that HIF-1 alpha exerts an antiapoptotic role in HUVECs stressed by anoxia.

Elevated arylalkylamine-N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT) gene expression in medial habenular and suprachiasmatic nuclei of hibernating ground squirrels.

Hibernation, an adaptive response for energy conservation in mammals, involves a variety of physiological changes. Melatonin is linked with the regulation of core body temperature and intervenes in generating circadian cycles; its role in seasonal (circannual) rhythms of hibernation is explored here. Melatonin is primarily produced in the pineal gland. Since arylalkylamine-N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT) is the rate-limiting enzyme for synthesizing melatonin, AA-NAT gene expression was investigated to assess the possible role of melatonin in hibernation. The findings presented here utilized combined in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry methodologies to evaluate the AA-NAT mRNA expression in brains of both hibernating and non-hibernating ground squirrels. Brains were examined for the expression of AA-NAT mRNA using a oligonucleotide AA-NAT probe; antibody against neurofilament-70 (NF-70) was used as a neuronal marker. All hibernating animals expressed significantly (P<0.01) elevated levels of AA-NAT mRNA in both the epithalamic medial habenular nuclei (MHb) area and the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), which is also known as the master biologic clock. These findings represent the first demonstration of the expression of mRNA encoding for AA-NAT in the extra-pineal (i.e. SCN and MHb) sites of thirteen-lined ground squirrels and indicate that the habenular nucleus may be an important supplementary location for melatonin biosynthesis. The data presented here indicate that AA-NAT gene is one of the few specific genes up-regulated during hibernation and suggest that elevation of its expression in SCN and MHb may play an essential role in the generation and maintenance of hibernation.