Bcl-2 overexpression inhibits generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and blocks adriamycin-induced apoptosis in bladder cancer cells.

Resistance to induction of apoptosis is a major obstacle for bladder cancer treatment. Bcl-2 is thought to be involved in anti-apoptotic signaling. In this study, we investigated the effect of Bcl-2 overexpression on apoptotic resistance and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in bladder cancer cells. A stable Bcl-2 overexpression cell line, BIU87-Bcl-2, was constructed from human bladder cancer cell line BIU87 by transfecting recombinant Bcl-2 [pcDNA3.1(+)-Bcl-2]. The sensitivity of transfected cells to adriamycin (ADR) was assessed by MTT assay. Apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry and acridine orange fluorescence staining. Intracellular ROS was determined using flow cytometry, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were also investigated by the xanthinoxidase and visible radiation methods using SOD and CAT detection kits. The susceptibility of BIU87-Bcl-2 cells to ADR treatment was significantly decreased as compared with control BIU87 cells. Enhanced expression of Bcl-2 inhibited intracellular ROS generation following ADR treatment. Moreover, the suppression of SOD and CAT activity induced by ADR treatment was blocked in the BIU87-Bcl-2 case but not in their parental cells. The overexpression of Bcl-2 renders human bladder cancer cells resistant to ADR-induced apoptosis and ROS might act as an important secondary messenger in this process.