Viacheslav V Senichkin1, Gelina S Kopeina1, Eugeniia A Prokhorova1, Alexey V Zamaraev1, Inna N Lavrik2, Boris Zhivotovsky3. 1. Faculty of Basic Medicine, MV Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia. 2. Faculty of Basic Medicine, MV Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Department of Translational Inflammation, Institute of Experimental Internal Medicine, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany. 3. Faculty of Basic Medicine, MV Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Division of Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: Boris.Zhivotovsky@ki.se.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The development of approaches that increase therapeutic effects of anti-cancer drugs is one of the most important tasks of oncology. Caloric restriction in vivo or serum deprivation (SD) in vitro has been shown to be an effective tool for sensitizing cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the enhancement of apoptosis in cancer cells by SD remain to be elucidated. METHODS: Flow cytometry, caspase activity assay and western blotting were used for cell death rate evaluation. Western blotting, gel-filtration, siRNA approach and qRT-PCR were used to elucidate the mechanism underlying cell death potentiation upon SD. RESULTS: We demonstrated that SD sensitizes cancer cells to treatment with chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. This effect is independent on activation of caspases-2 and -8, apical caspases triggering apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress. SD potentiates cell death via downregulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1. In fact, SD reduces the Mcl-1 mRNA level, which consequently decreases the Mcl-1 protein level and renders cells more susceptible to apoptosis induction via the formation of apoptosome. CONCLUSIONS: Mcl-1 protein is an important regulator of sensitivity of cancer cells to apoptotic stimuli upon SD. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies Mcl-1 as a new target for the sensitization of human cancer cells to cell death by SD, which is of great significance for the development of efficient anti-cancer therapies.
BACKGROUND: The development of approaches that increase therapeutic effects of anti-cancer drugs is one of the most important tasks of oncology. Caloric restriction in vivo or serum deprivation (SD) in vitro has been shown to be an effective tool for sensitizing cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the enhancement of apoptosis in cancer cells by SD remain to be elucidated. METHODS: Flow cytometry, caspase activity assay and western blotting were used for cell death rate evaluation. Western blotting, gel-filtration, siRNA approach and qRT-PCR were used to elucidate the mechanism underlying cell death potentiation upon SD. RESULTS: We demonstrated that SD sensitizes cancer cells to treatment with chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. This effect is independent on activation of caspases-2 and -8, apical caspases triggering apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress. SD potentiates cell death via downregulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1. In fact, SD reduces the Mcl-1 mRNA level, which consequently decreases the Mcl-1 protein level and renders cells more susceptible to apoptosis induction via the formation of apoptosome. CONCLUSIONS:Mcl-1 protein is an important regulator of sensitivity of cancer cells to apoptotic stimuli upon SD. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies Mcl-1 as a new target for the sensitization of humancancer cells to cell death by SD, which is of great significance for the development of efficient anti-cancer therapies.
Authors: Viacheslav V Senichkin; Alena Y Streletskaia; Anna S Gorbunova; Boris Zhivotovsky; Gelina S Kopeina Journal: Cell Death Differ Date: 2020-01-06 Impact factor: 15.828
Authors: Viacheslav V Senichkin; Nikolay V Pervushin; Alexey V Zamaraev; Elena V Sazonova; Anton P Zuev; Alena Y Streletskaia; Tatiana A Prikazchikova; Timofei S Zatsepin; Olga V Kovaleva; Elena M Tchevkina; Boris Zhivotovsky; Gelina S Kopeina Journal: Cancers (Basel) Date: 2021-12-30 Impact factor: 6.639