Alastair J.M. Watson

Evidence for reciprocity of bcl-2 and p53 expression in human colorectal adenomas and carcinomas

Evidence of accumulating for the failure of apoptosis as an important factor in the evolution of colorectal cancer and its poor response to adjuvant therapy. The proto-oncogene bcl-2 suppresses apoptosis. Its expression could provide an important survival advantage permitting the development of colorectal cancer. The expression of bcl-2 and p53 was determined by immunohistochemistry in 47 samples of histologically normal colonic mucosa, 19 adenomas and 53 adenocarcinomas. Expression of bcl-2 in colonic crypts > 5 cm from the tumours was confined to crypt bases but was more extensive and intense in normal crypts < 5 mm from cancers. A higher proportion of adenomas (63.2%) than carcinomas (36.5%) expressed bcl-2 (P < 0.05). A lower proportion of adenomas (31.6%) than carcinomas (62.3%) expressed p53 (P < 0.02). A total of 26.3% of adenomas and 22% of carcinomas expressed both bcl-2 and p53. To determine whether these samples contained cells which expressed both proteins, a dual staining technique for bcl-2 and p53 was used. Only 1/19 adenomas and 2/53 carcinomas contained cells immunopositive for both bcl-2 and p53. Moreover there was evidence of reciprocity of expression of bcl-2 and p53 in these three double staining neoplasms. We suggest that bcl-2 provides a survival advantage in the proliferative compartment of normal crypts and colorectal neoplasms. However, its expression is lost during the evolution from adenoma to carcinoma, whereas p53 expression is increased, an event generally coincident with the expression of stabilised p53, which we presume to represent the mutant form.

Commitment to cell death measured by loss of clonogenicity is separable from the appearance of apoptotic markers

Kinetic analysis of dexamethasone-induced apoptosis in the human lymphoblastoid cell line CCRF CEM C7A has revealed a point when cells, morphologically indistinguishable from untreated cells, have irreversibly engaged a program leading to death, measured by a loss of clonogenicity. Since all cells that fail to clone eventually died through apoptosis, measurements of clonogenicity in this system provide an accurate measure of commitment to apoptotic death. Inhibition of caspases by peptide inhibitors blocked proteolysis of endogenous substrates and reduced nuclear condensation yet did not alter either dexamethasone-induced changes in clonogenicity or mitochondrial membrane potential. In contrast to the results with caspase inhibitors, expression of BCL-2 in CCRF CEM C7A cells proved sufficient to block all changes associated with apoptosis, including loss of both clonogenicity and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential. These results demonstrate that commitment to cell death can precede the key biochemical or morphological features of apoptosis by several hours and indicate that separate regulators govern cellular commitment to clonogenic death and the subsequent execution phase characterised as apoptosis.

Poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase inhibition prevents necrosis induced by H2O2 but not apoptosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS H2O2 causes DNA damage, which activates poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP), a nuclear enzyme that uses nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) as a substrate. When DNA strand breaks are extensive, consumption of NAD by PARP can cause adenosine triphosphate depletion. The aim was to study the effect of PARP inhibition on H2O2-induced cell injury in the intestinal epithelial cell line HT-29-18-C1. METHODS Cell injury was assessed by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide test and flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS The PARP inhibitors 3-aminobenzamide and nicotinamide both prevented cell death immediately after exposure to 1 mmol/L H2O2 and loss of cellular NAD and adenosine triphosphate. The inactive structural analogues 3-aminobenzoic acid and nicotinic acid had no such protective effect. H2O2 also caused HT-29 cells to detach from the monolayer up to 24 hours after exposure and die by apoptosis in the incubating medium. Flow cytometric analysis showed that 3-aminobenzamide had no effect on this delayed detachment process. CONCLUSIONS H2O2 induces two distinct death pathways in HT-29 cells: one that is immediate and may represent necrosis and another that is delayed, causing cell detachment leading to apoptosis. PARP inhibition prevents necrosis but has no effect on delayed cell detachment leading to apoptosis.

Apoptosis and gastrointestinal pharmacology

Apoptosis is a fundamental biological process that regulates cell number and removes cells that are neoplastic or infected by viruses. This review summarises present knowledge of the mechanisms and genetic regulation of apoptosis in the gastrointestinal tract and highlights areas of pharmacological relevance. In the intestine, apoptosis occurs in the crypt and possibly at the villus tip. Abnormal apoptosis plays a role in a number of gastrointestinal disease including colorectal cancer. The effects of cytotoxic drugs, chemical carcinogens, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, short-chain fatty acids, bile salts and anthraquinolones on apoptosis in the gastrointestinal tract are reviewed.

Assay of apical membrane enzymes based on fluorogenic substrates

A series of enzymatic rate assays are described. The assays are based on coumarin derivatives that are fluorogenic substrates for the enzymes dipeptidase IV, aminopeptidase N, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase. These simple assays are rapid and offer improved sensitivity over established colorimetric methods. The substrates have apparent affinities for the enzymes of 5-250 microM. L-Glutamic acid gamma-(7-amido-4-methylcoumarin) is characterized as a substrate of gamma-glutamyltransferase on the basis of inhibition of enzymatic cleavage when the glycylglycine acceptor molecule is omitted and inhibition of the enzymatic reaction by addition of glycine. Assay conditions for the four enzymes are established such that less than 0.6% of the substrate is consumed, fluorescence is proportional to enzymatic product, and results may be directly compared to established colorimetric assays. Intestinal epithelial cells are used both to establish appropriate assay conditions and to demonstrate the utility of the assays.

Comparative effects of Bcl-2 over-expression and ZVAD.FMK treatment on dexamethasone and VP16-induced apoptosis in CEM cells.

It is becoming apparent that caspases are essential mediators of the execution phase of apoptosis. A decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΨM) is also thought to be an early event in apoptosis. In this study, we compare the effects of Bcl-2 over-expression against N-benzyloxycabonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (ZVAD.FMK)-sensitive caspase blockade on dexamethasone (DEX) and etoposide (VP16)-induced apoptosis in CEM T lymphoid cells. We assessed changes in nuclear chromatin, cell size, fragmentation, cell membrane permeability and ΨM. We found Bcl-2 over-expression and ZVAD.FMK-sensitive caspase inhibition were able to prevent chromatin condensation and cellular fragmentation. However, ZVAD.FMK was neither able to prevent loss of plasma membrane integrity nor ΨM depolarization which occur in both VP16 and DEX-induced apoptosis. In VP16-induced apoptosis, the increase in cell membrane permeability was actually potentiated by caspase inhibition. Interestingly, ZVAD.FMK did prevent VP16-induced but not DEX-induced cell shrinkage. These results suggest that not all the actions of Bcl-2 can be explained by its ability to prevent caspase activation. Rather Bcl-2 must have other targets of action which include functions associated with mitochondria.

New drug treatments for diarrhoea

Abstract. This paper reviews the scientific background to the development of new drugs for the treatment of diarrhoeal diseases, and it includes an update of three classes of drugs which may prove useful; gut specific α2‐adrenergic agonists, intestinal Cl− channel blockers, and somatostatin analogues.

Therapeutic manipulation of apoptosis in cancer and neurological disease

This Chapter explores the therapeutic implications of the discovery of the genetic control of cell death which encompasses most of medicine. It would require an entire book to cover all the diseases and therapeutic manoeuvres in which apoptosis plays a role or directs future research for effective treatment. Rather in this Chapter we shall illustrate these implications by concentrating on cancer and neurological disease making only passing comment about other diseases.