Andrew M. Fribley

Proteasome Inhibitor PS-341 Induces Apoptosis through Induction of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Reactive Oxygen Species in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells

ABSTRACT PS-341, also known as Velcade or Bortezomib, represents a new class of anticancer drugs which has been shown to potently inhibit the growth and/or progression of human cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Although it has been logically hypothesized that NF-κB is a major target of PS-341, the underlying mechanism by which PS-341 inhibits tumor cell growth is unclear. Here we found that PS-341 potently activated the caspase cascade and induced apoptosis in human HNSCC cell lines. Although PS-341 could inhibit NF-κB activation, the inhibition of NF-κB was not sufficient to initiate apoptosis in HNSCC cells. Using biochemical and microarray approaches, we found that proteasome inhibition by PS-341 induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HNSCC cells. The inhibition of ROS significantly suppressed caspase activation and apoptosis induced by PS-341. Consistently, PS-341 could not induce the ER stress-ROS in PS-341-resistant HNSCC cells. Taken together, our results suggest that in addition to the abolishment of the prosurvival NF-κB, PS-341 might directly induce apoptosis by activating proapoptotic ER stress-ROS signaling cascades in HNSCC cells, providing novel insights into the PS-341-mediated antitumor activity.

Proteasome Inhibitor PS-341 Induces Apoptosis in Cisplatin-resistant Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells by Induction of Noxa

Cisplatin is one of the most common DNA-damaging agents used for treating patients with solid tumors such as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Unfortunately, significant levels of resistance in SCC cells emerge rapidly following cisplatin treatment. Here we report that the proteasome inhibitor PS-341, the representative of a new class of chemotherapeutic drugs, was capable of inducing apoptosis in cisplatin-resistant SCC cells via the endoplasmic reticulum stress. PS-341 stimulated the phosphorylation of PERK and the unfolded protein response, resulting in the induction of the transcription factor ATF-4. Importantly, the Bcl-2 homology domain 3-only (BH3-only) protein Noxa was found to be strongly induced in cisplatin-resistant SCC cells by PS-341 but not by cisplatin. The knock-down of Noxa using small interference RNA significantly abolished PS-341-mediated apoptosis in SCC cells. Using eIF2α mutant mouse embryonic fibroblasts, we found that functional eIF2α played an essential role in PS-341-induced Noxa expression. Taken together, our novel findings reveal a direct link between PS-341-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and the mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway and suggest that PS-341 may be utilized for overcoming cisplatin-resistance in human SCC.

Proteasome inhibitor induces apoptosis through induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

The 26S proteasome is a large multi-subunit protein complex found in the cytoplasm and nucleus of mammalian cells which plays a critical role in intracellular proteolysis. It has been found that the 26S proteasome degrades multiple important substrates which are associated with tumor growth and development. Emerging evidence demonstrates that proteasome inhibition is an innovative and effective approach for treating some human cancers. PS-341 (also known as Velcade or Bortezomib), a specific inhibitor of the 26S proteasome, has been approved for treating multiple myeloma by the FDA. PS-341 mainly exhibits its anti-cancer effect by inducing apoptosis, and has been found to affect several pro- and anti-apoptotic pathways. Activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-?B), a key survival factor, is dependent on the 26S proteasome. The inhibition of NF-κB by PS-341 has been found to induce apoptosis in several human cancer cells and is considered to be one of the primary targets of the PS-341 anti-tumor effect. More recently, studies have suggested that, in addition to the inhibition of pro-survivial NF-κB, PS-341 may induce apoptosis by stimulating pro-apoptotic endoplasmic reticulum stress through proteasome inhibition. In this review, we will mainly discuss recent progress on the elucidation of the molecular mechanism of PS-341-mediated apoptosis.

Regulation of Apoptosis by the Unfolded Protein Response

In eukaryotic cells, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) serves many specialized functions including bio-synthesis and assembly of membrane and secretory proteins, calcium storage and production of lipids and sterols. As a plant for protein folding and posttranslational modification, the ER provides stringent quality control systems to ensure that only correctly folded proteins exit the ER and unfolded or misfolded proteins are retained and ultimately degraded. Biochemical, physiological, and pathological stimuli that interfere with ER function can disrupt ER homeostasis, impose stress to the ER, and subsequently cause accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER lumen. To deal with accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins, the cell has evolved highly specific signaling pathways collectively called the unfolded protein response (UPR) to restore normal ER functions. However, if the overload of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER is not resolved, the prolonged UPR will induce ER stress-associated programmed cell death, apoptosis, to protect the organism by removing the stressed cells. In this chapter, we summarize our current understanding of UPR-induced apoptosis and various methods to detect ER stress and apoptosis in mammalian cells.

Potentiation of Tumor Necrosis Factor-mediated Apoptosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells by Adenovirus-mediated Gene Transfer of NF-κB Inhibitor

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a malignant tumor which is often resistant to cancer-therapy-mediated apoptosis. The stress-responsive transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB), which has been found to be associated with SCC development, plays an essential role in the suppression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-mediated apoptosis. Here, we report that an adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of NF-kappaB inhibitor, super-repressor I kappa B alpha (Adv-SR-IkappaBalpha), blocked TNF-induced NF-kappaB activation and sensitized oral SCC cells to TNF killing. Additionally, we found that the inhibition of NFkappaB by Adv-SR-IkappaBalpha enhanced TNF-mediated caspase-8 and -3 activation. These results suggest that NF-kappaB activation is a general mechanism by which oral squamous carcinoma cells are resistant to TNF killing and provide a molecular basis for gene therapy of oral cancer by IkappaBalpha gene transfer in vivo.

Large-scale analysis of UPR-mediated apoptosis in human cells

The historic distinction between academic- and industry-driven drug discovery, whereby academicians worked to identify therapeutic targets and pharmaceutical companies advanced probe discovery, has been blurred by an academic high-throughput chemical genomic revolution. It is now common for academic labs to use biochemical or cell-based high-throughput screening (HTS) to investigate the effects of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of chemical probes on one or more targets over a period of days or weeks. To support the efforts of individual investigators, many universities have established core facilities where screening can be performed collaboratively with large chemical libraries managed by highly trained HTS personnel and guided by the experience of computational, medicinal, and synthetic organic chemists. The identification of large numbers of promising hits from such screens has driven the need for independent labs to scale down secondary in vitro assays in the hit to lead identification process. In this chapter, we will describe the use of luminescent and quantitative reverse transcription real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) technologies that permit evaluation of the expression patterns of multiple unfolded protein response (UPR) and apoptosis-related genes, and simultaneously evaluate proliferation and cell death in 96- or 384-well format.

Head and Neck Tumor Cell Radiation Response Occurs in the Presence of IGF1

Radiation therapy for head and neck cancer results in severe secondary side-effects in salivary glands. We previously demonstrated that the administration of IGF1 preserves or restores salivary gland function following radiation. Based on these findings, we propose to study the effect of IGF1 on human head and neck carcinoma cells. Head and neck tumor cells treated with radiation have significant reductions in tumor cell survival, as measured by MTT and crystal violet assays, regardless of IGF1 pre-treatment. Head and neck squamous carcinoma cell xenografts treated with concurrent radiation+IGF1 also exhibit significant tumor growth delay; however, growth rates are elevated compared with those in irradiated xenografts. In contrast, administration of IGF1 after radiation treatment has no effect on tumor xenograft growth rates. Analysis of these data suggests that localized delivery may be required for concurrent therapy to prevent secondary side-effects of radiotherapy, while post-therapy administration of IGF1 could be considered for the restoration of salivary function. Abbreviations: IGF1, insulin-like growth factor 1; MTT, 2,2,2-Tribromoethanol; CV, crystal violet; IGFR, insulin-like growth factor receptor; HN, head and neck.