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MTOR inhibition by everolimus in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia induces caspase-independent cell death.

ABSTRACT: Increasingly, anti-cancer medications are being reported to induce cell death mechanisms other than apoptosis. Activating alternate death mechanisms introduces the potential to kill cells that have defects in their apoptotic machinery, as is commonly observed in cancer cells, including in hematological malignancies. We, and others, have previously reported that the mTOR inhibitor everolimus has pre-clinical efficacy and induces caspase-independent cell death in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. Furthermore, everolimus is currently in clinical trial for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Here we characterize the death mechanism activated by everolimus in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. We find that cell death is caspase-independent and lacks the morphology associated with apoptosis. Although mitochondrial depolarization is an early event, permeabilization of the outer mitochondrial membrane only occurs after cell death has occurred. While morphological and biochemical evidence shows that autophagy is clearly present it is not responsible for the observed cell death. There are a number of features consistent with paraptosis including morphology, caspase-independence, and the requirement for new protein synthesis. However in contrast to some reports of paraptosis, the activation of JNK signaling was not required for everolimus-induced cell death. Overall in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells everolimus induces a cell death that resembles paraptosis.

SUBMITTER: Baraz R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4094511 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Coibamide A is an N-methyl-stabilized depsipeptide that was isolated from a marine cyanobacterium as part of an International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) program based in Panama. Previous testing of coibamide A in the NCI in vitro 60 cancer cell line panel revealed a potent anti-proliferative response and "COMPARE-negative" profile indicative of a unique mechanism of action. We report that coibamide A is a more potent and efficacious cytotoxin than was previously appreciated, inducing concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxicity (EC50<100 nM) in human U87-MG and SF-295 glioblastoma cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). This activity was lost upon linearization of the molecule, highlighting the importance of the cyclized structure for both anti-proliferative and cytotoxic responses. We show that coibamide A induces autophagosome accumulation in human glioblastoma cell types and MEFs via an mTOR-independent mechanism; no change was observed in the phosphorylation state of ULK1 (Ser-757), p70 S6K1 (Thr-389), S6 ribosomal protein (Ser-235/236) and 4EBP-1 (Thr-37/46). Coibamide A also induces morphologically and biochemically distinct forms of cell death according to cell type. SF-295 glioblastoma cells showed caspase-3 activation and evidence of apoptotic cell death in a pattern that was also seen in wild-type and autophagy-deficient (ATG5-null) MEFs. In contrast, cell death in U87-MG glioblastoma cells was characterized by extensive cytoplasmic vacuolization and lacked clear apoptotic features. Cell death was attenuated, but still triggered, in Apaf-1-null MEFs lacking a functional mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway. From the study of ATG5-null MEFs we conclude that a conventional autophagy response is not required for coibamide A-induced cell death, but likely occurs in dying cells in response to treatment. Coibamide A represents a natural product scaffold with potential for the study of mTOR-independent signaling and cell death mechanisms in apoptotic-resistant cancer cells.

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MTOR inhibition by everolimus in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia induces caspase-independent cell death.

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