Catastrophe In Cells Research Articles

Inhibition of Mps1 kinase enhances taxanes efficacy in castration resistant prostate cancer

Androgen ablation therapy is the standard of care for newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PC) patients. PC that relapsed after hormonal therapy, referred to as castration-resistant PC (CRPC), often presents with metastasis (mCRPC) and is the major cause of disease lethality. The few available therapies for mCRPC include the Taxanes Docetaxel (DTX) and Cabazitaxel (CBZ). Alas, clinical success of Taxanes in mCRPC is limited by high intrinsic and acquired resistance. Therefore, it remains essential to develop rationally designed treatments for managing therapy-resistant mCRPC disease. The major effect of Taxanes on microtubule hyper-polymerization is a prolonged mitotic block due to activation of the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC). Taxane-sensitive cells eventually inactivate SAC and exit mitosis by mitotic catastrophe, resulting in genome instability and blockade of proliferation. Resistant cells remain in mitotic block, and, upon drug decay, resume mitosis and proliferation, underlying one resistance mechanism. In our study we explored the possibility of forced mitotic exit to elevate Taxane efficacy. Inactivation of the SAC component, mitotic checkpoint kinase Mps1/TTK with a small molecule inhibitor (Msp1i), potentiated efficacy of Taxanes treatment in both 2D cell culture and 3D prostasphere settings. Mechanistically, Mps1 inhibition forced mitotic catastrophe in cells blocked in mitosis by Taxanes. Androgen receptor (AR), the main driver of PC, is often mutated or truncated in mCRPC. Remarkably, Mps1i significantly potentiated CBZ cytotoxicity regardless of AR status, in both AR-WT and in AR-truncated CRPC cells. Overall, our data demonstrate that forced mitotic exit by Mps1 inhibition potentiates Taxanes efficacy. Given that several Mps1i’s are currently in different stages of clinical trials, our results point to Mps1 as a new therapeutic target to potentiate efficacy of Taxanes in mCRPC patients.

Targeting TRIM37-driven centrosome dysfunction in 17q23-amplified breast cancer

Genomic instability is a hallmark of cancer, and has a central role in the initiation and development of breast cancer1,2. The success of poly-ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors in the treatment of breast cancers that are deficient in homologous recombination exemplifies the utility of synthetically lethal genetic interactions in the treatment of breast cancers that are driven by genomic instability3. Given that defects in homologous recombination are present in only a subset of breast cancers, there is a need to identify additional driver mechanisms for genomic instability and targeted strategies to exploit these defects in the treatment of cancer. Here we show that centrosome depletion induces synthetic lethality in cancer cells that contain the 17q23 amplicon, a recurrent copy number aberration that defines about 9% of all primary breast cancer tumours and is associated with high levels of genomic instability4-6. Specifically, inhibition of polo-like kinase4 (PLK4) using small molecules leads to centrosome depletion, which triggers mitotic catastrophe in cells that exhibit amplicon-directed overexpression of TRIM37. To explain this effect, we identify TRIM37 as a negative regulator of centrosomal pericentriolar material. In 17q23-amplified cells that lack centrosomes, increased levels of TRIM37 block the formation of foci that comprise pericentriolar material-these foci are structures with a microtubule-nucleating capacity that are required for successful cell division in the absence of centrosomes. Finally, we find thatthe overexpression of TRIM37 causes genomic instability by delaying centrosome maturation and separation at mitotic entry, and thereby increases the frequency of mitotic errors. Collectively, these findings highlight TRIM37-dependent genomic instability as a putative driver event in 17q23-amplified breast cancer and provide a rationale for the use of centrosome-targeting therapeutic agents in treating these cancers.

Aurora A inhibition limits centrosome clustering and promotes mitotic catastrophe in cells with supernumerary centrosomes.

The presence of supernumerary centrosomes is prevalent in cancer, where they promote the formation of transient multipolar mitotic spindles. Active clustering of supernumerary centrosomes enables the formation of a functional bipolar spindle that is competent to complete a bipolar division. Disruption of spindle pole clustering in cancer cells promotes multipolar division and generation of non-proliferative daughter cells with compromised viability. Hence molecular pathways required for spindle pole clustering in cells with supernumerary centrosomes, but dispensable in normal cells, are promising therapeutic targets. Here we demonstrate that Aurora A kinase activity is required for spindle pole clustering in cells with extra centrosomes. While cells with two centrosomes are ultimately able to build a bipolar spindle and proceed through a normal cell division in the presence of Aurora A inhibition, cells with supernumerary centrosomes form multipolar and disorganized spindles that are not competent for chromosome segregation. Instead, following a prolonged mitosis, these cells experience catastrophic divisions that result in grossly aneuploid, and non-proliferative daughter cells. Aurora A inhibition in a panel of Acute Myeloid Leukemia cancer cells has a similarly disparate impact on cells with supernumerary centrosomes, suggesting that centrosome number and spindle polarity may serve as predictive biomarkers for response to therapeutic approaches that target Aurora A kinase function.

αTAT1 downregulation induces mitotic catastrophe in HeLa and A549 cells.

α-Tubulin acetyltransferase 1 (αTAT1) controls reversible acetylation on Lys40 of α-tubulin and modulates multiple cellular functions. αTAT1 depletion induced morphological defects of touch receptor neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans and impaired cell adhesion and contact inhibition in mouse embryonic fibroblasts, however, no morphological or proliferation defects in human RPE-hTERT cells were found after αTAT1-specific siRNA treatment. Here, we compared the effect of three αTAT1-specific shRNAs on proliferation and morphology in two human cell lines, HeLa and A549. The more efficient two shRNAs induced mitotic catastrophe in both cell lines and the most efficient one also decreased F-actin and focal adhesions. Further analysis revealed that αTAT1 downregulation increased γ-H2AX, but not other DNA damage markers p-CHK1 and p-CHK2, along with marginal change in microtubule outgrowth speed and inter-kinetochore distance. Overexpression of αTAT1 could not precisely mimic the distribution and concentration of endogenous acetylated α-tubulin (Ac-Tu), although no overt phenotype change was observed, meanwhile, this could not completely prevent αTAT1 downregulation-induced deficiencies. We therefore conclude that efficient αTAT1 downregulation could impair actin architecture and induce mitotic catastrophe in HeLa and A549 cells through mechanisms partly independent of Ac-Tu.

T0070907, a PPAR γ Inhibitor, Induced G2/M Arrest Enhances the Effect of Radiation in Human Cervical Cancer Cells Through Mitotic Catastrophe

Overexpression of peroxisome proliferator activator receptor γ (PPARγ) has been implicated in many types of cancer including cervical cancer. Radiation therapy remains the main nonsurgical modality for the treatment of cervical cancer. The present study reports the impact of pharmacological inhibition of PPARγ in enhancing the radiosensitization of cervical cancer cells in vitro. Three cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa, SiHa, and Me180) were treated with a PPARγ inhibitor, T0070907, and/or radiation. The changes in protein, cell cycle, DNA content, apoptosis, and cell survival were analyzed. The PPARγ is differentially expressed in cervical cancer cells with maximum expression in ME180 cells. T0070907 has significantly decreased the tubulin levels in a time-dependent manner in ME180 cells. The decrease in the tubulin levels after T0070907 in ME180 and SiHa cells was associated with significant increase in the cells at the G2/M phase. The changes in the tubulin and G2/M phase were not evident in HeLa cells. T0070907 reduced the protein levels of PPARγ; however, PPARγ silencing had no effect on the α-tubulin level in ME180 cells suggesting the PPARγ-dependent and -independent actions of T0070907. To ascertain the impact of synergistic effect of T0070907 and radiation, HeLa and ME180 cells were pretreated with T0070907 and subjected to radiation (4 Gy). Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate analysis revealed increased apoptosis in cells treated with radiation and T0070907 when compared to control and individual treatment. In addition, T0070907 pretreatment enhanced radiation-induced tetraploidization reinforcing the additive effect of T0070907. Confocal analysis of tubulin confirmed the onset of mitotic catastrophe in cells treated with T0070907 and radiation. These results strongly suggest the radiosensitizing effects of T0070907 through G2/M arrest and mitotic catastrophe.

Paclitaxel에 의한 관절연골 세포의 capase-비의존적 mitotic catastrophe 유도

Paclitaxel is known as a potent inhibitor of microtubule depolymerization. It leads to mitotic arrest and cell death by stabilizing the spindle in various cell types. Here, we investigated the effects of paclitaxel on the proliferation and cell death of rabbit articular chondrocytes. Paclitaxel inhibited proliferation in a dose- and time- dependent manner, determined by MTT assay in rabbit articular chondrocytes. We also established paclitaxel-induced G2/M arrest by fluorescent activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis. Paclitaxel increased expression of cyclin B, p53 and p21, while reducing expression of cdc2 and cdc25C in chondrocytes, as detected by Western blot analysis. Interestingly, paclitaxel showed the mitotic catastrophe that leads to abnormal nucleus division and cell death without DNA fragmentation through activation of caspase. Cell death by mitotic catastrophe in cells treated with paclitaxel was suppressed by inhibiting G1/S arrest with 2 mM thymidine. These results demonstrate that paclitaxel induces cell death via mitotic catastrophe without activation of casepase in rabbit articular chondrocytes.

Oxaliplatin induces mitotic catastrophe and apoptosis in esophageal cancer cells

The platinum-based chemotherapeutic agent oxaliplatin displays a wide range of antitumor activities. However, the underlying molecular responses to oxaliplatin in esophageal cancer remain largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effect of oxaliplatin on two esophageal cancer cell lines, squamous cell carcinoma (TE3) and adenocarcinoma (TE7). Following cell-cycle arrest at G(2) phase after oxaliplatin treatment, TE3 cells died via apoptosis and TE7 cells died via mitotic catastrophe. Survivin was inhibited more in TE7 cells compared with TE3 cells, but inhibition of survivin using small interfering RNA induced mitotic catastrophe in both cell lines. Further investigations indicated that survivin promoter activity was also inhibited by oxaliplatin. Among mitotic catastrophe-associated proteins, 14-3-3 sigma was decreased in TE7 cells; no evident changes were observed for aurora kinases. Oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis in the TE3 cells was caspase dependent. However, downregulation of Bad, Bid, Puma, and Noxa, lack of cytochrome c release, and limited loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in early phase indicated possible initiation by pathways other than the mitochondrial pathway. Mechanistic studies showed that downregulation of survivin by oxaliplatin in TE7 cells was partially due to the proteasome-mediated protein degradation pathway and partially due to the downregulation of Sp1 transcription factor. Similar results were obtained for another gastric adenocarcinoma cell line, MKN45, in which survivin was previously shown to be inhibited by oxaliplatin. These data indicate that survivin may be a key target for oxaliplatin. The ability of oxaliplatin to induce different modes of cell death may contribute to its efficacy in esophageal cancer.

P53 regulates Cdc2 independently of inhibitory phosphorylation to reinforce radiation-induced G2 arrest in human cells.

We have investigated the influence of p53 on radiation-induced G2 cell cycle arrest using human H1299 cells expressing temperature-sensitive p53. Gamma-irradiated cells lacking p53 arrested transiently in G2 with Cdc2 extensively phosphorylated at the inhibitory sites Thr14 and Tyr15, and with both Cdc2 and cyclin B1 restricted to the cytoplasm. Activation of p53 by temperature shift resulted in a more protracted G2 arrest that could not be overridden by checkpoint-abrogating drugs. Surprisingly, this enhancement of G2 arrest was associated with a marked lack of inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc2 and with the nuclear localization of both Cdc2 and cyclin B1. While transient expression of an A14F15 mutant form of Cdc2 that is not subject to inhibitory phosphorylation induced mitotic catastrophe in cells lacking p53, the p53-expressing cells were relatively refractory to this effect. Enforced expression of p21WAF1/CJP1 was sufficient to confer nuclear localization on Cdc2 in the p53 null cells, though immunodepletion experiments demonstrated that only a small proportion of Cdc2 was stably associated with p21WAF1/CJP1 in the p53-expressing cells. We conclude that a p53-dependent pathway can operate after exposure of human cells to ionising radiation to promote G2 arrest accompanied by nuclear translocation rather than inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc2.

P56(chk1) protein kinase is required for the DNA replication checkpoint at 37 degrees C in fission yeast.

Fission yeast p56(chk1) kinase is known to be involved in the DNA damage checkpoint but not to be required for cell cycle arrest following exposure to the DNA replication inhibitor hydroxyurea (HU). For this reason, p56(chk1) is considered not to be necessary for the DNA replication checkpoint which acts through the inhibitory phosphorylation of p34(cdc2) kinase activity. In a search for Schizosaccharomyces pombe mutants that abolish the S phase cell cycle arrest of a thermosensitive DNA polymerase delta strain at 37 degrees C, we isolated two chk1 alleles. These alleles are proficient for the DNA damage checkpoint, but induce mitotic catastrophe in several S phase thermosensitive mutants. We show that the mitotic catastrophe correlates with a decreased level of tyrosine phosphorylation of p34(cdc2). In addition, we found that the deletion of chk1 and the chk1 alleles abolish the cell cycle arrest and induce mitotic catastrophe in cells exposed to HU, if the cells are grown at 37 degrees C. These findings suggest that chk1 is important for the maintenance of the DNA replication checkpoint in S phase thermosensitive mutants and that the p56(chk1) kinase must possess a novel function that prevents premature activation of p34(cdc2) kinase under conditions of impaired DNA replication at 37 degrees C.