Inhibition of DNA-dependent Protein Kinase Catalytic Subunit by Small Molecule Inhibitor NU7026 Sensitizes Human Leukemic K562 Cells to Benzene Metabolite-induced Apoptosis

Benzene is an established leukotoxin and leukemogen in humans. We have previously re- ported that exposure of workers to benzene and to benzene metabolite hydroquinone in cultured cells induced DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit （DNA-PKcs） to mediate the cellular response to DNA double strand break （DSB） caused by DNA-damaging metabolites. In this study, we used a new, small molecule, a selective inhibitor of DNA-PKcs, 2-（morpholin-4-yl）-benzo[h]chomen-4-one （NU7026）, as a probe to analyze the molecular events and pathways in hydroquinone-induced DNA DSB repair and apoptosis. Inhibition of DNA-PKcs by NU7026 markedly potentiated the apoptotic and growth inhibitory effects of hydroquinone in proerythroid leukemic K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with NU7026 did not alter the production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress by hydroquinone but repressed the protein level of DNA-PKcs and blocked the induction of the kinase mRNA and protein expression by hydroquinone. Moreover, hydroquinone increased the phos- phorylation of Akt to activate Akt, whereas co-treatment with NU7026 prevented the activation of Akt by hydroquinone. Lastly, hydroquinone and NU7026 exhibited synergistic effects on promoting apop- tosis by increasing the protein levels of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3 but decreasing the protein expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Taken together, the findings reveal a central role of DNA-PKcs in hydroquinone-induced hematotoxicity in which it coordinates DNA DSB repair, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis to regulate the response to hydroquinone-induced DNA damage.

DNA-dependent activator of interferon-regulatory factors inhibits hepatitis B virus replication

AIM： To investigate whether DNA-dependent activator of interferon-regulatory factors （DAI） inhibits hepatitis B virus （HBV） replication and what the mechanism is. METHODS： After the human hepatoma cell line Huh7 was cotransfected with DAI and HBV expressing plas- mid, viral protein （HBV surface antigen and HBV e an- tigen） secretion was detected by enzyme-linked immu- nosorbent assay, and HBV RNA was analyzed by real- time polymerase chain reaction and Northern blotting, and viral DNA replicative intermediates were examined by Southern blotting. Interferon regulatory factor 3 （IRF3） phosphorylation and nuclear translocation were analyzed via Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining respectively. Nuclear factor-KB （NF-KB） activity induced by DAI was detected by immunofluorescence staining of P65 and dual luciferase reporter assay. Tran- swell co-culture experiment was performed in order to investigate whether the antiviral effects of DAI were dependent on the secreted cytokines. RESULTS： Viral protein secretion was significantly re- duced by 57% （P 〈 0.05）, and the level of total HBV RNA was reduced by 67% （P 〈 0.05）. The viral core particle-associated DNA was also dramatically down- regulated in DAI-expressing Huh7 cells. Analysis of involved signaling pathways revealed that activation of NF-KB signaling was essential for DAI to elicit antivi- ral response in Huh7 cells. When the NF-KB signaling pathway was blocked by a NF-KB signaling suppressor （I~：B^-SR）, the anti-HBV activity of DAI was remarkably abrogated. The inhibitory effect of DAI was indepen- dent of IRF3 signaling and secreted cytokines. CONCLUSION： This study demonstrates that DAI can inhibit HBV replication and the inhibitory effect is asso- ciated with activation of NF-KB but independent of IRF3 and secreted cytokines.

Expression of DNA-dependent protein kinase in the nasopharyngeal tissue during carcinogenesis

Objective： To observe the expression of DNA-dependent protein kinase （DNA-PKcs） in the nasopharyngeal tissues during carcinogenesis. Methods： Patients including 30 cases of nasopharyngitis, 42 cases of nasopharyngeal atypical hyperplasia and 34 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma （NPC） were chosen from Zhongshan area in which there is high incidence rate of NPC. The expression of DNA-PKcs in the nasopharyngeal tissue was examined by immunohistochemistry. Results： The expression rates of DNA-PKcs in the nasopharyngitis tissue, the nasopharyngeal precancerous lesion and the NPC were 6.7%, 64.3% and 55.9%, respectively （P〈 0.001）. Conclusion： The expression of DNA-dependent protein kinase may play an important role in nasopharyngeal tissue carcinogenesis.

Investigation of the relationship between DNA-dependent protein kinase and lymphatic metastasis in colorectal cancer

Objective: To investigate DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) expression,and its relationship with lymphat-ic metastasis in colorectal cancer. Methods: Tumor tissues from 60 patients,divided into two groups according to lymphatic metastasis,were immunohistochemically stained to detect the DNA-PK expression including Ku70,Ku80 and PKcs proteins. Results: Positivity of both Ku70 and Ku80 in colorectal cancer was negatively correlated with lymphatic metastasis with an r value of -0.57 and -0.38,respectively. Similar correlation was found between Ku expression,especially Ku70,and long-term survival. PKcs,however,displayed no significant correlation. Statistical analysis failed to detect any correlation between DNA-PK expression,and clinical characteristics,such as age,sex,tumor location,tumor thickness and distant metastasis (P>0.05). Conclusion: DNA-PK expression,especially Ku70 expression,is negatively correlated with lymphatic metastasis,and the survival of patients with colorectal cancer. Ku70 expression may be a potential indicator for the preoperative evaluation,and prognosis in colorectal cancer.

Abnormal DNA-PKcs and Ku 70/80 expression may promote malignant pathological processes in gastric carcinoma

AIM:To determine the expression of the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase(DNA-PKcs)and the Ku70/Ku80 heterodimer(Ku 70/80)in gastric carcinoma.METHODS:Gastric biopsies were obtained from 146gastric carcinoma patients[Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)-negative:89 and H.pylori-positive:57]and 34from normal subjects(H.pylori-negative:16 and H.pylori-positive:18)via surgery and endoscopic detection from April 2011 to August 2012 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University.Pathological diagnosis and classification were made according to the criteria of the World Health Organization and the updated Sydney system.An‘‘in-house’’rapid urease test and modified Giemsa staining were employed to detect H.pylori infection.The expression of DNA-PKcs and the Ku 70/80protein was detected by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS:Overall,the positive rates of both DNA-PKcs and Ku 70/80 were significantly increased in gastric cancer(χ2=133.04,P<0.001 for DNA-PKcs andχ2=13.06,P<0.01 for Ku)compared with normal gastric mucosa.There was hardly any detectable expression of DNA-PKcs in normal gastric mucosa,and the positive rate of DNA-PKcs protein expression in patients with a normal gastric mucosa was 0%(0/34),whereas the rate in gastric cancer(GC)was 93.8%(137/146).The difference between the two groups was statistically significant.Additionally,the positive rate of Ku 70/80 was79.4%(27/34)in normal gastric mucosa and 96.6%(141/146)in gastric cancer.The DNA-PKcs protein level was significantly increased in gastric cancer(MannWhitney U=39.00,P<0.001),compared with normal gastric mucosa.In addition,there was a significant difference in the expression of Ku 70/80(Mann-Whitney U=1117.00,P<0.001)between gastric cancer and normal gastric mucosa.There was also a significant difference in Ku70/80 protein expression between GC patients with and without H.pylori infection(P<0.05).Spearman analysis showed a negative correlation between tumor differentiation and DNA-PKcs expression(r=-0.447,P<0.05).Moreover,Ku70/80 expression was negatively correlated with both clinical stage(r=-0.189,P<0.05)and H.pylori colonization(r=-0.168,P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Overall,this research demonstrated that enhanced DNA-PKcs and Ku 70/80 expression may be closely associated with gastric carcinoma.

DNA end binding activity and Ku70/80 heterodimer expression in human colorectal tumor

AIM： TO determine the DNA binding activity and protein levels of the Ku70/80 heterodimer, the functional mediator of the NHEJ activity, in human colorectal carcinogenesis. METHODS： The Ku70/80 DNA-binding activity was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assays in 20 colon adenoma and 15 colorectal cancer samples as well as matched normal colonic tissues. Nuclear and cytoplasmic protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. RESULTS： A statistical found in both adenomas y significant difference was and carcinomas as compared to matched normal colonic mucosa （P〈0.00）. However, changes in binding activity were not homogenous with approximately 50% of the tumors showing a clear increase in the binding activity, 30% displaying a modest increase and 15% showing a decrease of the activity.Tumors, with increased DNA-binding activity, also showed a statistically significant increase in Ku70 and Ku86 nuclear expression, as determined by Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses （P〈0.001）. Cytoplasmic protein expression was found in pathological samples, but not in normal tissues either from tumor patients or from healthy subjects. CONCLUSION： Overall, our DNA-binding activity and protein level are consistent with a substantial activation of the NHEJ pathway in colorectal tumors. Since the NHEJ is an error prone mechanism, its abnormal activation can result in chromosomal instability and ultimately lead to tumorigenesis.

PI3K-like Kinases Restrain Pim Gene Expression in Endothelial Cells

Pim kinases contribute to tumor formation and development of lymphoma,which shows enhanced DNA replication,DNA recombination and repair.Endothelial cells (ECs) express all the three members of Pim kinase gene family.We hypothesized that DNA repair gene would regulate Pim ex-pression in ECs.Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were isolated and maintained in M199 culture medium.The cellular distribution of Pim-3 in ECs was determined by immunofluorescent staining.The siRNA fragments were synthesized and transfected by using Lipofectamine LTX.The total cellular RNA was extracted from the cells by using Trizol reagent.cDNAs were quantified by semi-quantity PCR.The effects of LY294002 and wortmannin on RNA stability in ECs were also ex-amined.Our data showed that LY294002 and wortmannin,phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and PI3K-like kinase inhibitors,increased Pim mRNA expression in ECs without altering the mRNA stabil-ity.RNA interference (RNAi) targeting DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) and ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) increased mRNA expression of Pim-3 and Pim-1,respectively.Silencing of Akt decreased Pim-1 instead of Pm-2 and Pim-3 gene expression in ECs.But etoposide,a nucleoside analogue,which could activate DNA-PKcs and ATM,increased Pim expression in ECs.Our study indicates that the expression of Pim kinases is physiologically related to DNA-PKcs and ATM in ECs.

DNA repair genes BRCA1 and DNA-PKcs have great potential in radiation therapy

Radiotherapy is a part of the front-line treatment regime for many cancers. The mechanisms of radiation-induced effects in cancers mainly involves double-strand breaks (DBS) which plays very important role in maintaining the stability of gene. As DNA repair gene breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) and DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) can act to maintain genetic stability though two distinct and complementary mechanisms for DNA DSB repair-homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Therefor, BRCA1 and DNA-PKcs are closely associated with radiation sensitivity, which means that they may be used as a useful tool to predict radio sensitivity in human tumour cells.

DNA-PK inhibition by M3814 enhances chemosensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer

A significant proportion of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) patients experience accumulating chemotherapy-related adverse events,motivating the design of chemosensitizating strategies.The main cytotoxic damage induced by chemotherapeutic agents is DNA double-strand breaks(DSB).It is thus conceivable that DNA-dependent protein kinase(DNA-PK) inhibitors which attenuate DNA repair would enhance the anti-tumor effect of chemotherapy.The present study aims to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel DNA-PK inhibitor M3814 in synergy with chemotherapies on NSCLC.We identified increased expression of DNA-PK in human NSCLC tissues which was associated with poor prognosis.M3814 potentiated the anti-tumor effect of paclitaxel and etoposide in A549,H460 and H1703 NSCLC cell lines.In the four combinations based on two NSCLC xenograft models and two chemotherapy,we also observed tumor regression at tolerated doses in vivo.Moreover,we identified a P53-dependent accelerated senescence response by M3814 following treatment with paclitaxel/etoposide.The present study provides a theoretical basis for the use of M3814 in combination with paclitaxel and etoposide in clinical practice,with hope to aid the optimization of NSCLC treatment.