Remarkably Reduced Expression of FoxO3a in Metaplastic Colorectum, Primary Colorectal Cancer and Liver Metastasis

The forkhead family members of transcription factors （FoxOs） are expected to be potential cancer-related drug targets and thus are being extremely studied recently. In the present study, FoxO3a, one major member of this family, was identified to be down-regulated in colorectal cancer through mi- cro-array analysis, which was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot in 28 patients. Moreover, immu- nohistochemistry （IHC） showed that the expression levels of FoxO3a were remarkably reduced in 99 cases of primary colorectal cancer, liver metastasis, and even in metaplastic colorectal tissue. IHC also revealed an exclusion of FoxO3a from the nucleus of most cells of tumor-associated tissues. Silencing FoxO3a by siRNA led to elevation of G2-M phase cells. We conclude that the downregulation of FoxO3a may greatly contribute to tumor development, and thus FoxO3a may represent a novel thera- peutic target in colorectal cancer.

Redox status of thioredoxin-1 （TRX1） determines the sensitivity of human liver carcinoma cells （HepG2） to arsenic trioxide-induced cell death

lntracellular redox homeostasis plays a critical role in determining tumor cells＇ sensitivity to drug-induced apoptosis. Here we investigated the role of thioredoxin-1 （TRX1）, a key component of redox regulation, in arsenic trioxide （AS2O3）-induced apoptosis. Over-expression of wild-type TRX1 in HepG2 cells led to the inhibition of As2O3-induced cytochrome c （cyto c） release, caspase activation and apoptosis, and down-regulation of TRX1 expression by RNAi sensitized HepG2 cells to As2O3-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, mutation of the active site of TRX1 from Cys^32/35 to Ser^32/35 converted this molecule from an apoptotic protector to an apoptotic promoter. In an effort to understand the mechanisms of this conversion, we used isolated mitochondria from mouse liver and found that recombinant wild-type TRX1 could protect mitochondria from the apoptotic changes. In contrast, the mutant form of TRX1 alone elicited mitochondria-related apoptotic changes, including the mitochondrial permeability transition pore （mPTP） opening, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and cyto c release from mitochondria. These apoptotic effects were inhibited by cyclosporine A （CsA）, indicating that mutant TRX1 targeted to mPTP. Alteration of TRX1 from its reduced form to oxidized form in vivo by 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene （DNCB）, a specific inhibitor ofTRX reductase, also sensitized HepG2 cells to As203-induced apoptosis. These data suggest that TRX1 plays a central role in regulating apoptosis by blocking cyto c release, and inactivation of TRX1 by either mutation or oxidization of the active site cysteines may sensitize tumor cells to As2O3-induced apoptosis.

Beclin 1 cleavage by caspase-3 inactivates autophagy and promotes apoptosis

Autophagy and apoptosis are both highly regulated biological processes that play essential roles in tissue homeostasis,development and diseases.Autophagy is also described as a mechanism of death pathways,however,the precise mechanism of how autophagy links to cell death remains to be fully understood.Beclin 1 is a dual regulator for both autophagy and apoptosis.In this study we found that Beclin 1 was a substrate of caspase-3 with two cleavage sites at positions 124 and 149,respectively.Furthermore,the autophagosome formation occurred,followed by the appearance of morphological hallmarks of apoptosis after staurosporine treatment.The cleavage products of Beclin 1 reduced autophagy and promoted apoptosis in HeLa cells and the cells in which Beclin 1 was stably knocked down by specific shRNA.In addition,the cleavage of Beclin 1 resulted in abrogating the interaction between Bcl-2 with Beclin 1,which could be blocked by z-VAD-fmk.Thus,our results suggest that the cleavage of Beclin 1 by caspase-3 may contribute to inactivate autophagy leading towards augmented apoptosis.

Threonine 32 （Thr32） of FoxO3 is critical for TGF-β-induced apoptosis via Bim in hepatocarcinoma cells

Transforming growth factor-β （TGF-β） exerts apoptotic effects on various types of malignant ceils, including liver cancer cells. However, the precise mechanisms by which TGF-β induces apoptosis remain poorly known. In the present study, we have showed that threonine 32 （Thr32） residue of FoxO3 is critical for TGF-β to induce apoptosis via Bim in hepatocarcinoma Hep3B cells. Our data demonstrated that TGF-βinduced FoxO3 activation through specific de-phosphorylation at Thr32. TGF-β-activated FoxO3 cooperated with Smad2/ 3 to mediate Bim up-regulation and apoptosis. FoxO3 （de）phosphorylation at Thr32 was regulated by casein kinase I-ε （CKI-E）. CKI inhibition by small molecule D4476 could abrogate TGF-β-induced FoxO/Smad acti- vation, reverse Bim up-regulation, and block the sequential apoptosis. More importantly, the deregulated levels of CKI-ε and p32FoxO3 were found in human malignant liver tissues. Taken together, our findings suggest that there might be a CKI-FoxO/Smad-Bim engine in which Thr32 of FoxO3 is pivotal for TGF-β- induced apoptosis, making it a potential therapeutic target for liver cancer treatment.

Neuregulin-1 attenuates mitochondrial dysfunction in a rat model of heart failure

Background Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a pivotal role in the progression of left ventricular （LV） remodeling and heart failure （HF）. Recombinant human neuregulin-1 （rhNRG-1） improves cardiac function in models of experimental HF and in clinical trials; however, its impact on mitochondrial function during chronic HF remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether rhNRG-1 could attenuate the functional and structural changes that occur in cardiac mitochondria in a rat model of HF induced by myocardial infarction.