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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 279, Issue 24, 25535-25543, June 11, 2004
Doxorubicin Induces Apoptosis in Normal and Tumor Cells via Distinctly Different MechanismsINTERMEDIACY OF H2O2- AND p53-DEPENDENT PATHWAYS*![]() From the Department of Biophysics and Free Radical Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226
Received for publication, January 28, 2004 , and in revised form, March 30, 2004.
Doxorubicin (DOX), a widely used chemotherapeutic agent, exhibits cardiotoxicity as an adverse side effect in cancer patients. DOX-mediated cardiomyopathy is linked to its ability to induce apoptosis in endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes by activation of p53 protein and reactive oxygen species. We evaluated the potential roles of H2O2 and p53 in DOX-induced apoptosis in normal bovine aortic endothelial cells and adult rat cardiomyocytes and in tumor cell lines PA-1 (human ovarian teratocarcinoma) and MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma). Time course measurements indicated that activation of caspase-3 preceded the stimulation of p53 transcriptional activity in endothelial cells. In contrast, DOX caused early activation of p53 in tumor cells that was followed by caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation. These findings suggest that the transcriptional activation of p53 in DOX-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells may not be as crucial as it is in tumor cells. Further evidence was obtained using a p53 inhibitor, pifithrin- . Pifithrin- completely suppressed DOX-induced activation of p53 in both normal and tumor cell lines and prevented apoptosis in tumor cell lines but not in endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes. In contrast, detoxification of H2O2, either by redox-active metalloporphyrin or overexpression of glutathione peroxidase, decreased DOX-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes but not in tumor cells. This newly discovered mechanistic difference in DOX-induced apoptotic cell death in normal versus tumor cells will be useful in developing drugs that selectively mitigate the toxic side effects of DOX without affecting its antitumor action.
The antitumor drug doxorubicin (DOX)1 has been widely used in the clinic for the treatment of a broad spectrum of cancers (1, 2). A major adverse side effect associated with DOX usage in the clinic is the onset of cardiomyopathy and heart failure (2). Several reports suggest that DOX-induced apoptosis plays an important role in its cardiotoxicity that is linked to formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) derived from redox activation of DOX (35). Recent studies have focused on DOX-induced apoptotic signaling mechanisms (68).
The transcription factor p53 has been reported to play a very important role in apoptosis (9, 10). As a tumor suppressor, p53 is responsible for protecting cells from tumorigenic alterations (10, 11). Mutational inactivation of p53 is frequently observed in various human cancers (12). Activation of p53, which in turn promotes apoptosis of tumor cells, is considered to be a key mechanism of action of antitumor drugs, including DOX (13, 14). Various mutations of p53 and attenuation of p53 activation by DOX were reported as important mechanisms of drug resistance in tumor cells (1517). However, relatively fewer studies have focused on the role of p53 in DOX-induced toxicity in endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, and other non-cancerous cells. DOX was reported to induce ROS generation in various tumor cells (1820). However, the exact role of ROS in DOX-induced tumor cell killing still remains uncertain and somewhat controversial. Several groups reported that inhibiting DOX-induced intracellular oxidative stress by the overexpression of antioxidant enzymes prevented apoptosis in tumor cells (20, 21), and that depleting endogenous antioxidants (e.g. glutathione) made tumor cells more susceptible to DOX (22, 23). However, other studies did not support the role of oxidative stress in tumor cell apoptosis induced by DOX and other chemotherapeutic agents (24, 25). In the present study, we investigated the effect of DOX-induced H2O2 and p53 in two non-transformed cell types (bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) and adult rat cardiomyocytes (ARCMs)), and two tumor cell lines (PA-1 and MCF-7). To our knowledge, we provide evidence, for the first time, that p53 and H2O2 have distinctly different roles in mediating DOX-induced apoptosis in these normal cell types and tumor cells. Although p53 plays a crucial role in tumor cell apoptosis, H2O2 is predominantly responsible for apoptosis in endothelial and myocardial cells. These results suggest that DOX-induced apoptosis is mediated by distinctly different signal transduction pathways in non-transformed and tumor cells, further suggesting that targeted drug development to attenuate DOX-induced side effects without compromising its chemotherapeutic effect is feasible.
MaterialsDOX and Pifithrin- were purchased from Sigma and Tocris Cookson (Ellisville, MO), respectively. Carboxy-H2DCFDA (5- (and 6)-carboxy-2',7'-dichloro-dihydrofluorescein diacetate) was purchased from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR). The glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) expression plasmid was a generous gift from Dr. L. Oberley (University of Iowa, IA).
Cell CultureBoth BAEC and PA-1 cells were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection. BAECs were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 15% fetal bovine serum (FBS), L-glutamine (2 mM), penicillin (100 units/ml), and streptomycin (100 µg/ml), incubated at 37 °C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 and 95% air. All experiments were performed in a similar medium containing 2% FBS. PA-1 cells were cultured in Eagle's Minimal Essential medium containing 10% FBS, L-glutamine (2 mM), penicillin (100 units/ml), streptomycin (100 µg/ml), sodium pyruvate (1 mM), non-essential amino acids (0.1 mM), and sodium bicarbonate (1.5 g/L), incubated at 37 °C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 and 95% air. MCF-7 cells were a gift from Dr. C. Chitambar (Medical College of Wisconsin). These cells were cultured in MEM-
Isolation and Culturing of CardiomyocytesAdult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes were isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats (175 to 225 g of body weight) as described previously (26). Briefly, hearts were perfused with collagenase type II (200 units/ml) (Invitrogen). After 30 min of perfusion, ventricular tissue was minced and incubated for 10 min in a perfusion buffer with 1% bovine serum albumin and 20 µg/ml deoxyribonuclease (Sigma). Cells were released from chunks of tissue by gentle pipetting. The cell suspension was filtered through an 80-mesh screen, washed twice by gentle centrifugation, and resuspended in a CaCl2-containing buffer. The concentration of CaCl2 in the buffer was successively increased to 0.2 and 0.5 mM. To separate myocytes, the cell suspension was layered over a 4% bovine serum albumin solution in a buffer containing 1 mM CaCl2. Ventricular myocytes were allowed to settle and then plated onto 60-mm dishes precoated with laminin. The culture medium was Medium 199 supplemented with 25 mM HEPES, 2 mg/ml of bovine serum albumin, 2 mM L-carnitine, 5 mM creatine, 5 mM taurine, 100 nM insulin, 100 IU/ml of penicillin, and 100 µg/ml of streptomycin. Intact cardiomyocytes adhered to the culture plates, and damaged cells were washed away during the medium change 2 h after plating. Cardiomyocytes were pretreated with Fe(III) tetrakis (4-benzoic acid) porphyrin (FeTBAP) (10 µM) or pifithrin-
Luciferase AssayCells (1 x 105) suspended in 1 ml of complete medium were seeded into each well of a 12-well plate. After incubating at 37 °C for 24 h, cells were transiently transfected by 1 µg of p53-luciferase reporter plasmid and 1 µg of Measurement of Oxidative StressAfter treatment of cells with DOX, the medium was aspirated, and the cells were washed with PBS and incubated in 2 ml of fresh culture medium without FBS. 2',7'-Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate was added at a final concentration of 10 µM and incubated for 20 min. The cells were then washed twice with PBS and maintained in 1 ml of culture medium. Fluorescence was monitored using a Nikon fluorescence microscope equipped with a fluorescein isothiocyanate filter. Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase-mediated Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) AssayThe TUNEL assay was used for microscopic detection of apoptosis (28). This assay is based on labeling of 3'-free hydroxyl ends of the fragmented DNA with fluorescein-dUTP catalyzed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. Procedures were followed according to the ApoAlert DNA fragmentation assay kit (Clontech Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA). Apoptotic cells exhibit a strong nuclear green fluorescence that can be detected using a standard fluorescein filter (520 nm). All cells stained with propidium iodide exhibit a strong red fluorescence at 620 nm. The areas of apoptotic cells were detected by fluorescence microscopy equipped with rhodamine and fluorescein isothiocyanate filters. The photographs and quantification of apoptosis were obtained using a MetaMorph Imaging System (Universal Imaging Corporation).
Caspase-3 ActivityThe caspase-3-like activity is increased through a protease cascade during apoptosis in the early stage (29). After treatment with DOX and other agents, cells were washed with ice-cold PBS and lysed with cell lysis buffer (caspase-3 assay kit, Sigma). Samples were incubated on ice for 10 min and centrifuged in a microcentrifuge at 12,000 x g for 5 min at 4 °C to precipitate the cellular debris. The caspase-3 activity in the supernatant was measured in a spectrophotometer, using DEVD-p-nitroanilide as a substrate, according to the manufacturer's instructions provided with the assay kit. Alternatively, cells were washed twice in cold PBS and lysed in buffer containing 10 mM Tris-HCl, 10 mM NaH2PO4/Na2HPO4 (pH 7.5), 130 mM NaCl, 1% Triton, and 10 mM sodium pyrophosphate. Cell lysate was incubated with caspase-3 fluorogenic substrate N-acetyl-DEVD-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (BD Pharmingen) at 37 °C for 1 h. 7-Amino-4-methylcoumarin liberated from the fluorogenic substrate was measured using a fluorescence plate reader (Perkin Elmer Life Sciences) with
DOX-induced Apoptosis and Caspase-3 Activation in BAECs and PA-1 CellsApoptosis was observed using the TUNEL technique in BAECs and PA-1 cells exposed to relatively low concentrations (0.1 to 0.5 µM) of DOX. As shown in Fig. 1A, after incubation with 0.5 µM DOX for 4 h, a significant increase in TUNEL-positive (apoptotic) cells was detected in BAECs. More apoptotic cells were observed with longer incubation times. Although a similar temporal pattern of apoptosis was observed in DOX-treated PA-1 tumor cells, the apoptotic response in PA-1 tumor cells was much lower than that of BAECs.
Next we investigated the effect of DOX on caspase-3 activation, because caspase-3 is an important upstream factor leading to apoptosis (30). Consistent with the TUNEL assay, we found that 0.5 µM DOX caused a significant increase in caspase-3 activation in BAECs and PA-1 cells after incubating for 4 and 8 h, respectively. The activation of caspase-3 increased with increasing incubation time, and the peak activation of caspase-3 was less in PA-1 cells than in BAECs (Fig. 1B). DOX-induced Apoptosis Is p53-independent in BAECs and ARCMs and p53-dependent in PA-1 and MCF-7 CellsFig. 2 shows the results of the luciferase assay for p53 activity measuring the ability of p53 as a transcription factor to regulate the expression of its target genes. BAECs and PA-1 cells, transiently transfected with the p53-luciferase plasmid, were exposed to different concentrations of DOX for 16 h. As shown in Fig. 2A, DOX induced a dose-dependent activation of p53 in BAECs and PA-1 cells, but the peak response was higher in PA-1 cells than in BAECs.
Although similar dose-dependent patterns were found in endothelial cells and tumor cells, the time course of p53 activation induced by DOX was different (Fig. 2B). In BAECs, p53 was not activated until after an 8-h incubation with DOX, which is later than the onset of DOX-induced apoptosis described in Fig. 1A. In contrast, p53 was activated in PA-1 tumor cells starting at 2 h incubation with DOX. There was little or no apoptosis under these conditions (Fig. 1). The distinct differences in the activation profiles of p53 and apoptosis in these cells suggest that DOX-induced apoptosis is p53-independent in endothelial cells but p53-dependent in tumor cells. To further confirm the different roles of p53 (Fig. 2B), a p53 inhibitor, PFT- was used. PFT- blocks p53-dependent transcriptional activation (31). As shown in Fig. 3A, the addition of PFT- abolished p53 activation induced by DOX in both BAECs and PA-1. The inhibition of p53 in BAECs did not decrease the apoptosis; in contrast, it attenuated DOX-induced apoptosis by 50% in PA-1 tumor cells (Fig. 3B).
We also assessed DOX-induced apoptosis in primary cardiomyocytes (ARCMs) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells. Pretreatment with p53 inhibitor significantly decreased caspase-3 activity in DOX-treated MCF-7 cells (Fig. 3C). However, the antiapoptotic effect of PFT- was only marginal in ARCMs treated with DOX. These results indicate that although p53 became activated after DOX treatment in endothelial cells, it does not regulate the apoptotic pathway in BAECs and ARCMs. On the other hand, p53 inhibitor significantly diminished DOX-induced apoptosis in tumor PA-1 and MCF-7 cells. H2O2 Generation in DOX-treated BAECs and PA-1 Cells DOX has been reported to generate ROS in various cells (35, 1820). To investigate the role of oxidative stress in DOX-induced apoptosis, we used carboxy-H2DCFDA, a cell-permeable fluorescent dye, to examine the ROS generation in both types of cells in response to DOX stimulation. Incubation with DOX for 4 h showed a considerable increase in oxidant-induced 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein fluorescence in BAECs but not in PA-1 cells (Fig. 4). H2O2-mediated DCF fluorescence occurred after 2 h incubation with DOX in BAECs and increased in intensity over time; however, in PA-1 cells there was no significant change in DCF fluorescence with DOX treatment (Fig. 4). This suggests that DOX, under these conditions, does not induce intracellular oxidative stress in tumor cells.
Effects of Supplementation with Antioxidants, FeTBAP and GPx-1, on DOX-induced Apoptosis and Caspase-3 ActivationTo further investigate the role of ROS in DOX-induced apoptosis, we used a redox-active metalloporphyrin FeTBAP that was reported to detoxify superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and peroxynitrite (32). Pre-incubation of endothelial cells with 10 µM FeTBAP significantly decreased the DOX-induced p53 activation by 60% but had no appreciable effect on p53 activation in PA-1 cells (Fig. 5A). Treatment with ROS scavenger, FeTBAP, resulted in decreased apoptosis and caspase-3 activation in BAECs and ARCMs (Fig. 5, B and C). In contrast, FeTBAP was not effective in preventing DOX-induced apoptosis in tumor cells PA-1 and MCF-7 cells.
Alternatively, we increased the level of GPx-1, an intracellular enzymatic scavenger of H2O2, by introducing the GPx-1 expression plasmid into the cells (33). In GPx-1-transfected BAECs treated with DOX, a reduction in p53 activation was observed (Fig. 6A). Overexpression of GPx-1 almost completely inhibited the apoptosis induced by DOX (Fig. 6B), and the caspase-3 activity was dramatically decreased with GPx-1 overexpression coincidently (Fig. 6C). On the contrary, the overexpression of GPx-1 did not have any effect on DOX-induced p53 activation, apoptosis, and caspase-3 activity in PA-1 cells (Fig. 6).
These results indicate that both chemical and enzymatic detoxification of H2O2 in BAECs inhibit DOX-induced apoptosis and caspase-3 activation. However, H2O2 does not play an important role in regulating DOX-induced apoptosis in tumor cells.
In this study, we demonstrate that DOX induces apoptosis in normal cell types and tumor cells via different mechanisms. In endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes, DOX induced apoptosis by a H2O2-mediated mechanism and is largely independent of p53 activation. In contrast, p53 tumor suppressor, and not H2O2, plays a crucial role in inducing apoptosis by DOX in tumor cells.
Numerous reports indicate that p53 tumor suppressor protein is important in regulating the apoptosis pathway, but relatively little is known about the role of p53 in apoptosis induced by DOX in endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes. It has been reported that DOX-induced activation of p53 lead to apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and neonatal cardiomyocytes (34, 35). Although the present findings indicate that DOX treatment activates p53, this activation did not play any significant role in the apoptosis process in BAECs and adult cardiomyocytes. This conclusion, albeit contrary to previous reports, is based on the following observations: i) apoptosis in endothelial cells was observed at 4 h after DOX incubation, but significant p53 activation occurred only at 8 h after DOX treatment, and ii) p53 inhibition by PFT-
In contrast to the endothelial cell results, we found that p53 did play an important role in tumor cell apoptosis, as reported previously (13, 14). The activation of p53 in human ovarian teratocarcinoma PA-1 cells occurred before the onset of apoptosis, i.e. 2 h after DOX treatment. p53 inhibitor PFT-
Besides p53, NF- The role of ROS in inducing apoptosis in myocytes and endothelial cells is well established (3, 5, 40, 45). The present study provides additional evidence in support of intracellular H2O2 as a mediator in DOX-induced endothelial apoptosis. Pretreatment with FeTBAP, a cell-permeable metalloporphyrin antioxidant enzyme mimetic, dramatically decreased DOX-induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis in endothelial cells. FeTBAP, a redox-active metalloporphyrin, consists of a redoxactive iron (III) located at the center of a porphyrin ring. Recent reports indicate that FeTBAP is an efficient scavenger of both superoxide and H2O2 and protects cardiomyocytes against DOX-induced apoptosis (32, 45). Transient transfection of BAECs with GPx-1 expression plasmid also resulted in a dramatic reduction of DOX-induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis, suggesting that H2O2 plays a crucial role in DOX-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells. The intermediacy of ROS in apoptotic signal transduction in cancer cells still remains questionable (2025). The present study shows that DOX did not induce H2O2 generation to any significant extent in PA-1 cells. Addition of FeTBAP and over-expression of GPx-1 did not cause any significant effect on p53 activation, caspase-3 activation, and apoptosis by DOX in PA-1 tumor cells. The differential effects of free radical scavengers in DOX-mediated apoptosis in normal and tumor cells are noteworthy. For example, DOX-induced transferrin receptor-mediated uptake of iron mediated through enhanced activation of iron regulatory protein-iron response element interaction was inhibited by antioxidant treatment in endothelial cells but not in tumor cells (46). Results obtained in the present study implicate that in human tumor MCF-7 and PA-1 cells, H2O2 is not involved in p53-dependent apoptosis induced by DOX. In summary, results from the present study strongly suggest that DOX-induced apoptosis occurs through a different signal transduction mechanism in non-transformed cells, such as endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes (H2O2-dependent), as compared with tumor cells (p53-dependent). This difference in mechanism provides a unique strategy for minimizing DOX cardiotoxicity without mitigating its antitumor potential. It is conceivable that transfection of the wild-type p53 into the target tumor cells will sensitize the tumors to DOX treatment.
* This research was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants RO1 CA77822 and PO1 HL68769. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
1 The abbreviations used are: DOX, doxorubicin; ROS, reactive oxygen species; BAEC, bovine aortic endothelial cell; ARCM, adult rat cardiomyocyte; GPx-1, glutathione peroxidase-1; FBS, fetal bovine serum; FeTBAP, Fe(III) tetrakis (4-benzoic acid) porphyrin; PFT-
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