Following exposure to some types of antigen (superantigens), responsive T cells expand and then decline in numbers, a phenomenon that has been called 'peripheral deletion'. This process may play a role in limiting autoimmune reactions and in the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Here we describe experiments on peripheral deletion in mice carrying the lpr/lpr defect, which has been shown to be due to defective production of the CD95/Fas molecule. Young lpr/lpr mice with no apparent immunologic abnormalities display a defect in bacterial superantigen-induced peripheral deletion. Apoptotic death of the expanded T cell population associated with such peripheral deletion. Apoptotic death of the expanded T cell population associated with such peripheral deletion in normal animals is dramatically reduced in the mutant mice. Further, the levels of Fas on responding cells in normal mice increases and decreases together with increases and decreases in cell numbers, suggesting that cells with the highest levels of Fas are preferentially deleted. These observations are consistent with the known ability of CD95 to transduce a signal leading to apoptosis, and they implicate this signal transduction pathway in peripheral deletion. In contrast, bacterial superantigen-induced deletion of thymocytes appears to be fully functional in these mice, and thus Fas/APO-1 does not appear to be required for this process. Further, antibody ligation of the TCR on activated T cells from normal or young lpr/lpr mice can induce apoptosis and therefore under some circumstances this phenomenon is not dependent upon CD95/Fas. Thus, to avoid autoreactivity and ensure immune homeostasis, several different apoptotic mechanisms exist in peripheral T lymphocytes, only some of which involve Fas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Infection with measles virus induces a transient immunosuppression, which occasionally results in fatal opportunistic infections. To obtain fundamental information about the mechanism, we examined peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from acute measles patients aged from infants to 35 years old, obtained at various times from incubation periods to 103 days after onset of rash, for the number of lymphocyte subsets by flowcytometry. The data were analyzed for relationships between aging of the patients and the severity of immunosuppression. In classical measles cases, infected lymphocytes detected as a minor population during the incubation period disappeared soon after onset of rash, whereas in the cases of serious illness, the infected cells persisted longer after the rash. At the onset of rash, remarkable lymphopenia had already occurred in all measles cases with reduction in cell numbers of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, neutrophils, and monocytes. In contrast, natural killer (NK) cells were increased in number and activated, which might be a response compensatory for the lymphopenia. Apoptosis-associated molecules such as CD95(Fas) and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-receptor (TRAIL-R) were highly expressed on the cell surface of most surviving non-infected lymphocytes, and DNA fragmentation was also observed upon incubation in vitro. These results suggested that the profound lymphopenia was primarily due to extended death of non-infected blood cells caused by apoptosis. The severity and duration of the lumphopenia were age-dependent; less severe in young children whereas much severer in infants under one year of age as well as adolescents and adults. From these results, it was suggested that remarkable lymphopenia due to apoptosis of uninfected cells is one of the principal causes for immunosuppression induced by measles virus infection, and is correlated with the age-dependent severity of the disease.

Injury to the central nervous system initiates an uncontrolled inflammatory response that results in both tissue repair and destruction. Here, we showed that, in rodents and humans, injury to the spinal cord triggered surface expression of CD95 ligand (CD95L, FasL) on peripheral blood myeloid cells. CD95L stimulation of CD95 on these cells activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) via recruitment and activation of Syk kinase, ultimately leading to increased migration. Exclusive CD95L deletion in myeloid cells greatly decreased the number of neutrophils and macrophages infiltrating the injured spinal cord or the inflamed peritoneum after thioglycollate injection. Importantly, deletion of myeloid CD95L, but not of CD95 on neural cells, led to functional recovery of spinal injured animals. Our results indicate that CD95L acts on peripheral myeloid cells to induce tissue damage. Thus, neutralization of CD95L should be considered as a means to create a controlled beneficial inflammatory response.

Caspase-8 plays an essential role in apoptosis triggered by death receptors. Through the cleavage of Bid, a proapoptotic Bcl-2 member, it further activates the mitochondrial cytochrome c/Apaf-1 pathway. Because caspase-8 can be processed also by anticancer drugs independently of death receptors, we investigated its exact role and order in the caspase cascade. We show that in Jurkat cells either deficient for caspase-8 or overexpressing its inhibitor c-FLIP apoptosis mediated by CD95, but not by anticancer drugs was inhibited. In the absence of active caspase-8, anticancer drugs still induced the processing of caspase-9, -3 and Bid, indicating that Bid cleavage does not require caspase-8. Overexpression of Bcl-x(L) prevented the processing of caspase-8 as well as caspase-9, -6 and Bid in response to drugs, but was less effective in CD95-induced apoptosis. Similar responses were observed by overexpression of a dominant-negative caspase-9 mutant. To further determine the order of caspase-8 activation, we employed MCF7 cells lacking caspase-3. In contrast to caspase-9 that was cleaved in these cells, anticancer drugs induced caspase-8 activation only in caspase-3 transfected MCF7 cells. Thus, our data indicate that, unlike its proximal role in receptor signaling, in the mitochondrial pathway caspase-8 rather functions as an amplifying executioner caspase.

Using homology searches, we identified a novel human inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) gene. This gene has two splicing variants that contain open reading frames of 298 and 280 amino acids and both contained a single copy of baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) and RING domain. We refer here to the longer and shorter variants as Livin alpha and beta, respectively. Semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction demonstrated a tissue-specific and non-correlated expression pattern in both adult and fetal tissues. Both mRNA variants were detected in various transformed cell lines. Despite their very close similarity, the two isoforms have different antiapoptotic properties. Both isoforms have a significant antiapoptotic activity in the Jurkat T cell line after triggering apoptosis via tumor necrosis factor and CD95 receptors. The Livin alpha but not beta protects cells from apoptosis induced by staurosporine, but in contrast, apoptosis initiated by etoposide was blocked only by the beta isoform. This difference in biological activities may indicate the presence of critical amino acids outside the BIR and RING domains. These functional and tissue distribution differences of Livin alpha and beta suggest that Livin may play a complex role in the regulation of apoptosis.

Antigen receptor engagement on T lymphocytes activates transcription factors important for stimulating cytokine gene expression. This is critical for clonal expansion of antigen-specific T cells and propagation of immune responses. Additionally, under some conditions antigen receptor stimulation initiates apoptosis of T lymphocytes through the induced expression of CD95 ligand and its receptor. Here we demonstrate that the transcription factor, NFAT, which is critical for the inducible expression of many cytokine genes, also plays a critical role in the regulation of T cell receptor-mediated CD95 ligand expression. Two sites within the CD95 ligand promoter, identified through DNase I footprinting, bind NFAT proteins from nuclear extracts of activated T cells. Although both sites appear important for optimal expression of CD95 ligand in activated T cells, mutational analysis suggests that the distal NFAT site plays a more significant role. Furthermore, these sites do not appear to be required for constitutive CD95 ligand expression in Sertoli cells.

Apoptosis signaling through CD95 (Fas/APO-1) involves aggregation and clustering of the receptor followed by its actin-dependent internalization. Internalization is required for efficient formation of the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) with maximal recruitment of FADD, caspase-8/10 and c-FLIP occurring when the receptor has reached an endosomal compartment. The first detectable event during CD95 signaling is the formation of SDS-stable aggregates likely reflecting intense oligomerization of the receptor. We now demonstrate that these SDS-stable forms of CD95 correspond to very high molecular weight DISC complexes (hiDISC) and are the sites of caspase-8 activation. hiDISCs are found both inside and outside of detergent-resistant membranes. The formation of SDS-stable CD95 aggregates involves palmitoylation of the membrane proximal cysteine 199 in CD95. Cysteine 199 mutants no longer form SDS-stable aggregates, and inhibition of palmitoylation reduces internalization of CD95 and activation of caspase-8. Our data demonstrate that SDS-stable forms of CD95 are the sites of apoptosis initiation and represent an important early step in apoptosis signaling through CD95 before activation of caspases.

Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) are reported to inhibit CD95-mediated apoptosis in "type II" but not in "type I" cells. In the present studies, we found that stimulation of CD95 receptors, with either agonistic antibody or CD95 ligand, resulted in the activation of caspase-8, which in turn processed caspase-3 between its large and small subunits. However, in contrast to control cells, those overexpressing either Bcl-2 or Bcl-x(L) displayed a distinctive pattern of caspase-3 processing. Indeed, the resulting p20/p12 caspase-3 was not active and did not undergo normal autocatalytic processing to form p17/p12 caspase-3, because it was bound to and inhibited by endogenous X-linked inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein (XIAP). Importantly, Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) inhibited the release of both cytochrome c and Smac from mitochondria. However, since Smac alone was sufficient to promote caspase-3 activity in vitro by inactivating XIAP, we proposed the existence of a death receptor-induced, Smac-dependent and apoptosome-independent pathway. This type II pathway was subsequently reconstituted in vitro using purified recombinant proteins at endogenous concentrations. Thus, mitochondria and associated Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) proteins may play a functional role in death receptor-induced apoptosis by modulating the release of Smac. Our data strongly suggest that the relative ratios of XIAP (and other inhibitor-of-apoptosis proteins) to active caspase-3 and Smac may dictate, in part, whether a cell exhibits a type I or type II phenotype.

We examined whether the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI) interact to kill pancreatic carcinoma cells and determined the impact of inhibiting BCL-2 family function on sorafenib and HDACI lethality. The lethality of sorafenib was enhanced in pancreatic tumor cells in a synergistic fashion by pharmacologically achievable concentrations of the HDACIs vorinostat or sodium valproate. Overexpression of cellular FLICE-like inhibitory protein (c-FLIP-s) or knockdown of CD95 suppressed the lethality of the sorafenib/HDACI combination (sorafenib + HDACI). In immunohistochemical analyses or using expression of fluorescence-tagged proteins, treatment with sorafenib and vorinostat together (sorafenib + vorinostat) promoted colocalization of CD95 with caspase 8 and CD95 association with the endoplasmic reticulum markers calnexin, ATG5, and Grp78/BiP. In cells lacking CD95 expression or in cells expressing c-FLIP-s, the lethality of sorafenib + HDACI exposure was abolished and was restored when cells were coexposed to BCL-2 family inhibitors [ethyl [2-amino-6-bromo-4-(1-cyano-2-ethoxy-2-oxoethyl)]-4H-chromene-3-carboxylate (HA14-1), obatoclax (GX15-070)]. Knockdown of BCL-2, BCL-XL, and MCL-1 recapitulated the effects of GX15-070 treatment. Knockdown of BAX and BAK modestly reduced sorafenib + HDACI lethality but abolished the effects of GX15-070 treatment. Sorafenib + HDACI exposure generated a CD95- and Beclin1-dependent protective form of autophagy, whereas GX15-070 treatment generated a Beclin1-dependent toxic form of autophagy. The potentiation of sorafenib + HDACI killing by GX15-070 was suppressed by knockdown of Beclin1 or of BAX + BAK. Our data demonstrate that pancreatic tumor cells are susceptible to sorafenib + HDACI lethality and that in tumor cells unable to signal death from CD95, use of a BCL-2 family antagonist facilitates sorafenib + HDACI killing via autophagy and the intrinsic pathway.

The adapter molecule Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD)/mediator of receptor-induced toxicity-1 (MORT1) is essential for signal transduction of the apoptosis-inducing receptor CD95 (APO-1/Fas) as it connects the activated receptor with the effector caspase-8. FADD also plays a role in embryonic development and the cell cycle reentry of T cells. FADD is phosphorylated at serine residues. We now show that phosphorylation exclusively occurs at serine 194. The phosphorylation of FADD was found to correlate with the cell cycle. In cells arrested at the G2/M boundary with nocodazole, FADD was quantitatively phosphorylated, whereas only nonphosphorylated FADD was found in cells arrested in G1/S with hydroxyurea. In this context, we have identified a 70-kDa cell cycle-regulated kinase that specifically binds to the C-terminal half of FADD. Because CD95-mediated apoptosis is independent of the cell cycle, phosphorylation of FADD may regulate its apoptosis-independent functions.

Depending on the duration and severity, psychological tension and physical stress can enhance or suppress the immune system in both humans and animals. Although it is well established that stress alters the release of various hormones and neurotransmitters, the mechanisms by which stress affects immune responses remain elusive. We report here that mice subjected to chronic 12-hour daily physical restraint for two days exhibited a significant reduction in splenocytes, a process likely mediated by apoptosis as demonstrated by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling assay. CD95 (Fas/APO-1) expression in splenic lymphocytes of stressed mice was substantially increased. Interestingly, Fas-immunoglobulin fusion protein and blocking antibodies against CD95 ligand inhibit stress-induced reduction in lymphocytes. The stress-induced changes in CD95 expression and lymphocyte number could be blocked by naltrexone or naloxone, specific opioid receptor antagonists, indicating a pivotal role of endogenous opioids in this process. In addition, the reduction of splenocytes in this model system seems to be independent of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, as both adrenalectomized and sham-operated mice exhibited similar responses to chronic stress. Moreover, chronic physical restraint failed to induce a decrease in lymphocyte numbers in CD95-deficient (Fas(lpr/lpr)) mice. Therefore, stress modulates the immune system through CD95-mediated apoptosis dependent on endogenous opioids.

The Fas system, comprising the Fas receptor (Fas, CD95, APO-1) and its ligand, Fas ligand (FasL), is a central mediator of programmed cell death in various physiological and pathological processes. Recent evidence indicated that tumor cells can exploit this system to their benefit in the dialogue with the host immune system. We have shown that all human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines tested by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis (6 of 6) and immunocytochemistry (12 of 12) were positive for Fas expression, as were normal and malignant duct cells in pancreatic tissue sections. However, despite Fas expression, pancreatic tumor cells have become largely resistant toward recombinant FasL- or anti-APO-1 agonistic antibody-induced apoptosis. This resistance correlated with high levels in pancreatic tumor cells of mRNA for FAP-1, a Fas-associated phosphatase that can block the apoptotic function of Fas. Using a variety of methodological approaches, we also present evidence for the production of FasL by pancreatic tumor cells because 6 of 6 pancreatic tumor cell lines were found to contain FasL mRNA as well as the Mr 40,000 and Mr 26,000 forms of the FasL protein. Likewise, pancreatic tissue revealed FasL-specific immunostaining in pancreatic tumor cells but not in the surrounding stroma. In coculture experiments, pancreatic tumor cells displayed a cytotoxic effect toward the Fas-sensitive Jurkat T-cell line, which could be inhibited by a FasL-specific neutralizing antibody. Together, these results support the recently proposed "counterattack model" for local deletion of tumor-reactive T-cells by tumor cell-derived FasL.

CD95 (Fas)-induced apoptosis plays a critical role in the elimination of activated lymphocytes and induction of peripheral tolerance. Defects in CD95/CD95L (Fas-Ligand)-apoptotic pathway have been recognized in autoimmune lymphoproliferative diseases (ALPS) and lpr or gld mice and attributed to CD95 and CD95L gene mutations, respectively. Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia is a chronic disease characterized by a proliferation of antigen-activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Autoimmune features such as hypergammaglobulinemia, rheumatoid factor, and circulating immune complexes are common features in LGL leukemia and ALPS. Therefore, we hypothesize that expansion of leukemic LGL may be secondary to a defective CD95 apoptotic pathway. In this study, we investigated expression of CD95 and CD95L in 11 patients with CD3(+) LGL leukemia and explored the apoptotic response to agonistic CD95 monoclonal antibody (MoAb). We found that leukemic LGL from each patient expressed constitutively high levels of CD95/CD95L, similar to those seen in normal activated T cells. However, cells from 9 of these 11 patients were totally resistant to anti-CD95-induced apoptosis. Similarly, cells were resistant to anti-CD3-MoAb-triggered cell death. Lack of anti-CD95-induced apoptosis was not due to mutations in the CD95 antigen. Leukemic LGL were not intrinsically resistant to CD95-dependent death, because LGL from all but 1 patient underwent apoptosis after phytohemagglutinin/interleukin-2 activation. The patient whose leukemic LGL were intrinsically resistant to CD95 had an aggressive form of LGL leukemia that was resistant to combination chemotherapy. These findings that leukemic LGL are resistant to CD95-dependent apoptosis despite expressing high levels of CD95 are similar to observations made in CD95L transgenic mice. These data suggest that LGL leukemia may be a useful model of dysregulated apoptosis causing human malignancy and autoimmune disease.

Cellular resistance to multiple proapoptotic stimuli and invasion of surrounding brain tissue by migrating tumor cells are main obstacles to an effective therapy for human malignant glioma. Here, we report that the Wnt family of embryonic differentiation genes modulate growth of malignant glioma cells in vitro and in vivo and inhibit cellular migration in vitro. sFRPs (soluble Frizzled-related proteins) are soluble proteins that bind to Wnt and interfere with Wnt signaling. We find that sFRP-1 and sFRP-2 are produced by the majority of longterm and ex vivo malignant glioma cell lines. Glioma cells that ectopically express sFRPs exhibit increased clonogenicity and enhanced resistance to serum starvation. In contrast, sFRPs do not modulate glioma cell susceptibility to apoptosis induced by the cytotoxic cytokines, CD95 (Fas/APO-1) ligand (CD95L) or Apo2 ligand/tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (Apo2L/TRAIL), or various cytotoxic drugs. sFRP-2 strongly promotes the growth of intracranial glioma xenografts in nude mice. In contrast, enhanced expression of sFRPs inhibits the motility of glioma cells in vitro. sFRP-mediated effects on glioma cells are accompanied by decreased expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and decreased tyrosine phosphorylation of beta-catenin. Thus, sFRPs promote survival under non-supportive conditions and inhibit the migration of glioma cells. We suggest that the regulation of these cellular processes involves expression of MMP-2 and tyrosine phosphorylation of beta-catenin. These data support a function for Wnt signaling and its modulation by sFRPs in the biology of human gliomas. Oncogene (2000) 19, 4210 - 4220

Adult neurogenesis persists in the subventricular zone and the dentate gyrus and can be induced upon central nervous system injury. However, the final contribution of newborn neurons to neuronal networks is limited. Here we show that in neural stem cells, stimulation of the "death receptor" CD95 does not trigger apoptosis but unexpectedly leads to increased stem cell survival and neuronal specification. These effects are mediated via activation of the Src/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, ultimately leading to a global increase in protein translation. Induction of neurogenesis by CD95 was further confirmed in the ischemic CA1 region, in the naive dentate gyrus, and after forced expression of CD95L in the adult subventricular zone. Lack of hippocampal CD95 resulted in a reduction in neurogenesis and working memory deficits. Following global ischemia, CD95-mediated brain repair rescued behavioral impairment. Thus, we identify the CD95/CD95L system as an instructive signal for ongoing and injury-induced neurogenesis.

The activation of caspase-8, a crucial upstream mediator of death receptor signaling, was investigated in epirubicin- and Taxol-induced apoptosis of B-lymphoma cells. This study was performed because the CD95/Fas receptor-ligand interaction, recruitment of the Fas-associated death domain (FADD) adaptor protein, and subsequent activation of procaspase-8 have been implicated in the execution of drug-induced apoptosis in other cell types. Indeed, active caspase-8 was readily detected after treatment of mature and immature B-lymphoid cells with epirubicin or Taxol. However, neither constitutive nor drug-induced expression of the CD95/Fas ligand was detectable in B-lymphoma cells. Furthermore, overexpression of a dominant-negative FADD mutant (FADDdn) did not block caspase-8 processing and subsequent DNA fragmentation, indicating that drug-induced caspase-8 activation was mediated by a CD95/Fas-independent mechanism. Instead, caspase-8 cleavage was slightly preceded by activation of caspase-3, suggesting that drug-induced caspase-8 activation in B-lymphoma cells is a downstream event mediated by other caspases. This assumption was confirmed in 2 experimental systems-zDEVD-fmk, a cell-permeable inhibitor of caspase-3-like activity, blocked drug-induced caspase-8 cleavage, and depletion of caspase-3 from cell extracts impaired caspase-8 cleavage after in vitro activation with dATP and cytochrome c. Thus, these data indicate that drug-induced caspase-8 activation in B-lymphoma cells is independent of death receptor signaling and is mediated by postmitochondrial caspase-3 activation.

Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) is a member of the sirtuin family of NAD+-dependent deacetylases. Genetic deletion of Sirt6 in mice results in a severe degenerative phenotype with impaired liver function and premature death. The role of SIRT6 in development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma is currently unknown. We first investigated SIRT6 expression in 153 primary human liver cancers and in normal and cirrhotic livers using microarray analysis. SIRT6 was significantly down-regulated in both cirrhotic livers and cancer. A Sirt6 knockout (KO) gene expression signature was generated from primary hepatoctyes isolated from 3-week-old Sirt6-deficient animals. Sirt6-deficient hepatocytes showed up-regulation of established hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) biomarkers alpha-fetoprotein (Afp), insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2), H19, and glypican-3. Furthermore, decreased SIRT6 expression was observed in hepatoma cell lines that are known to be apoptosis-insensitive. Re-expression of SIRT6 in HepG2 cells increased apoptosis sensitivity to CD95-stimulation or chemotherapy treatment. Loss of Sirt6 was characterized by oncogenic changes, such as global hypomethylation, as well as metabolic changes, such as hypoglycemia and increased fat deposition. The hepatocyte-specific Sirt6-KO signature had a prognostic impact and was enriched in patients with poorly differentiated tumors with high AFP levels as well as recurrent disease. Finally, we demonstrated that the Sirt6-KO signature possessed a predictive value for tumors other than HCC (e.g., breast and lung cancer).

CONCLUSIONS

Loss of SIRT6 induces epigenetic changes that may be relevant to chronic liver disease and HCC development. Down-regulation of SIRT6 and genes dysregulated by loss of SIRT6 possess oncogenic effects in hepatocarcinogenesis. Our data demonstrate that deficiency in one epigenetic regulator predisposes a tumorigenic phenotype that ultimately has relevance for outcome of HCC and other cancer patients.

Available evidence from a multitude of studies on the effects of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) on cellular processes seem to converge on some common themes: (i) concentration-dependent opposing effects of HNE on key signaling components (e.g. protein kinase C, adenylate cyclase) predict that certain constitutive levels of HNE may be needed for normal cell functions - lowering of this constitutive HNE level in cells promotes proliferative machinery while an increase in this level promotes apoptotic signaling; (ii) HNE is a common denominator in stress-induced apoptosis caused by H(2)O(2), superoxide, UV, heat or oxidant chemicals such as doxorubicin; and (iii) HNE can modulate ligand-independent signaling by membrane receptors such as EGFR or Fas (CD95) and may act as a sensor of external stimuli for eliciting stress-response. Against a backdrop of various reported effects of HNE, in vitro and in vivo, we have critically evaluated the above mentioned hypotheses suggesting a key role of HNE in signaling.

The development of new drugs able to directly activate the apoptotic machinery in tumors is a promising approach in the treatment of cancer as it is independent of sensors and checkpoints, which are frequently mutated in cancer hampering current anti-proliferative chemotherapy. The Fas death receptor (CD95 or APO-1) conveys apoptotic signals through binding to its cognate ligand, FasL (CD95L). Unfortunately, the putative clinical antitumor action of FasL cannot be realized because of severe liver toxicity due to the high presence of Fas in hepatocytes. However, recent evidence for FasL-independent activation of Fas suggests that the death receptor can also be activated intracellularly, in the absence of its ligand. Unraveling the mechanisms that underlie the intracellular activation of Fas can provide the basis for novel therapeutic strategies and for the development of new compounds able to exploit cytoplasmic triggers of apoptosis. This is of importance in apoptosis-deficient disorders such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. Fas-mediated apoptosis involves translocation of Fas--and downstream signaling molecules--into lipid rafts, a process that can be pharmacologically modulated. FasL-independent clustering of Fas in membrane rafts generates high local concentrations of death receptor providing scaffolds for coupling adaptor and effector proteins involved in Fas-mediated apoptosis. Thus, lipid rafts act as the linchpin from which a potent death signal is launched, becoming a new promising anticancer target. These findings set a novel framework for the development of more targeted therapies leading to intracellular Fas activation and recruitment of downstream signaling molecules into Fas-enriched lipid rafts.

Apoptosis in response to cellular stress such as treatment with cytotoxic drugs is mediated by effector caspases (caspase-3) which can be activated by different initiator pathways. Here, we report on a cell type specific triggering of death receptor and/or mitochondrial pathways upon drug treatment. In type I cells (BJAB), both the receptor and the mitochondrial pathway were activated upon drug treatment, since blockade of either the receptor pathway by overexpression of dominant negative FADD (FADD-DN) or of the mitochondrial pathway by overexpression of Bcl-X(L) only partially inhibited apoptosis. Drug treatment induced formation of a FADD- and caspase-8-containing CD95 death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) in type I cells resulting in activation of caspase-8 as the most apical caspase. In contrast, in type II cells (Jurkat), apoptosis was predominantly controlled by mitochondria, since overexpression of Bcl-2 completely blocked drug-induced apoptosis, while overexpression of FADD-DN had no protective effect. In these cells, caspases including caspase-8 were activated by mitochondria-driven signaling events and no DISC was detected despite expression levels of CD95, FADD and caspase-8 proteins comparable to type I cells. Likewise, drug-induced CD95 aggregation was predominantly found in type I cells. Bid was cleaved prior to mitochondrial alterations in type I cells providing a molecular link between caspase-8 activation and mitochondrial perturbations, whereas in type II cells, Bid was cleaved downstream of mitochondria. Our findings of a cell type specific response to cytotoxic drugs have implications for the identification of molecular parameters for chemosensitivity or resistance in different tumor cells.

The early signals generated following cross-linking of Fas/APO-1, a transmembrane receptor whose engagement by ligand results in apoptosis induction, were investigated in human HuT78 lymphoma cells. Fas/APO-1 cross-linking by mAbs resulted in membrane sphingomyelin hydrolysis and ceramide generation by the action of both neutral and acidic sphingomyelinases. Activation of a phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) was also detected which appeared to be a requirement for subsequent acidic sphingomyelinase (aSMase) activation, since PC-PLC inhibitor D609 blocked Fas/APO-1-induced aSMase activation, but not Fas/APO-1-induced neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase) activation. Fas/APO-1 cross-linking resulted also in ERK-2 activation and in phospholipase A2 (PLA2) induction, independently of the PC-PLC/aSMase pathway. Evidence for the existence of a pathway directly involved in apoptosis was obtained by selecting HuT78 mutant clones spontaneously expressing a newly identified death domain-defective Fas/APO-1 splice isoform which blocks Fas/APO-1 apoptotic signalling in a dominant negative fashion. Fas/APO-1 cross-linking in these clones fails to activate PC-PLC and aSMase, while nSMase, ERK-2 and PLA2 activates are induced. These results strongly suggest that a PC-PLC/aSMase pathway contributes directly to the propagation of Fas/APO-1-generated apoptotic signal in lymphoid cells.

This study describes Fas (CD95) expression in Barrett's esophagus, adenocarcinomas of the esophagus, and three esophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines. Immunohistochemical analysis of Barrett's esophagus demonstrated cell surface expression of Fas protein. In contrast, 30.5% of esophageal adenocarcinomas examined by immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated faint cytoplasmic staining, and 69.5% were negative for Fas. Similar levels of Fas mRNA were identified in tumors compared to mRNA levels in esophageal squamous mucosa or Barrett's esophagus. An approximately Mr 48,000 Fas protein was identified by Western blot analysis in tumors that were negative for Fas expression by immunohistochemical analysis. The esophageal adenocarcinoma cell line Seg-1 was negative for Fas expression by immunohistochemical analysis, but Western blot analysis demonstrated abundant, appropriately sized Fas protein. In agreement with the immunohistochemical analysis, flow cytometry of Seg-1 showed minimal amounts of Fas on the cell surface, which correlated with resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis. No mutations in the Seg-1 Fas coding sequence or exon 1 were identified by sequence analysis. This was confirmed by transient transfection of COS cells with expression vectors generated from the Seg-1 Fas cDNA, which resulted in cell surface expression of the Fas protein. Stable transfection of Seg-1 with a Fas expression vector did not result in efficient Fas expression on the cell surface. Seg-1 cells, transiently transfected with a Fas-FLAG expression vector and examined for protein expression using confocal microscopy and an anti-FLAG antibody, showed that the Fas-FLAG protein was not present on the cell surface but was present in the cytoplasm. Taken together, these results indicate that expression of Fas on the cell surface by esophageal adenocarcinoma is reduced. In an esophageal adenocarcinoma cell line, wild-type Fas protein is retained in the cytoplasm, and this correlates with resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis. The retention of wild-type Fas protein within the cytoplasm may represent a mechanism by which malignant cells evade Fas-mediated apoptosis.

The beta-cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans are the targets of autoreactive T-cells and are destroyed in type 1 diabetes. Macrophage-derived interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is important in eliciting beta-cell dysfunction and initiating beta-cell damage in response to microenvironmental changes within islets. In particular, IL-1beta can impair glucose-stimulated insulin production in beta-cells in vitro and can sensitize them to Fas (CD95)/FasL-triggered apoptosis. In this report, we have examined the ability to block the detrimental effects of IL-1beta by genetically modifying islets by adenoviral gene transfer to express the IL-1 receptor antagonist protein. We demonstrate that adenoviral gene delivery of the cDNA encoding the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IL-1Ra) to cultured islets results in protection of human islets in vitro against IL-1beta-induced nitric oxide formation, impairment in glucose-stimulated insulin production, and Fas-triggered apoptosis activation. Our results further support the hypothesis that IL-1beta antagonism in in situ may prevent intra-islet proinsulitic inflammatory events and may allow for an in vivo gene therapy strategy to prevent insulitis and the consequent pathogenesis of diabetes.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), also known as Apo2L, is a member of the TNF superfamily (TNFSF) of cytokines. TRAIL gained much attention during the past decade due to the demonstration of its therapeutic potential as a tumor-specific apoptosis inducer. TRAIL was identified as a protein with high homology to other members of the TNF cytokine family, especially to the ligand of Fas/Apo-1 (CD95), CD95L (FasL/APO-1L). TRAIL has been shown to induce apoptosis selectively in many tumor cell lines without affecting normal cells and tissues, making TRAIL itself as well as agonists of the two human receptors of TRAIL which can submit an apoptotic signal, TRAIL-R1 (DR4) and TRAIL-R2 (DR5), promising novel biotherapeutics for cancer therapy. An increasing number of publications now shows that TRAIL resistance in primary human tumor cells will have to be overcome and that sensitization to TRAIL-induced apoptosis will be required in many cases. Therefore, it will also be instrumental to develop suitable diagnostic tests to identify patients who will benefit from TRAIL-based novel anticancer therapeutics and those who will not. Interestingly, the first clinical results even in monotherapy with TRAIL as well as various agonistic TRAIL receptor-specific antibodies have shown encouraging results. This chapter provides a compact overview on the biochemistry of the TRAIL/TRAIL-R system, the physiological role of TRAIL and its receptors and the results of clinical trials with TRAIL and various TRAIL-R agonistic antibodies.