CD95(APO-1/Fas)-mediated apoptosis: live and let die

More than one way to die: apoptosis, necrosis and reactive oxygen damage

Cell death is an essential phenomenon in normal development and homeostasis, but also plays a crucial role in various pathologies. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved has increased exponentially, although it is still far from complete. The morphological features of a cell dying either by apoptosis or by necrosis are remarkably conserved for quite different cell types derived from lower or higher organisms. At the molecular level, several gene products play a similar, crucial role in a major cell death pathway in a worm and in man. However, one should not oversimplify. It is now evident that there are multiple pathways leading to cell death, and some cells may have the required components for one pathway, but not for another, or contain endogenous inhibitors which preclude a particular pathway. Furthermore, different pathways can co-exist in the same cell and are switched on by specific stimuli. Apoptotic cell death, reported to be non-inflammatory, and necrotic cell death, which may be inflammatory, are two extremes, while the real situation is usually more complex. We here review the distinguishing features of the various cell death pathways: caspases (cysteine proteases cleaving after particular aspartate residues), mitochondria and/or reactive oxygen species are often, but not always, key components. As these various caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death pathways are becoming better characterized, we may learn to differentiate them, fill in the many gaps in our understanding, and perhaps exploit the knowledge acquired for clinical benefit.

Nematode Infection Enhances Survival of Activated T Cells by Modulating Accessory Cell Function

The type of immune response generated following exposure to Ag depends on a variety of factors, including the nature of the Ag, the type of adjuvant used, the site of antigenic entry, and the immune status of the host. We have previously shown that infection of rodents with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nb) shifts the development of type 1 allo-specific responses toward type 2 immunity, suggesting nematode modulation of T cell activation. In this report we explore the immunomodulatory effects of Nb on T cell activation. We found that spleen cells from Nb-infected mice exhibited dramatically increased proliferation in response to Con A and anti-CD3. This hyperproliferation could be transferred in vitro to naive splenocytes by coculture with mitomycin C-treated cells from Nb-infected animals. The transfer was mediated by non-T accessory cells and supernatants derived from Con A-activated non-T cells, suggesting the involvement of a soluble factor secreted by accessory cells. The accessory cells secreted high levels of IL-6, and anti-IL-6 treatment abrogated the supernatant-induced hyperproliferation, thus confirming that IL-6 was mediating the effect. Further, spleen cells from Nb-infected mice were more resistant to activation-induced cell death (AICD) following mitogenic stimulation. Reduced AICD was also transferable and IL-6 dependent. Thus, the hyperproliferation was in part due to enhanced activated T cell survival. These phenomena mediated by accessory cells may contribute to the powerful polyclonal activation of type 2 immunity caused by nematode infection.

Immune escape of tumors in vivo by expression of cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein

The antiapoptotic protein cellular FLICE (Fas-associated death domain-like IL-1beta-converting enzyme) inhibitory protein (cFLIP) protects cells from CD95(APO-1/Fas)-induced apoptosis in vitro and was found to be overexpressed in human melanomas. However, cytotoxic T cell-induced apoptosis, which is critically involved in tumor control in vivo, is not inhibited by cFLIP in vitro, as only CD95- and not perforin-dependent lysis is affected. This calls into question whether cFLIP is sufficient to allow escape from T cell-dependent immunity. Using two murine tumors, we directly demonstrate that cFLIP does result in escape from T cell immunity in vivo. Moreover, tumor cells are selected in vivo for elevated cFLIP expression. Therefore, our data indicate that CD95-dependent apoptosis constitutes a more prominent mechanism for tumor clearance than has so far been anticipated and that blockade of this pathway can result in tumor escape even when the perforin pathway is operational.

Negative regulation of erythropoiesis by caspase-mediated cleavage of GATA-1

The production of red blood cells follows the sequential formation of proerythroblasts and basophilic, polychromatophilic and orthochromatic erythroblasts, and is promoted by the hormone erythropoietin (Epo) in response to tissue hypoxia. However, little is known about the negative regulation of this process. Death receptors are a family of surface molecules that trigger caspase activation and apoptosis in a variety of cell types. Here we show that immature erythroid cells express several death receptors whose ligands are produced by mature erythroblasts. Exposure of erythroid progenitors to mature erythroblasts or death-receptor ligands resulted in caspase-mediated degradation of the transcription factor GATA-1, which is associated with impaired erythroblast development. Expression of a caspase-resistant GATA-1 mutant, but not of the wild-type gene, completely restored erythroid expansion and differentiation following the triggering of death receptors, indicating that there is regulatory feedback between mature and immature erythroblasts through caspase-mediated cleavage of GATA-1. Similarly, erythropoiesis blockade following Epo deprivation was largely prevented by the expression of caspase-inhibitory proteins or caspase-resistant GATA-1 in erythroid progenitors. Caspase-mediated cleavage of GATA-1 may therefore represent an important negative control mechanism in erythropoiesis.

Novel Egr/NF-AT composite sites mediate activation of the CD95 (APO-1/Fas) ligand promoter in response to T cell stimulation

Expression of the CD95 (APO-1/Fas) ligand (CD95L) in activated T cells is a major cause of activation-induced T cell apoptosis. The transcription factors NF-AT and Egr-3 (a member of the immediate-early transcription factors involved in cellular growth and differentiation) have been implicated in activation of the CD95L promoter upon T cell activation. On the basis of DNase I footprinting, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, antibody supershift analysis and transfection studies, we have identified two novel Egr-binding sites 5' upstream of the previously identified Egr site. Mutation analysis of each Egr site shows that all three sites are important for full CD95L promoter activity. Strikingly, all Egr sites, including the previously identified Egr site, are adjacent to or overlap with DNA sequences homologous to NF-AT binding sites and confer T cell activation-induced, cyclosporin A-sensitive transcriptional activity. Antibody supershift analysis revealed that NF-AT and Egr proteins are the components of inducible DNA-binding complexes formed on the two novel Egr sites. Cotransfection experiments showed that Egr-1, Egr-3 and NF-AT display a cooperative and synergistic activation of transcription mediated by these three Egr/NF-AT composite regulatory elements. These findings provide further insight into the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the CD95L expression in response to T cell activation.

The Fas ligand/Fas system in renal injury

The FasL-Fas system regulates renal cell apoptosis, as well as the immune and inflammatory responses. Evidence that FasL and Fas participate in renal injury may be summarized along modified Koch's postulates (Table 1): (i) FasL is expressed by renal cells and during renal injury, (ii) activation of the Fas receptor promotes apoptosis of cultured renal cells, (iii) Fas agonists induce glomerular injury but they may also decrease renal injury by limiting injurious immunological responses, (iv) mice with disrupted FasL/Fas systems are protected from tubular cell injury during ischaemia reperfusion, although they develop autoimmune glomerulonephritis if other genetic predisposing factors are present. FasL/Fas must be considered a new target for therapeutic intervention in renal injury. Therapeutic modulation of Fas should aim not only at protecting intrinsic glomerular or tubular epithelial cells from death, but also at modulating the immune, inflammatory, and fibrogenic responses. Possible therapeutic interventions include Fas agonists, soluble Fas receptors, or other antagonists, and targetting of Fas to undesired cells, such as fibroblasts, in order to decrease their numbers in a physiological manner through apoptosis. Any therapeutic attempt should carefully take into account the possible effects of interference with Fas in other 1833 cell systems. Given the complexities of the FasL/Fas system, further studies are warranted.