Zinc Induces Expression of the BH3-only Protein PUMA Through p53 and ERK Pathways in SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells

Sublethal treatment with plasma-activated medium induces senescence-like growth arrest of A549 cells: involvement of intracellular mobile zinc

Plasma-activated medium (PAM) is a solution produced by exposing a liquid medium to non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP). A number of reactive molecules, such as reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, are contained in PAM. Therefore, exposure to high doses of PAM results in cell death. We previously demonstrated that intracellular zinc (Zn²⁺) serves as an important mediator in PAM-induced cell death; however, the effects of sublethal treatment with PAM on cell functions are not fully understood. In the present study, we found that sublethal PAM treatment suppressed cell proliferation and induced senescence-like changes in lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. Cell cycle analysis revealed that PAM induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. PAM increased the level of intracellular free Zn²⁺ and the Zn²⁺ chelator TPEN counteracted PAM-induced growth suppression, suggesting that Zn²⁺ functions in PAM-induced growth suppression. In addition, sublethal treatment with PAM induced phosphorylation of ATM kinase, accumulation of p53 protein, and expression of p21 and GADD45A, which are known p53 target genes, in a Zn²⁺-dependent manner. These results suggest that the induction of growth arrest and cellular senescence by sublethal PAM treatment is mediated by Zn²⁺-dependent activation of the ATM/p53 pathway.

Zinc regulates expression of IL-23 p19 mRNA via activation of eIF2α/ATF4 axis in HAPI cells

Zinc (Zn(2+)) is considered to be one of the factors aggravating brain damage after cerebral ischemia. Since Zn(2+) activates microglia, immune cells in the brain, this metal is proposed to modulate neuroinflammatory responses in the post-ischemic brain. Interleukin (IL)-23 is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of the p19 subunit unique to IL-23 and the p40 subunit common to IL-12. IL-23 has been shown to play a critical role in the progression of ischemic brain injury. However, whether Zn(2+) participates in the expression of IL-23 in microglia remains unknown. In this study, we examined the effect of Zn(2+) on IL-23 p19 mRNA expression using rat immortalized microglia HAPI cells. Exposure to Zn(2+) dose- and time-dependently induced the expression of IL-23 p19 mRNA in HAPI cells. Inhibitors of MAPK and NF-κB pathways failed to suppress this induction. Interestingly, we found that Zn(2+) stimulated the phosphorylation of eIF2α and promoted the nuclear accumulation of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4). Treatment with salubrinal, an eIF2α dephosphorylation inhibitor, enhanced Zn(2+)-induced ATF4 accumulation and IL-23 p19 mRNA expression. In addition, reporter assay using the IL-23 p19 promoter region revealed that ATF4 directly transactivated IL-23 p19 promoter and that dominant-negative ATF4 suppressed Zn(2+)-induced activation of IL-23 p19 promoter. Taken together, these findings suggest that Zn(2+) up-regulates expression of the IL-23 p19 gene via the eIF2α/ATF4 axis in HAPI cells.

Zinc preconditioning protects against neuronal apoptosis through the mitogen-activated protein kinase-mediated induction of heat shock protein 70

During brain ischemic preconditioning (PC), mild bursts of ischemia render neurons resistant to subsequent strong ischemic injuries. Previously, we reported that zinc plays a key role in PC-induced neuroprotection in vitro and in vivo. Zinc-triggered p75(NTR) induction transiently activates caspase-3, which cleaves poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1). Subsequently, the PARP-1 over-activation-induced depletion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))/adenosine triphosphate (ATP) after exposures to lethal doses of zinc or N-methyl-D-aspartate is significantly attenuated in cortical neuronal cultures. In the present study, zinc-mediated preconditioning (Zn PC) reduced apoptotic neuronal death that was caused by N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN), etoposide, or staurosporine in mouse cortical cells. We focused on heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) because NAD(+)/ATP depletion does not directly cause apoptosis, and HSP70 can inhibit the activation of caspase-9 or caspase-3 by preventing apoptosome formation or cytochrome C release. Zn PC-mediated HSP70 induction was required for neuroprotection against neuronal apoptosis, and geldanamycin-induced HSP70 induction sufficiently blocked neuronal apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, Zn PC-mediated HSP70 induction was blocked by chemical inhibitors of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) or p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, but not c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase. Similarly, neuroprotection by Zn PC against TPEN-induced apoptosis was almost completely reversed by the blockade of ERK or p38 MAPK signaling. Our findings suggest that the ERK- or p38 MAPK-mediated induction of HSP70 plays a key role in inhibiting caspase-3 activation during Zn PC.

Zinc-induced modulation of SRSF6 activity alters Bim splicing to promote generation of the most potent apoptotic isoform BimS

Bim is a member of the pro-apoptotic BH3-only Bcl-2 family of proteins. Bim gene undergoes alternative splicing to produce three predominant splicing variants (BimEL, BimL and BimS). The smallest variant BimS is the most potent inducer of apoptosis. Zinc (Zn(2+)) has been reported to stimulate apoptosis in various cell types. In this study, we examined whether Zn(2+) affects the expression of Bim in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Zn(2+) triggered alterations in Bim splicing and induced preferential generation of BimS, but not BimEL and BimL, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Other metals (cadmium, cobalt and copper) and stresses (oxidative, endoplasmic reticulum and genotoxic stresses) had little or no effect on the expression of BimS. To address the mechanism of Zn(2+)-induced preferential generation of BimS, which lacks exon 4, we developed a Bim mini-gene construct. Deletion analysis using the Bim mini-gene revealed that predicted binding sites of the SR protein SRSF6, also known as SRp55, are located in the intronic region adjacent to exon 4. We also found that mutations in the predicted SRSF6-binding sites abolished generation of BimS mRNA from the mutated Bim mini-gene. In addition, a UV cross-linking assay followed by Western blotting showed that SRSF6 directly bound to the predicted binding site and Zn(2+) suppressed this binding. Moreover, Zn(2+) stimulated SRSF6 hyper-phosphorylation. TG003, a cdc2-like kinase inhibitor, partially prevented Zn(2+)-induced generation of BimS and SRSF6 hyper-phosphorylation. Taken together, our findings suggest that Zn(2+) inhibits the activity of SRSF6 and promotes elimination of exon 4, leading to preferential generation of BimS.

MAPK signaling in cisplatin-induced death: predominant role of ERK1 over ERK2 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma treatment by arterial infusion of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum-II (cisplatin) exhibits certain therapeutic efficacy. However, optimizations are required and the mechanisms underlying cisplatin proapoptotic effect remain unclear. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway plays a key role in cell response to cisplatin and the functional specificity of the isoform MAPK/ERK kinase 1 and 2 (MEK1/2) and ERK1/2 could influence this response. The individual contribution of each kinase on cisplatin-induced death was thus analyzed after a transient or stable specific inhibition by RNA interference in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cells Huh-7 or in knockout mice. We demonstrated here that ERK1 played a predominant role over ERK2 in cisplatin-induced death, whereas MEK1 and MEK2 acted in a redundant manner. Indeed, at clinically relevant concentrations of cisplatin, ERK1 silencing alone was sufficient to protect cells from cisplatin-induced death both in vitro, in Huh-7 cells and ERK1(-/-) hepatocytes, and in vivo, in ERK1-deficient mice. Moreover, we showed that ERK1 activity correlated with the induction level of the proapoptotic BH3-only protein Noxa, a critical mediator of cisplatin toxicity. On the contrary, ERK2 inhibition upregulated ERK1 activity, favored Noxa induction and sensitized hepatocarcinoma cells to cisplatin. Our results point to a crucial role of ERK1 in cisplatin-induced proapoptotic signal and lead us to propose that ERK2-specific targeting could improve the efficacy of cisplatin therapy by increasing ERK1 prodeath functions.

Zinc pyrithione induces ERK- and PKC-dependent necrosis distinct from TPEN-induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells

Zinc dyshomeostasis can induce cell death. However, the mechanisms involved have not been fully elucidated in prostate cancer (PCa) cells, which differ dramatically from normal cells in their zinc handling ability. Here, we studied the effects of the ionophore Zn-pyrithione (ZP) and the chelator N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN). Both compounds induced cell death at micromolar concentrations when incubated with androgen-dependent (LNCaP), androgen-independent (PC3, DU145) and androgen-sensitive (C4-2) PCa cell-lines. Compared to PCa cells, RWPE1 prostate epithelial cells were less sensitive to ZP and more sensitive to TPEN, but total cellular zinc levels were changed similarly. ZnSO4 enhanced the toxicity of ZP, but inhibited the effects of TPEN as expected. The morphological/biochemical responses to ZP and TPEN differed. ZP decreased ATP levels and stimulated ERK, AKT and PKC phosphorylation. DNA laddering was observed only at low doses of ZP but all doses of TPEN. TPEN activated caspase 3/7 and induced PARP-cleavage, DNA-fragmentation, ROS-formation and apoptotic bodies. PKC and ERK-pathway inhibitors, and antioxidants protected against ZP-induced but not TPEN-induced death. Inhibitors of MPTP-opening protected both. Cell death in response to TPEN (but not ZP) was diminished by a calpain inhibitor and largely prevented by a caspase 3 inhibitor. Overall, the results indicated primarily a necrotic cell death for ZP and an apoptotic cell death for TPEN. The enhanced sensitivity of PCa cells to ZP and the apparent ability of ZP and TPEN to kill quiescent and rapidly dividing cells in a p53-independent manner suggest that ZP/TPEN might be used to develop adjunct treatments for PCa.