Differential expression of amino acid transport systems A and ASC during erythroleukemia cell differentiation

Taxol induced apoptosis regulates amino acid transport in breast cancer cells

A major outcome from Taxol treatment is induction of tumor cell apoptosis. However, metabolic responses to Taxol-induced apoptosis are poorly understood. In this study, we hypothesize that alterations in specific amino acid transporters may affect the Taxol-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. In this case, the activity of the given transporter may serve as a biomarker that could provide a biological assessment of response to drug treatment. We have examined the mechanisms responsible for Taxol-induced neutral amino acid uptake by breast cancer cells, such as MCF-7, BT474, MDAMB231 and T47D. The biochemical and molecular studies include: (1) growth-inhibition (MTT); (2) transport kinetics: (3) substrate-specific inhibition; (4) effect of thiol-modifying agents NEM and NPM; (5) gene expression of amino acid transporters; and (6) apoptotic assays. Our data show that Taxol treatment of MCF-7 cells induced a transient increase in Na(+)-dependent transport of the neutral amino acid transporter B0 at both gene and protein level. This increase was attenuated by blocking the transporter in the presence of high concentrations of the substrate amino acid. Other neutral amino acid transporters such as ATA2 (System A) and ASC were not altered. Amino acid starvation resulted in the expected up-regulation of System A (ATA2) gene, but not for B0 and ASC. B0 was significantly down regulated. Taxol treatment had no significant effect on the uptake of arginine and glutamate as measured by System y(+) and X(-) (GC) respectively. Tunel assays and FACS cell cycle analysis demonstrated that both Taxol- and doxorubicin-induced upregulation of B0 transporter gene with accompanying increase in cell apoptosis, could be reversed partially by blocking the B0 transporter with high concentration of alanine, and/or by inhibiting the caspase pathway. Both Taxol and doxorubicin treatment caused a significant decrease in S-phase of the cell cycle. However, Taxol-induced an increase primarily in the G2 fraction while doxorubicin caused increase in G1/G0 together with a small increase in G2. In summary, our study showed that Taxol induced apoptosis in several breast cancer cells results in activation of amino acid transporter System B0 at both gene and protein level. Similar response was observed with another chemotherapeutic agent Doxorubicin, suggesting that this increase is in response to apoptosis, and not only due to changes in cell cycle related events.

Induction of calcium-activated potassium channel activity by hemin in human erythroleukemia cells

The agent hemin has been demonstrated to be able to initiate a coordinated differentiation program in several cell types. In the present study, we examined the ability of hemin on inducing cell differentiation and Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity in erythroleukemic K562 cells. Treating undifferentiated K562 cells with hemin (0.1 mM) for five days caused these cells to display differentiation-like characteristics including chromatin aggregation, nuclear degradation, pseudopod extension of the membrane and increased hemoglobin production. However, overall cell viability was not significantly changed by the presence of hemin. After hemin treatment for different periods, the Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel was activated by the addition of ionomycin (1 microM), and was inhibited by either clotrimazole, charybdotoxin, or EGTA. Before hemin treatment there was no significant Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity present in undifferentiated K562 cells. After hemin treatment for 5 days, a significant Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity was detected. This increasing Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity may be contributed from a subtype of Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel, KCNN4. These results suggest that the ability of hemin to induce increasing Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity may contribute to the mechanism of hemin-induced K562 cell differentiation.

System A amino acid transport in cultured human tumor cells: implications for tumor imaging with PET

The A system of amino acid transport is concentrative and thought to be a regulator of cell growth. The [11C]methyl alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (MeAIB) is prospectively an ideal tracer for transport measurements with PET, as it is not metabolized and concentrates in cells only via System A transport. We examined the factors governing [14C]MeAIB accumulation by cultured human erythroleukemic (K562) cells. Experiments were performed in growth medium and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) +/- cycloheximide (an inhibitor of protein synthesis) on logarithmically growing cells, as well as cells that had reached a growth plateau. Both inward transport rate and net uptake of MeAIB were positively correlated with cell growth rate and showed a strong inverse relationship to amino acid supply. The observations are consistent with a body of evidence from animal tumor cells, and they suggest that the correlation between System A transport and tumor cell proliferation may be obscured in vivo by variations in amino acid supply. Thus, while [11C]MeAIB might be useful as a PET radiotracer of System A transport per se, this compound may be limited in its ability to provide measurements of tumor growth rate.

Volume-activated taurine permeability in cells of the human erythroleukemic cell line K562

The effects of hypotonic shock on cell volume, taurine influx and efflux were examined in the human erythroleukemic cell line K562. Cells exposed to hypotonic solutions exhibited a regulatory volume decrease (RVD) following rapid increases in cell volume. Cell swelling was associated with a increased taurine influx and efflux. The volume-activated taurine pathway was Na(+)-independent, and increased in parallel with increasing cell volume. The chloride channel blocker, 2,5-dichlorodiphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (DCDPC), completely blocked the volume-activated taurine influx and efflux, while [dihydroindenyl)oxy]alkanoic acids (DIOA) and 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid (NPPB), an anion exchanger and anion channel blocker, respectively, also inhibited significantly. These results suggest that taurine transport is increased in response to hypotonic stress, which may be mediated via a volume-activated, DCDPC-sensitive anion channel.

Absorption of amino acids from the human mouth

Certain amino acids were transported across buccal mucosa in vivo by a carrier-mediated process. Metabolic loss of L-amino acids from the mouth in a 5 min test period was negligible. The buccal mucosal transport process was stereospecific for most L-amino acids tested. The uptake of L-methionine and L-leucine showed a tendency to saturation with increasing substrate concentration. The absorption of L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-methionine as single amino acids was inhibited in the presence of each other suggesting at least one common transport mechanism. Administration of equimolar amounts of amino acids revealed a specific pattern of absorption that could be classified into fast, intermediate, and slow groups. Absorption of some amino acids was at least partly dependent on the presence of sodium ions in the luminal solution. In conclusion, our studies demonstrate that the human buccal mucosa is permeable to L-amino acids in a selective manner, and may resemble absorption pattern similar to other locations of the gastrointestinal tract.