Vitamin C modulation of H2O2-induced damage and iron homeostasis in human cells

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, AA) is an important antioxidant in human plasma. It is clear, however, that AA has other important, non-antioxidant roles in cells. Of particular interest is its involvement in iron metabolism, since AA enhances dietary iron absorption, increases the activity of Fe2+-dependent cellular enzymes, promotes Fenton reactions in vitro and was reported to have deleterious effects in individuals with iron overload. Nevertheless, the ability of AA to modulate iron metabolism and enhance iron-dependent damage in cells, tissues and organisms has not been fully elucidated. Here we investigated the effect of AA on iron-mediated oxidative stress in normal human fibroblasts. Incubation with physiologically relevant concentrations of AA was not harmful but sensitised cells towards H2O2-induced, iron-dependent DNA strand breakage and cell death. We also report that AA increased the levels of intracellular catalytic iron and concomitantly modulated the expression of two well established iron-regulated genes, ferritin and transferrin receptor. In summary, we present evidence of a novel, non-antioxidant role of AA in human cells, where it increases iron availability and enhances ROS-mediated, iron-dependent damage. We suggest that AA may exacerbate the deleterious effects of metals in vivo and promote normal tissue injury in situations associated with elevated ROS production

Extended treatment of cancer cells with physiological concentrations of dietary phytochemicals results in altered gene expression, reduced growth and apoptosis

Dietary phytochemicals exhibit chemopreventive potential in vivo through persistent low-dose exposures, whereas mechanistic in vitro studies with these agents generally use a high-dose single treatment. Because the latter approach is not representative of an in vivo steady state, we investigated antitumor activity of curcumin, 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), genistein, or indole-3-carbinol (I3C) in breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells, exposed in long-term culture to low concentrations, achievable in vivo. Curcumin and EGCG increased cell doubling time. Curcumin, EGCG, and I3C inhibited clonogenic growth by 55% to 60% and induced 1.5- to 2-fold higher levels of the basal caspase-3/7 activity. No changes in expression of cell cycle–related proteins or survivin were found; however, I3C reduced epidermal growth factor receptor expression, contributing to apoptosis. Because some phytochemicals are shown to inhibit DNA and histone modification, modulation of expression by the agents in a set of genes (cadherin-11, p21Cip1, urokinase-type plasminogen activator, and interleukin-6) was compared with changes induced by inhibitors of DNA methylation or histone deacetylation. The phytochemicals modified protein and/or RNA expression of these genes, with EGCG eliciting the least and DIM the most changes in gene expression. DIM and curcumin decreased cadherin-11 and increased urokinase-type plasminogen activator levels correlated with increased cell motility. Curcumin, DIM, EGCG, and genistein reduced cell sensitivity to radiation-induced DNA damage without affecting DNA repair. This model has revealed that apoptosis and not arrest is likely to be responsible for growth inhibition. It also implicated new molecular targets and activities of the agents under conditions relevant to human exposure

Cytotoxicity and gene expression profiling of two hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers in human H295R adrenocortical carcinoma cells.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are commonly used as flame retardants in a variety of commercial and household products. They have been detected in the environment and accumulate in mammalian tissues and fluids. PBDE toxicity is thought to be associated with endocrine disruption developmental neurotoxicity and changes in fetal development. Although humans are exposed to PBDEs, our knowledge of the effects of PBDE metabolites on human cells with respect to health risk is insufficient. Two hydroxylated PBDEs (OHPBDEs), 2-OH-BDE47 and 2-OH-BDE85, were investigated for their effects on cell viability/proliferation, DNA damage, cell cycle distribution and gene expression profiling in H295R adrenocortical carcinoma cells. We show that the two agents are cytotoxic in a dosedependent manner only at micromolar concentrations, with 2-OH-BDE85 being more toxic than 2-OH-BDE47. However, no DNA damage was observed for either chemical, suggesting that the biological effects of OH-PBDEs occur primarily via non-genotoxic routes. Furthermore, no evidence of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-mediated, dioxin-like toxicity was observed. Instead, we report that a micromolar concentration of OH-PBDEs induces transcriptional changes associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response. We discuss whether OH-PBDE bioaccumulation could result in impairment of the adrenocortical secretory function

BTK modulates p53 activity to enhance apoptotic and senescent responses

p53 is a tumor suppressor that prevents the emergence of transformed cells by inducing apoptosis or senescence, among other responses. Its functions are regulated tightly by posttranslational modifications. Here we show that Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a novel modulator of p53. We found that BTK is induced in response to DNA damage and p53 activation. BTK induction leads to p53 phosphorylation, which constitutes a positive feedback loop that increases p53 protein levels and enhances the transactivation of its target genes in response to stress. Inhibiting BTK reduced both p53-dependent senescence and apoptosis. Further, BTK expression also upregulated DNA damage signals and apoptosis. We conclude that despite being involved in oncogenic signals in blood malignancies, BTK has antineoplastic properties in other contexts, such as the enhancement of p53's tumor suppressor responses. Along with evidence that BTK expression correlates with good prognosis in some epithelial tumors, our findings may encourage a reevaluation of the clinical uses of BTK inhibitors in cancer therapy

Reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial sensitivity to oxidative stress determine induction of cancer cell death by p21.

p21(Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that mediates cell cycle arrest. Prolonged p21 up-regulation induces a senescent phenotype in normal and cancer cells, accompanied by an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, it has been shown recently that p21 expression can also lead to cell death in certain models. The mechanisms involved in this process are not fully understood. Here, we describe an induction of apoptosis by p21 in sarcoma cell lines that is p53-independent and can be ameliorated with antioxidants. Similar levels of p21 and ROS caused senescence in the absence of significant death in other cancer cell lines, suggesting a cell-specific response. We also found that cells undergoing p21-dependent cell death had higher sensitivity to oxidants and a specific pattern of mitochondrial polarization changes. Consistent with this, apoptosis could be blocked with targeted expression of catalase in the mitochondria of these cells. We propose that the balance between cancer cell death and arrest after p21 up-regulation depends on the specific effects of p21-induced ROS on the mitochondria. This suggests that selective up-regulation of p21 in cancer cells could be a successful therapeutic intervention for sarcomas and tumors with lower resistance to mitochondrial oxidative damage, regardless of p53 status

Post-transcriptional upregulation of p53 by reactive oxygen species in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells multiply and become more resistant to immunochemotherapy in “proliferation centers” within tissues, whereas apoptosis occurs in the periphery. Various models recapitulate these microenvironments in vitro, such as stimulation with CD154 and IL4. Using this system, we observed a 30- to 40-fold induction of wild-type p53 protein in 50 distinct human CLL specimens tested, without the induction of either cell-cycle arrest or apoptosis. In contrast, the mRNA levels for p53 did not increase, indicating that its elevation occurred posttranscriptionally. Mechanistic investigations revealed that under the conditions studied, p53 was phosphorylated on residues associated with p53 activation and increased half-life. However, p53 protein induced in this manner could transcriptionally activate only a subset of target genes. The addition of a DNA-damaging agent further upregulated p53 protein levels, which led to apoptosis. p53 induction relied on the increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species observed after CD154 and IL4 stimulation. We propose that chronic oxidative stress is a characteristic of the microenvironment in B-cell “proliferation centers” in CLL that are capable of elevating the basal expression of p53, but to levels below the threshold needed to induce arrest or apoptosis. Our findings suggest that reactivation of the full transcriptional activities of p53 in proliferating CLL cells may offer a possible therapeutic strategy

Protection of cells in physiological oxygen tensions against DNA damage-induced apoptosis.

Oxygen availability has important effects on cell physiology. Although hyperoxic and hypoxic stresses have been well characterized, little is known about cellular functions in the oxygen levels commonly found in vivo. Here, we show that p53-dependent apoptosis in response to different DNA-damaging agents was reduced when normal and cancer cells were cultured at physiological oxygen tensions instead of the usual atmospheric levels. Different from what has been described in hypoxia, this was neither determined by decreases in p53 induction or its transactivation activity, nor by differences in the intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species. At these physiological oxygen levels, we found a constitutive activation of the ERK1/2 MAPK in all the models studied. Inhibition of this signaling pathway reversed the protective effect in some but not all cell lines. We conclude that a stress-independent constitutive activation of prosurvival pathways, including but probably not limited to MAPK, can protect cells in physiological oxygen tensions against genotoxic stress. Our results underscore the need of considering the impact of oxygen levels present in the tissue microenvironment when studying cell sensitivity to treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy