Biomedical subjects

Nathanael Larochette

Publications and source records attributed to Nathanael Larochette.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Calreticulin exposure dictates the immunogenicity of cancer cell death.

Anthracyclin-treated tumor cells are particularly effective in eliciting an anticancer immune response, whereas other DNA-damaging agents such as etoposide and mitomycin C do not induce immunogenic cell death. Here we show that anthracyclins induce the rapid, preapoptotic translocation of calreticulin (CRT) to the cell surface. Blockade or knockdown of CRT suppressed the phagocytosis of anthracyclin-treated tumor cells by dendritic cells and abolished their immunogenicity in mice. The anthracyclin-induced CRT translocation was mimicked by inhibition of the protein phosphatase 1/GADD34 complex. Administration of recombinant CRT or inhibitors of protein phosphatase 1/GADD34 restored the immunogenicity of cell death elicited by etoposide and mitomycin C, and enhanced their antitumor effects in vivo. These data identify CRT as a key feature determining anticancer immune responses and delineate a possible strategy for immunogenic chemotherapy.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

PK11195 potently sensitizes to apoptosis induction independently from the peripheral benzodiazepin receptor.

1-(2-Chlorophenyl-N-methylpropyl)-3-isoquinolinecarboxamide (PK11195) is a prototypic ligand of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), a mitochondrial outer membrane protein. PK11195 can be used to chemosensitize tumor cells to a variety of chemotherapeutic agents, both in vitro and in vivo. PK11195 has been suggested to exert this effect via inhibition of the multiple drug resistance (MDR) pump and by direct mitochondrial effects which could be mediated by the PBR. Here, we established a model system in which PK11195 and another PBR ligand, 7-chloro-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one (Ro5-4864), sensitize to nutrient depletion-induced cell death. In this MDR-independent model, PK11195 and Ro5-4864 are fully active even when the PBR is knocked down by small interfering RNA. Cells that lack PBR possess low-affinity binding sites for PK11195 and Ro5-4864. The starvation-sensitizing effects of PK11195 are not due to a modulation of the adaptive response of starved cells, namely autophagy and NF-kappaB activation. Rather, it appears that the combination of PK11195 with autophagy or NF-kappaB inhibitors has a potent synergistic death-inducing effect. Starved cells treated with PK11195 exhibit characteristics of apoptosis, including loss of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, mitochondrial cytochrome c release, caspase activation and chromatin condensation. Accordingly, stabilization of mitochondria by overexpression of Bcl-2 or expression of the viral mitochondrial inhibitor (vMIA) from cytomegalovirus inhibits cell death induced by PK11195 plus starvation. Thus, PK11195 potently sensitizes to apoptosis via a pathway that involves mitochondria, yet does not involve the PBR.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B↗

PubMed2005

The apoptosis/autophagy paradox: autophagic vacuolization before apoptotic death.

Autophagic cell death is morphologically characterized by an accumulation of autophagic vacuoles. Here, we show that inactivation of LAMP2 by RNA interference or by homologous recombination leads to autophagic vacuolization in nutrient-depleted cells. Cells that lack LAMP2 expression showed an enhanced accumulation of vacuoles carrying the marker LC3, yet a decreased colocalization of LC3 and lysosomes, suggesting that the fusion between autophagic vacuoles and lysosomes was inhibited. While a fraction of mitochondria from starved LAMP2-expressing cells colocalized with lysosomal markers, within autophagolysosomes, no such colocalization was found on removal of LAMP2 from the experimental system. Of note, LAMP1 depletion had no such effects and did not aggravate the phenotype induced by LAMP2-specific small interfering RNA. Serum and amino acid-starved LAMP2-negative cells exhibited an accumulation of autophagic vacuoles and then succumbed to cell death with hallmarks of apoptosis such as loss of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, caspase activation and chromatin condensation. While caspase inhibition retarded cell death, it had no protective effect on mitochondria. Stabilization of mitochondria by overexpression of Bcl-2 or the mitochondrion-targeted cytomegalovirus protein vMIA, however, blocked all signs of apoptosis. Neither caspase inhibition nor mitochondrial stabilization antagonized autophagic vacuolization in LAMP2-deficient cells. Altogether, these data indicate that accumulation of autophagic vacuoles can precede apoptotic cell death. These findings argue against the clear-cut distinction between type 1 (apoptotic) and type 2 (autophagic) cell death.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2005

Essential role of p53 phosphorylation by p38 MAPK in apoptosis induction by the HIV-1 envelope.

The proapoptotic activity of the transcription factor p53 critically depends on the phosphorylation of serine 46 (p53S46P). Here, we show that syncytia containing p53S46P could be detected in lymph node biopsies from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 carriers, in the brain of patients with HIV-1-associated dementia and in cocultures of HeLa expressing the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein complex (Env) with HeLa cells expressing CD4. In this latter model, cell death was the result of a sequential process involving cell fusion, nuclear fusion (karyogamy), phosphorylation of serine 15 (p53S15P), later on serine 46 (p53S46P), and transcription of p53 target genes. Cytoplasmic p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) was found to undergo an activating phosphorylation (p38T180/Y182P [p38 with phosphorylated threonine 180 and tyrosine 182]) before karyogamy and to translocate into karyogamic nuclei. p38T180/Y182P colocalized and coimmunoprecipitated with p53S46P. Recombinant p38 phosphorylated recombinant p53 on serine 46 in vitro. Inhibition of p38 MAPK by pharmacological inhibitors, dominant-negative p38, or small interfering RNA, suppressed p53S46P (but not p53S15P), the expression of p53-inducible genes, the conformational activation of proapoptotic Bax and Bak, the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and consequent apoptosis. p38T180/Y182P was also detected in HIV-1-induced syncytia, in vivo, in patients' lymph nodes and brains. Dominant-negative MKK3 or MKK6 inhibited syncytial activation of p38, p53S46P, and apoptosis. Altogether, these findings indicate that p38 MAPK-mediated p53 phosphorylation constitutes a critical step of Env-induced apoptosis.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2005

Inhibition of macroautophagy triggers apoptosis.

Mammalian cells were observed to die under conditions in which nutrients were depleted and, simultaneously, macroautophagy was inhibited either genetically (by a small interfering RNA targeting Atg5, Atg6/Beclin 1-1, Atg10, or Atg12) or pharmacologically (by 3-methyladenine, hydroxychloroquine, bafilomycin A1, or monensin). Cell death occurred through apoptosis (type 1 cell death), since it was reduced by stabilization of mitochondrial membranes (with Bcl-2 or vMIA, a cytomegalovirus-derived gene) or by caspase inhibition. Under conditions in which the fusion between lysosomes and autophagosomes was inhibited, the formation of autophagic vacuoles was enhanced at a preapoptotic stage, as indicated by accumulation of LC3-II protein, ultrastructural studies, and an increase in the acidic vacuolar compartment. Cells exhibiting a morphology reminiscent of (autophagic) type 2 cell death, however, recovered, and only cells with a disrupted mitochondrial transmembrane potential were beyond the point of no return and inexorably died even under optimal culture conditions. All together, these data indicate that autophagy may be cytoprotective, at least under conditions of nutrient depletion, and point to an important cross talk between type 1 and type 2 cell death pathways.

Adenine↗

PubMed2004

AIF deficiency compromises oxidative phosphorylation.

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) is a mitochondrial flavoprotein that, after apoptosis induction, translocates to the nucleus where it participates in apoptotic chromatinolysis. Here, we show that human or mouse cells lacking AIF as a result of homologous recombination or small interfering RNA exhibit high lactate production and enhanced dependency on glycolytic ATP generation, due to severe reduction of respiratory chain complex I activity. Although AIF itself is not a part of complex I, AIF-deficient cells exhibit a reduced content of complex I and of its components, pointing to a role of AIF in the biogenesis and/or maintenance of this polyprotein complex. Harlequin mice with reduced AIF expression due to a retroviral insertion into the AIF gene also manifest a reduced oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in the retina and in the brain, correlating with reduced expression of complex I subunits, retinal degeneration, and neuronal defects. Altogether, these data point to a role of AIF in OXPHOS and emphasize the dual role of AIF in life and death.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed2004

Preapoptotic chromatin condensation upstream of the mitochondrial checkpoint.

When added for a short period (2-4 h) to cells, the kinase inhibitor staurosporine (STS), can trigger double strand breaks, the formation of nuclear foci containing phosphorylated H2AX, Chk2, and p53, a decrease in transcription, and a minor degree of peripheral chromatin condensation. This "preapoptotic chromatin condensation" (PACC) occurs before mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP) and caspase activation become detectable and is not inhibited by Z-VAD-fmk or Bcl-2. PACC is followed by classical apoptosis, when cells are cultured overnight, even when STS is removed from the system. After overnight incubation, STS-pretreated cells manifest mitochondrial cytochrome c release, caspase activation, phosphatidylserine exposure, and apoptotic DNA fragmentation. Caspase or MMP inhibitors did not influence the advent of PACC yet did suppress the evolution of PACC toward apoptosis. Importantly, two unrelated MMP inhibitors (viral mitochondrial inhibitor of apoptosis (vMIA) from cytomegalovirus and mitochondrion-targeted Bcl-2) had a larger range of effects than the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk. Caspase inhibition simply prevented the transition from PACC to apoptosis yet did not reverse PACC and did not restore transcription. In contrast, Bcl-2 and vMIA allowed for the repair of the DNA lesions, correlating with the reestablishment of active transcription. PACC could also be induced by a gross perturbation of RNA synthesis or primary DNA damage. Again, inhibition of MMP (but not that of caspases) reversed PACC induced by these stimuli. In synthesis, our data reveal the unexpected capacity of STS to induce DNA lesions and suggest qualitative differences in the cytoprotective and DNA repair-inducing potential of different apoptosis inhibitors.

Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones↗

PubMed2004

An anti-apoptotic viral protein that recruits Bax to mitochondria.

The viral mitochondria-localized inhibitor of apoptosis (vMIA), encoded by the UL37 gene of human cytomegalovirus, inhibits apoptosis-associated mitochondrial membrane permeabilization by a mechanism different from that of Bcl-2. Here we show that vMIA induces several changes in Bax that resemble those found in apoptotic cells yet take place in unstimulated, non-apoptotic vMIA-expressing cells. These changes include the constitutive localization of Bax at mitochondria, where it associates tightly with the mitochondrial membrane, forming high molecular weight aggregates that contain vMIA. vMIA recruits Bax to mitochondria but delays relocation of caspase-8-activated truncated Bid-green fluorescent protein (GFP) (t-Bid-GFP) to mitochondria. The ability of vMIA and its deletion mutants to associate with Bax and to induce relocation of Bax to mitochondria correlates with their anti-apoptotic activity and with their ability to suppress mitochondrial membrane permeabilization. Taken together, our data indicate that vMIA blocks apoptosis via its interaction with Bax. vMIA neutralizes Bax by recruiting it to mitochondria and "freezing" its pro-apoptotic activity. These data unravel a novel strategy of subverting an intrinsic pathway of apoptotic signaling.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

NF-kappaB and p53 are the dominant apoptosis-inducing transcription factors elicited by the HIV-1 envelope.

The coculture of cells expressing the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein complex (Env) with cells expressing CD4 results into cell fusion, deregulated mitosis, and subsequent cell death. Here, we show that NF-kappaB, p53, and AP1 are activated in Env-elicited apoptosis. The nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) super repressor had an antimitotic and antiapoptotic effect and prevented the Env-elicited phosphorylation of p53 on serine 15 and 46, as well as the activation of AP1. Transfection with dominant-negative p53 abolished apoptosis and AP1 activation. Signs of NF-kappaB and p53 activation were also detected in lymph node biopsies from HIV-1-infected individuals. Microarrays revealed that most (85%) of the transcriptional effects of HIV-1 Env were blocked by the p53 inhibitor pifithrin-alpha. Macroarrays led to the identification of several Env-elicited, p53-dependent proapoptotic transcripts, in particular Puma, a proapoptotic "BH3-only" protein from the Bcl-2 family known to activate Bax/Bak. Down modulation of Puma by antisense oligonucleotides, as well as RNA interference of Bax and Bak, prevented Env-induced apoptosis. HIV-1-infected primary lymphoblasts up-regulated Puma in vitro. Moreover, circulating CD4+ lymphocytes from untreated, HIV-1-infected donors contained enhanced amounts of Puma protein, and these elevated Puma levels dropped upon antiretroviral therapy. Altogether, these data indicate that NF-kappaB and p53 cooperate as the dominant proapoptotic transcription factors participating in HIV-1 infection.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2003

The chemopreventive agent N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide induces apoptosis through a mitochondrial pathway regulated by proteins from the Bcl-2 family.

N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR, fenretinide) is a potent chemopreventive agent whose effect has been suggested to involve apoptosis induction. 4-HPR induces a loss of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential and the mitochondrial release of cytochrome c before caspase activation. Inhibition of mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP) by transfection with Bcl-2 or the Cytomegalovirus UL37 gene product vMIA prevented caspase activation and cell death. In contrast to other retinoid derivatives, 4-HPR has no direct MMP-inducing effects when added to isolated mitochondria or when added to proteoliposomes containing the MMP-regulatory permeability transition pore complex (PTPC). Moreover, although reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction appears to be instrumental for 4-HPR-induced MMP and apoptosis, inhibition of the NF-kappaB or p53-mediated signal transduction pathways failed to modulate 4-HPR-induced apoptosis. 4-HPR was found to cause an antioxidant-inhibitable conformational change of both Bax and Bak, leading to the exposure of their N-termini and to the mitochondrial relocalization of Bax. Cells with a Bax(-/-) Bak(-/-) genotype were resistant against the 4-HPR-induced MMP, overproduction of ROS and cell death. Altogether, these data indicate that 4-HPR induces MMP through an ROS-mediated pathway that involves the obligatory contribution of the proapopotic Bcl-2 family members Bax and/or Bak.

Anticarcinogenic Agents↗

PubMed2002

DNA binding is required for the apoptogenic action of apoptosis inducing factor.

The execution of apoptosis or programmed cell death comprises both caspase-dependent and caspase-independent processes. Apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) was identified as a major player in caspase-independent cell death. It induces chromatin condensation and initial DNA cleavage via an unknown molecular mechanism. Here we report the crystal structure of human AIF at 1.8 A resolution. The structure reveals the presence of a strong positive electrostatic potential at the AIF surface, although the calculated isoelectric point for the entire protein is neutral. We show that recombinant AIF interacts with DNA in a sequence-independent manner. In addition, in cells treated with an apoptotic stimulus, endogenous AIF becomes co-localized with DNA at an early stage of nuclear morphological changes. Structure-based mutagenesis shows that DNA-binding defective mutants of AIF fail to induce cell death while retaining nuclear translocation. The potential DNA-binding site identified from mutagenesis also coincides with computational docking of a DNA duplex. These observations suggest that AIF-induced nuclear apoptosis requires a direct interaction with DNA.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF): a novel caspase-independent death effector released from mitochondria.

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) is a phylogenetically ancient mitochondrial intermembrane flavoprotein endowed with the unique capacity to induce caspase-independent peripheral chromatin condensation and large-scale DNA fragmentation when added to purified nuclei. In addition to its apoptogenic activity on nuclei, AIF can also participate in the regulation of apoptotic mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and exhibits an NADH oxidase activity. Under normal circumstances, AIF is secluded behind the outer mitochondrial membrane. However, upon apoptosis induction AIF translocates to the cytosol and the nucleus. Injection of anti-AIF antibodies or knockout of the AIF gene have demonstrated that AIF may be required for cell death occurring in response to some stimuli. In particular, inactivation of AIF renders embryonic stem cells resistant to cell death following growth factor withdrawal. Moreover, AIF is essential for programmed cell death during cavitation of embryoid bodies, the very first wave of (caspase-independent) cell death indispensable for mouse morphogenesis. We have recently found that AIF is neutralized by heat-shock protein (HSP) 70, in a reaction that appears to be independent of ATP or the ATP-binding domain (ABD) of HSP70 and thus differs from the previously described Apaf-1/HSP70 interaction (which requires ATP and the HSP70 ABD). Intriguingly, HSP70 lacking ABD (HSP70 Delta ABD) inhibits apoptosis induced by serum withdrawal, staurosporin, and menadione, three models of apoptosis which are also affected by micro-injection of anti-AIF antibody or genetic ablation of AIF. Altogether, these data suggest that AIF plays a role in the regulation of caspase-independent cell death.

Animals↗