title: Simultaneous inhibition of Rac1 and IKK pathways sensitizes lung cancer cells to TNFalpha-mediated apoptosis.
abstract: Lung cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in the world and causes more deaths in the United States than does colon, breast, and prostate cancer combined. Despite advances in treatment modalities including radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy, the overall survival in lung cancer remains low. The cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) has been shown to regulate both apoptotic and antiapoptotic pathways. Activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB appears to be the critical determinant of the antiapoptotic response to TNFalpha exposure in epithelial cells. A549 human lung carcinoma cells were infected with adenoviral constructs carrying dominant negative mutants of Rac1 and IKK or constitutively active mutant of Rac1, upstream effectors in TNF-mediated NF-kappaB activation. Cell death, apoptosis, and NF-kappaB activation were subsequently measured in response to TNFalpha exposure. Although TNFalpha alone had no cytotoxic effect, the expression of the dominant negative mutant of IKKbeta (Ad.IKKbetaKA) resulted in apoptotic cell death following TNFalpha exposure. Similarly, dominant negative mutant to Rac1 (Ad.N17Rac1) further sensitized A549 cells to IKKbetaKA-mediated TNFalpha-induced cell death. Conversely, a dominant active form of Rac1 (Ad.V12Rac1) ameliorated the cell death response to concurrent IKKbeta dominant negative mutant infection and TNFalpha exposure. These results suggest that concurrent inhibition of Rac1 and IKK pathways sensitizes lung cancer cells to TNFalpha-induced apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA. sanlioglus@mail.medicine.uiowa.edu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanlioglu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luleci
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival; D004351:Drug Resistance; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D006801:Humans; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase; D008156:Luciferases / Q000378:metabolism; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009154:Mutation; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D016328:NF-kappa B; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008156:Luciferases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C496559:CHUK protein, human; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase; C496560:IKBKB protein, human; C496565:IKBKE protein, human; D020169:Caspases; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein