title: Antiapoptotic and proapoptotic action of various amino acids and analogs in starving MOLT-4 cells.
abstract: This study is based on our previous findings showing that certain amino acids may protect hybridoma cells against starvation-induced apoptosis. In the present work we have screened 44 amino acids and analogs for their capacity of modulating apoptosis in human T-lymphoblastic leukemia cell line MOLT-4 exposed to starvation in a nutrient-poor medium. The panel of tested substances was found to contain not only compounds with antiapoptotic activity (e.g., l-glutamine, l-histidine, glycine, l-proline, and l-2-aminopentanoic acid), but also compounds with proapoptotic activity (e.g., l-phenylalanine, l-tryptophan, l-arginine, and l-2-aminohexanoic acid). The apoptosis-modulating effects were dependent on fine details of the structure of the compounds. A switch from antiapoptotic activity to proapoptotic activity was found between 6-aminohexanoic acid and 7-aminoheptanoic acid, as well as between l-2-aminopentanoic acid and l-2-aminohexanoic acid. D-amino acids tested were without effect.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Radiova 1, Prague 10, CZ-10227, Czech Republic. franek@biomed.cas.cz
authors.forename: Frantisek
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Franek
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fismolová
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eckschlager
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003470:Culture Media; D006801:Humans; D013217:Starvation / Q000473:pathology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D003470:Culture Media