title: Induction of apoptosis in mesothelioma cells by antisurvivin oligonucleotides.
abstract: Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive tumor characterized by rapid progression, late metastases, and poor prognosis. In this study, we investigated the expression of survivin, a member of the inhibitors of apoptosis protein gene family, in mesothelioma and an antisense oligonucleotide-based gene therapy for mesothelioma using survivin as a target. Initially, we documented the expression of survivin in human mesothelioma cell lines and fresh tissues using reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot analysis. Our results showed that survivin was overexpressed in 7 of 8 (87.5%) mesothelioma cell lines assayed and in all (12 of 12; 100%) freshly resected mesothelioma tissues analyzed. To investigate the use of survivin as a therapeutic target on mesothelioma, we carried out transfections with antisurvivin oligonucleotides to induce apoptosis in mesothelioma cell lines MS-1 and H28. Results from cellular transfection and subsequent analysis using the flow cytometry demonstrated that antisurvivin oligonucleotides induced significantly greater apoptosis rates in the survivin-positive mesothelioma cell line H28 (42.5%) as compared with the control oligonucleotides (16.2%; P < 0.001). The survivin-negative cell line LRK1A (survivin-/-) did not apoptose with antisense oligonucleotides. Furthermore, time course evaluation by Western blot analysis showed that survivin was inhibited by antisurvivin oligonucleotides within 12 h after transfection. Our results show, for the first time, that survivin, an inhibitors of apoptosis protein family gene member, is highly overexpressed in malignant pleural mesothelioma. Down-regulation of survivin by a targeted antisense oligonucleotide appears to be an effective gene therapy approach to the treatment of mesothelioma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California 94115, USA.
authors.forename: Chunyao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Zhidong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xiaocheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Kazutsugu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uematsu
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Jablons
mesh_terms: D017304:Annexin A5 / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis; D015153:Blotting, Western; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D002470:Cell Survival; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000494:pharmacology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D000077022:Survivin; D013997:Time Factors; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D017304:Annexin A5; C107489:BIRC5 protein, human; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D000077022:Survivin; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases