Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signaling is not sufficient to account for indole-3-carbinol-induced apoptosis in some breast and prostate tumor cells.
OBJECTIVE
Indole-3-carbinol has been proposed to induce apoptosis via a mechanism involving inhibition of protein kinase B (PKB) signaling in breast and prostate tumor cell lines. However, no functional data exist, and the effect of indole-3-carbinol on viability is known to be highly cell type specific. Here, we examine any requirement for PKB inhibition in induction of apoptosis by indole-3-carbinol in the MDA MB468 cell line using in vitro kinase assays, transfection, Western blotting, and flow cytometry. Comparison is also made with MCF10CA1 breast and PC3 prostate tumor cells.


RESULTS
Indole-3-carbinol directly inhibited activity of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) immunoprecipitated from HBL100 or MDA MB468 cells in vitro. Nonetheless, we present three lines of evidence that inhibition of PI3K/PKB signaling is not required for induction of apoptosis by indole-3-carbinol. First, 50% inhibition of PKB phosphorylation by LY294002 resulted in only 15% apoptosis after 72 hours, whereas similar PKB inhibition by indole-3-carbinol coincided with 30% apoptosis after only 24 hours. Second, induction of phospho-PKB (p-PKB) levels following stimulation with epidermal growth factor did not prevent indole-3-carbinol-induced apoptosis. Third, overexpression of active PKBalpha did not prevent induction of apoptosis by indole-3-carbinol. Inhibition of PKB phosphorylation by LY294002 in the PC3 and MCF10CA1 tumor cell lines similarly failed to result in a significant increase in apoptosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that inhibition of PI3K/PKB signaling by indole-3-carbinol or LY294002 is not directly correlated with induction of apoptosis in several breast or prostate cell lines.
Howells
Lynne M
LM
Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Group, Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Studies, Biocentre, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
Hudson
E Ann
EA
Manson
Margaret M
MM
D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D002867:Chromones / Q000494:pharmacology; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D007211:Indoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009025:Morpholines / Q000494:pharmacology; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000975:Antioxidants; D002867:Chromones; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007211:Indoles; D009025:Morpholines; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; C085911:2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; C016517:indole-3-carbinol