title: Malignant ascites protect against TRAIL-induced apoptosis by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway in human ovarian carcinoma cells.
abstract: Ascites are commonly found in ovarian cancer patients with advanced disease and are rich in cellular components and growth-promoting factors. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of malignant ascites on TRAIL-induced apoptosis. We demonstrate that malignant ascites obtained from women with advanced ovarian cancer protect tumor cells from TRAIL- and FasL-induced apoptosis but not against cisplatin-induced apoptosis. This antiapoptotic effect was consistently found among different malignant ascites while nonmalignant peritoneal fluids or conditioned medium from TRAIL-resistant cells failed to protect tumor cells against TRAIL killing. Malignant ascites strongly inhibits TRAIL-induced caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. Furthermore, ascites activate PI3K and its downstream target Akt and increases c-FLIP(S) protein levels without affecting ERK phosphorylation status. The antiapoptotic effect of malignant ascites is abrogated by the inhibition of PI3K with LY294002, by a specific inhibitor of Akt and by Akt siRNA. We further show that the pro-survival effect of ascites can be suppressed by down-regulation of c-FLIP(S). Our data indicate that malignant effusions protect against TRAIL-induced apoptosis by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway. These findings demonstrate that the tumor microenvironment may contribute to the resistance of ovarian cancer cells to death receptor-induced apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Département de Microbiologie et Infectiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12ième Avenue Nord, Sherbrooke, Canada.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: Roxanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grondin
authors.forename: Claudine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rancourt
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piché
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D053446:CASP8 and FADD-Like Apoptosis Regulating Protein / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002867:Chromones / Q000494:pharmacology; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D009025:Morpholines / Q000494:pharmacology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D053446:CASP8 and FADD-Like Apoptosis Regulating Protein; C506386:CFLAR protein, human; D002867:Chromones; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D009025:Morpholines; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand; C505653:TNFSF10 protein, human; C085911:2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D002945:Cisplatin