title: Sphingosine kinase 1 and 2 regulate the capacity of mesangial cells to resist apoptotic stimuli in an opposing manner.
abstract: Abstract Sphingosine kinases (SKs) are key enzymes regulating the production of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which determines important cell responses including cell growth and death. Here we show that renal mesangial cells isolated from wild-type, SK-1(-/-), and SK-2(-/-) mice show a differential response to apoptotic stimuli. Wild-type mesangial cells responded to staurosporine with increased DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 processing, which was enhanced in SK-1(-/-) cells. In contrast, SK-2(-/-) cells were highly resistant to staurosporine-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the basal phosphorylation and activity of the anti-apoptotic protein kinase B (PKB) and of its substrate Bad were decreased in SK-1(-/-) but not in SK-2(-/-) cells. Upon staurosporine treatment, phosphorylation of PKB and Bad decreased in wild-type and SK-1(-/-) cells, but remained high in SK-2(-/-) cells. In addition, the anti-apoptotic Bcl-X(L) was significantly upregulated in SK-2(-/-) cells, which may further contribute to the protective state of these cells. In summary, our data show that SK-1 and SK-2 have opposite effects on the capacity of mesangial cells to resist apoptotic stimuli. This is due to differential modulation of the PKB/Bad pathway and of Bcl-X(L) expression. Thus, subtype-selective targeting of SKs will be critical when considering these enzymes as therapeutic targets for the treatment of inflammation or cancer.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacology, University of Bern, Friedbühlstrasse 49, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lotte P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Shuyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schwalm
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pfeilschifter
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huwiler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D050527:Mesangial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D019311:Staurosporine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000099157:Sphingosine Kinase
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); D019311:Staurosporine; D000099157:Sphingosine Kinase