Cellular aggregation facilitates anoikis in MDCK cells.
Anoikis is a specific type of apoptosis caused by the detachment of anchorage-dependent cells from their supportive matrix. Aggregation of suspended cells is believed to suppress anoikis. Here we describe the effects of cellular aggregation on anoikis in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Suspension cultures of MDCK cells grown under conditions known to induce extensive cellular aggregation were less able to reattach to culture dishes, exhibited higher caspase-8 activity, and contained more sub-G(1) cells than suspension cultures did with less cellular aggregation. When suspension cultures of MDCK cells were separated into aggregated cells and single cells, the aggregated cells had low caspase-8 activity regardless of suspension conditions, whereas the single cells had higher caspase-8 activity that increased with an increasing degree of aggregation. These results suggest that cell-cell interactions in cellular aggregates of suspended MDCK cells facilitate anoikis, causing more apoptosis in individual cells than when these interactions are absent.
Department of Biology, Graduate School of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-8581 Japan. yemotscb@kyudai.jp
Yumiko
Y
Emoto
D000818:Animals; D023102:Anoikis; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D053181:Caspase 8 / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D002450:Cell Communication; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D004285:Dogs; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D007668:Kidney / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D008747:Methylcellulose / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors
D008747:Methylcellulose; D053181:Caspase 8; D002118:Calcium