Serine protease inhibitors N-alpha-tosyl-L-lysinyl-chloromethylketone (TLCK) and N-tosyl-L-phenylalaninyl-chloromethylketone (TPCK) do not inhibit caspase-3 and caspase-7 processing in cells exposed to pro-apoptotic inducing stimuli.
We recently demonstrated that TLCK and TPCK could act as potent but nonspecific inhibitors of mature caspases [Frydrych and Mlejnek [2008] J Cell Biochem 103:1646-1656]. The question whether TLCK and TPCK inhibit simultaneously caspase activation and/or processing remained, however, open. In this article, we demonstrated that TPCK even enhanced caspase-3 and caspase-7 processing although it substantially inhibited caspase-3 and caspase-7 enzymatic (DEVDase) activity in HL-60 cells exposed to various cell death inducing stimuli. Under the same conditions, TLCK had no effect or affected caspase-3 and caspase-7 processing marginally depending on cell treatment used. Importantly, TLCK substantially inhibited caspase-3 and caspase-7 enzymatic (DEVDase) activity irrespectively to the treatment used. Interestingly, treatment of cells with toxic concentrations of TPCK alone was accompanied by full caspase-3 and -7 processing even if it induced necrosis. In contrast, treatment of cells with concentrations of TLCK that caused necrosis was accompanied by only partial caspase-3 and caspase-7 processing. Our results clearly indicated that TPCK and TLCK did not inhibit caspase-3 and -7 enzymatic activity by prevention of their activation and/or processing.
Frydrych
Ivo
I
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Biology, Palacky University Olomouc, Hnevotinska 3, Olomouc 77515, Czech Republic.
Mlejnek
Petr
P
D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D053179:Caspase 7 / Q000378:metabolism*; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006801:Humans; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014107:Tosyllysine Chloromethyl Ketone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014108:Tosylphenylalanyl Chloromethyl Ketone / Q000494:pharmacology*
D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors; D014107:Tosyllysine Chloromethyl Ketone; D014108:Tosylphenylalanyl Chloromethyl Ketone; D053148:Caspase 3; D053179:Caspase 7