title: Over-expression of the Beclin1 gene upregulates chemosensitivity to anti-cancer drugs by enhancing therapy-induced apoptosis in cervix squamous carcinoma CaSki cells.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the autophagy-related gene, Beclin1, plays a role in the regulation of chemosensitivity to anti-cancer drugs in cervical cancer CaSki cells. Expression of the Beclin1 protein was up-regulated in pcDNA3.1-Bec transfectants and led to cell arrest in the G(0)/G(1) phase of the cell cycle. The MTT assay indicated that over-expression of Beclin1 sensitized CaSki cells to chemotherapeutic drugs (cisplatin, paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, and epirubicin) and induced greater degrees of cytotoxicity than vector-only controls. After treatment with anti-cancer drugs, flow cytometric analysis indicated that the Beclin1-transfected group showed a greater increase in apoptosis than did the non-transfected group. Furthermore, pSUPER-Bec transfectants did not lead to a significant increase of resistance to each of these anti-cancer drugs. These results suggest that Beclin1 plays an important role in the regulation of potent anti-tumor activity, and over-expression of Beclin1 in CaSki cells may enhance apoptosis signaling induced by anti-cancer drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fujian Provincial Clinical Medical College, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350001, PR China. garyhanyu@sina.com
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jia-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Sai-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yu-Xia
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D000071186:Beclin-1; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D014162:Transfection; D015854:Up-Regulation; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C491997:BECN1 protein, human; D000071186:Beclin-1; D008565:Membrane Proteins