title: Survivin protects fused cancer cells from cell death.
abstract: Tetraploidy, a potential precursor of cancer-associated aneuploidy, is produced either by cell fusion or failure of cytokinesis. In this study, low p53-expressing HeLa cells were used to address the fate of cancer cells after fusion. We found that massive cell death or growth arrest occurred a few days after fusion. Interestingly, cells with larger nuclei preferentially died after fusion, suggesting that a larger deviation of DNA content is a strong inducer of apoptosis. Notably, a fraction of cells escaped cell death. Also, the stability of survivin increased, and its localization changed preferentially to the cytosol in fused cells. Knockdown of survivin decreased the survival of fused cells, more than observed in unfused cells, showing increased dependency of fused cells on survivin. Collectively, after cancer cell fusion, some fused cells avoid the apoptotic crisis partly owing to survivin, and continue to proliferate, a process that contributes to human cancer progression. [BMB Reports 2017; 50(7): 361-366].
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genomic instability Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine; Department of Biomedical Sciences, The Graduate School, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: Mihyang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Do
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Hae
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genomic instability Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine; Department of Biomedical Sciences, The Graduate School, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: Ju-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: In Jeong
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genomic instability Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine; Department of Biomedical Sciences, The Graduate School, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D016923:Cell Death; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000077022:Survivin; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: C107489:BIRC5 protein, human; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D000077022:Survivin