Analysis of nuclear apoptotic process in a cell-free system

Fate of nuclear material during subsequent steps of the kinetin-induced PCD in apical parts of Vicia faba ssp. minor seedling roots

In animals during apoptosis, the best examined type of programmed cell death (PCD), three main phases are distinguished: (i) specification (signaling), (ii) killing and (iii) execution one. It has bean postulated that plant PCD also involves three subsequent phases: (i) transmission of death signals to cells (signaling), (ii) initiation of killing processes and (iii) destruction of cells. One of the most important hallmarks of animal and plant PCD are those regarding nucleus, not thoroughly studied in plants so far. To study kinetin-induced PCD (Kin-PCD) in the context of nuclear material faith, 2-cm apical parts of Vicia faba ssp. minor seedling roots were used. Applied assays involving spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence and white light microscopy allowed to examine metabolic and cytomorphologic hallmarks such as changes in DNA content, ssDNA formation and activity of acidic and basic nucleases (DNases and RNases) as well as malformations and fragmentation of nucleoli and nuclei. The obtained results concerning the PCD hallmarks and influence of ZnSO₄ on Kin-PCD allowed us to confirmed presence of specification/signaling, killing and execution/degradation phases of the process and broaden the knowledge about processes affecting nuclei during PCD.

Kinetin induces cell death in root cortex cells of Vicia faba ssp. minor seedlings

The double fluorescence staining with acridine orange and ethidium bromide (AO/EB) revealed that treatment of Vicia faba ssp. minor seedlings with kinetin-induced programmed cell death (PCD) in root cortex cells. Kinetin-induced cell death reflected by the morphological changes of nuclei including their invagination, volume increase, chromatin condensation and degradation as well as formation of micronuclei showed by AO/EB and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindol staining was accompanied by changes including increase in conductivity of cell electrolytes secreted to culture media, decrease in the number of the G1- and G2-phase cells and appearance of fraction of hypoploid cells as the effect of DNA degradation without ladder formation. Decrease in the number of mitochondria and in the activity of cellular dehydrogenases, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), appearance of small and then large lytic vacuoles and increase in the amount of cytosolic calcium ions were also observed. The PCD was also manifested by increased width and weight of apical fragments of roots as well as decreased length of cortex cells which led to shortening of the whole roots. The kinetin-induced PCD process was almost completely inhibited by adenine, an inhibitor of phosphoribosyl transferase, and mannitol, an inhibitor of ROS production. These cell-death hallmarks and pathway of this process suggested that the induction of kinetin-specific vacuolar type of death, expressed itself with similar intensity on both morphological and metabolic levels, was a transient protecting whole roots and whole seedlings against elimination.

Nitric oxide induces apoptosis in GM-CSF-treated eosinophils via caspase-6-dependent lamin and DNA fragmentation

Asthma is characterized by accumulation of eosinophils in the lungs and delayed apoptosis may be one mechanism leading to eosinophilia. Nitric oxide (NO), present in inflamed lungs, has been shown to possess both anti- and proeosinophilic properties. We previously showed that NO induces apoptosis in the presence of survival prolonging cytokine IL-5 in human eosinophils. In the present study, we examined the intracellular mechanisms of NO-induced apoptosis in granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-treated eosinophils concentrating on the role of caspases and calpains. Eosinophils were isolated from human blood and apoptosis was determined by relative DNA fragmentation assay, morphological analysis and/or Annexin-V FITC assay. We showed that NO-donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-d,l-penicillamine (SNAP) induced apoptosis in GM-CSF-treated eosinophils. SNAP-induced DNA fragmentation was totally prevented by an inhibitor of caspase-6 (Z-VEID-FMK). Decreased levels of caspase-6 proenzyme and increased amounts of cleaved lamin A/C in SNAP-treated cells indicated activation of caspase-6. Furthermore, SNAP-induced lamin A/C and B fragmentation was totally abolished by an inhibitor of caspase-6. According to our results, caspase-6 mediates lamin and DNA fragmentation also in spontaneously dying eosinophils. Inhibitor of calpains prevented most of DNA fragmentation related to spontaneous apoptosis but had no effect in eosinophils undergoing NO-induced apoptosis. In the present study we showed that caspase-6 is essential for the executive phase involving lamin and DNA fragmentation in both NO-induced and spontaneous eosinophil apoptosis. However, differences in the involvement of calpains suggest that the intracellular signalling in NO-induced apoptosis has specific features at the level of proteases. This study demonstrates new mechanisms for NO-induced and spontaneous apoptosis in human eosinophils.

Chronic heat-shock treatment driven differentiation induces apoptosis in Leishmania donovani

The present study investigates the role of apoptosis in the regulation of cell numbers of Leishmania donovani during the in vitro differentiation of promastigote stage to amastigote stage in axenic conditions. We report that apoptosis is induced in Leishmania donovani due to chronic heat-shock treatment of 37 ( degrees )C that also mediates the differentiation of promastigotes to amastigotes. This is characterized by the fragmentation of DNA, blebbing in the parasite cell membrane, nuclear condensation, formation of preapoptotic bodies and involvement of Ca(++) in the apoptotic process. The flowcytometric analysis shows an early and steep rise in percentage apoptotic nuclei till 48-hour stage of differentiation and then a gradual decline, suggesting synergistic action of Ca(++) ATPase and probably Hsp70. Hsp70 might be rescuing cells from apoptosis in the death signaling pathway. Incubation of the culture with Ca(++) chelator EGTA (1 mM) brings down the percentage of apoptotic nuclei considerably showing thereby that calcium is needed for the process of cell death here that occurs by apoptosis. The survival of the infective individuals appears to be decided by the parasite in the early stages of its differentiation. Our studies show the potential of the physiological temperature of 37 ( degrees )C in inducing apoptosis in Leishmania donovani and the therapeutic use it can be put to.

The sunburn cell revisited: an update on mechanistic aspects

The sunburn cell (SBC), with its pyknotic nucleus and eosinophilic cytoplasm, is characteristic of mammalian epidermis after exposure to UVC and UVB radiation or UVA radiation in the presence of psoralens. SBC may be regarded as an example of apoptosis: controlled individual cell death. Since the discovery of apoptosis over thirty years ago, there has been a considerable increase in the knowledge of mechanisms involved in this process. DNA damage has been shown to be a major determinant of SBC production both in a p53-dependent and -independent manner. Extranuclear events such as activation of membrane bound death receptors also contribute to SBC formation. The development of new technologies and techniques has resulted in a better understanding of the mechanisms and machinery involved in apoptosis, triggered by various stimuli and in different cell types. Of particular importance has been the elucidation of regulatory molecules such as caspases, inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAP) and the role of mitochondria as key to the process of apoptosis and consequent production of SBC. This review attempts to give an update on those mechanisms involved and the occurrence and relevance of SBC in mammalian skin are discussed.

Protein kinase C-beta II Is an apoptotic lamin kinase in polyomavirus-transformed, etoposide-treated pyF111 rat fibroblasts

The role of protein kinase C-beta(II) (PKC-beta(II)) in etoposide (VP-16)-induced apoptosis was studied using polyomavirus-transformed pyF111 rat fibroblasts in which PKC-beta(II) specific activity in the nuclear membrane (NM) doubled and the enzyme was cleaved into catalytic fragments. No PKC-beta(II) complexes with lamin B1 and/or active caspases were immunoprecipitable from the NM of proliferating untreated cells, but large complexes of PKC-beta(II) holoprotein and its catalytic fragments with lamin B1, active caspase-3 and -6, and inactive phospho-CDK-1, but not PKC-beta(I) or PKC-delta, could be immunoprecipitated from the NM of VP-16-treated cells, suggesting that PKC-beta(II) is an apoptotic lamin kinase. By 30 min after normal nuclei were mixed with cytoplasms from VP-16-treated, but not untreated, cells, PKC-beta(II) holoprotein had moved from the apoptotic cytoplasm to the normal NM, and lamin B1 was phosphorylated before cleavage by caspase-6. Lamin B1 phosphorylation was partly reduced, but its cleavage was completely prevented, despite the presence of active caspase-6, by adding a selective PKC-betas inhibitor, hispidin, to the apoptotic cytoplasms. Thus, a PKC-beta(II) response to VP-16 seems necessary for lamin B1 cleavage by caspase-6 and nuclear lamina dissolution in apoptosing pyF111 fibroblasts. The possibility of PKC-beta(II) being an apoptotic lamin kinase in these cells was further suggested by lamin B1-bound PKC-delta being inactive or only slightly active and by PKC-alpha not combining with the lamin.

Regulation and execution of programmed cell death in response to pathogens, stress and developmental cues

Recent studies have expanded our view of the interactions between small molecule signals that regulate the hypersensitive response and other forms of cell suicide in plants. The mitochondrion has received increasing support as a mediator of at least some forms of programmed cell death in plants. In addition, new information provides a glimpse of how plant hormone signaling may be integrated with extensive autolysis, sensitivity to reactive oxygen intermediates and cell death.

Effects of phosphocreatine on apoptosis in a cell-free system

The characteristic morphological and biochemical changes during caspase-mediated apoptosis can be reproduced to a large extent in a Xenopus laevis egg extract cell-free system by addition of mouse liver nuclei and exogenous cytochrome c. We show that in this system phosphocreatine accelerated the apoptotic morphological changes of the nuclei, but selectively inhibited DNA fragmentation. Western blot showed that the degradation of lamins A and C is accelerated, which is possibly responsible for the nuclear changes during cell apoptosis. However, the degradation of ICAD/DFF45-like protein in the egg extracts is inhibited in a time-dependent manner. Exogenous creatine, ATP, and several organic acids have no effect on DNA fragmentation, excluding the possibility that creatine, ATP, or acidic conditions resulting from phosphocreatine are responsible for inhibiting DNA fragmentation. Lithium chloride, a kinase inhibitor, can overcome the phosphocreatine effects and can restore DNA fragmentation. Our results indicate that phosphocreatine protects ICAD/DFF45-like protein from proteolysis, probably through kinase actions, resulting in its resistance to caspase cleavage and leading to an inhibition of DNA fragmentation.