Human A1 expression in acute myeloid leukemia and its relationship to Bcl-2 expression

High expression of bfl-1 contributes to the apoptosis resistant phenotype in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

In order to identify regulatory genes involved in the development of an apoptosis-resistant phenotype in patients with chemotherapy refractory B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) expression of apoptosis-regulating genes in B-CLL cells was quantified using cDNA arrays and RT-PCR. Data were obtained from and compared between 2 groups of B-CLL patients with either nonprogressive, indolent, previously untreated disease and with leukemic cells sensitive to in vitro fludarabine-induced apoptosis, referred to as sensitive B-CLL (sB-CLL) or with progressive, chemotherapy refractory disease and with leukemic cells resistant to in vitro fludarabine-induced apoptosis, referred to as resistant B-CLL (rB-CLL). By performing a supervised clustering of genes that most strongly discriminated between rB-CLL vs. sB-CLL a small group of genes was identified, where bfl-1 was the strongest discriminating gene (p < 0.05), with higher expression in rB-CLL. A group of apoptosis-regulating genes were modulated during induction of apoptosis by serum deprivation in vitro in a similar manner in all cases studied. However, bfl-1 was preferentially downregulated in sB-CLL as compared to rB-CLL (p < 0.05). We conclude that bfl-1 may be an important regulator of B-CLL apoptosis, which could contribute to disease progression and resistance to chemotherapy, and as such represent a future potential therapeutic target.

Interleukin-10 enhances the oxidized LDL-induced foam cell formation of macrophages by antiapoptotic mechanisms

Interleukin (IL)-10 may have a therapeutic potential in atherosclerosis, but its mechanisms of action have not been clarified. Foam cell formation is a key event in atherogenesis, and apoptosis of these lipid-laden cells may promote plaque destabilization. We sought to explore whether IL-10 could have plaque-stabilizing properties in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We studied the effect of IL-10 on oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-stimulated THP-1 cells and monocyte-derived macrophages from ACS patients and healthy controls using different experimental approaches. Our main findings were: i) IL-10 enhances lipid accumulation in oxLDL-stimulated THP-1 macrophages, at least partly by counteracting oxLDL-induced apoptosis; ii) This antiapoptotic effect of IL-10 involves increased expression of the antiapoptotic genes Bfl-1 and Mcl-1, accompanied by protective effects on mitochondria function; iii) By silencing Bfl-1 and Mcl-1 genes using siRNAs, we were able to abolish this IL-10-mediated effect on lipid accumulation; iv) IL-10 also induced lipid accumulation in oxLDL-stimulated macrophages from patients with ACS, but not in macrophages from healthy controls; v) In ACS patients, this enhancing effect of IL-10 on lipid accumulation was accompanied by enhanced Mcl-1 expression. No such antiapoptotic effect was seen in macrophages from healthy controls. These findings suggest a new mechanism for the effect of IL-10 in atherosclerosis, possibly contributing to plaque stabilization.

Oxidative stress attenuates Fas-mediated apoptosis in Jurkat T cell line through Bfl-1 induction

Many types of mammalian cells produce ROS in response to many different stimuli to modulate a number of cellular functions, including apoptosis. However, the correlation between ROS and apoptosis remains controversial, and the mechanisms whereby ROS-induced signals are propagated to critical downstream targets remain largely undefined. Here, we demonstrate that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) upregulates the expression of Bfl-1, an antiapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, and that this is responsible for the antiapoptotic activity of ROS. When Jurkat, human leukemic T cells, were pretreated with 100 microM H2O2 and then treated with anti-Fas antibody, apoptosis was impaired without change of cell surface Fas expression. An investigation of the expression patterns of Bcl-2 family genes revealed that H2O2 treatment induced Bfl-1 gene expression, but left other genes unchanged, and this Bfl-1 expression and H2O2 -induced antiapoptotic effect was inhibited by antioxidants or NF-kappaB inhibitor. In addition, an electromobility shift assay revealed that the p65/p50 subunits of NF-kappaB activated by H2O2 bound to a bfl-1 promoter. Neither the induction of Bfl-1 nor the antiapoptotic effect of H2O2 was detected in Bfl-1-knockdown Jurkat cell line containing Bfl-1 antisense (Bfl-1AS). These data indicate that oxidative stress induces the expression of Bfl-1 via NF-kappaB activation, and this early-response gene protects cells from Fas-mediated apoptosis. This may be a cellular survival mechanism of cells exposed to phagocytes-derived ROS.

The Bcl-2 family member Bfl-1/A1 is strongly repressed in normal and malignant plasma cells but is a potent anti-apoptotic factor for myeloma cells

Terminal B-cell differentiation is a multi-step process, from short-lived plasmablasts to mature long-lived plasma cells (PC). The anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member Bfl-1/A1 plays a critical role in the survival of mature B cells. However, its potential involvement at the later stages of B-cell development remains highly controversial. Our aim was thus to clarify the place of Bfl-1/A1 in the biology of normal PC and in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM), the major PC dyscrasia. Using gene expression profiling and quantifiable reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction experiments, we found a similar down-regulation of Bfl-1/A1 in both normal immature plasmablasts and mature PC when compared with B cells. In myeloma cells, the level of Bfl-1/A1 was low and Bfl-1/A1 was not a nuclear factor kappaB-inducible gene. Collectively, these data demonstrate that Bfl-1/A1 is not involved in the prolonged survival of normal mature PC, and that Bfl-1/A1 deregulation is not a common oncogenic event in MM. However, overexpression of Bfl-1/A1 by retroviral transduction promoted autonomous survival of an interleukin-6-dependent myeloma cell line and rendered it less sensitive to dexamethasone. Thus, Bfl-1/A1 transduction could be an interesting tool to obtain myeloma cell lines from primary samples and to favour the in vitro generation of antibody-secreting, long-lived normal PC.