Low spontaneous apoptosis index at diagnosis predicts a high-risk phenotype in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Growth Inhibition and Apoptotic Effect of Pine Extract and Abietic Acid on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells via Alteration of Multiple Gene Expressions Using In Vitro Approach

In vitro anti-proliferative activity of Pinus palustris extract and its purified abietic acid was assessed against different human cancer cell lines (HepG-2, MCF-7 and HCT-116) compared to normal WI-38 cell line. Abietic acid showed more promising IC50 values against MCF-7 cells than pine extract (0.06 µg/mL and 0.11 µM, respectively), with insignificant cytotoxicity toward normal fibroblast WI-38 cells. Abietic acid triggered both G2/M cell arrest and subG0-G1 subpopulation in MCF-7, compared to SubG0-G1 subpopulation arrest only for the extract. It also induced overexpression of key apoptotic genes (Fas, FasL, Casp3, Casp8, Cyt-C and Bax) and downregulation of both proliferation (VEGF, IGFR1, TGF-β) and oncogenic (C-myc and NF-κB) genes. Additionally, abietic acid induced overexpression of cytochrome-C protein. Furthermore, it increased levels of total antioxidants to diminish carcinogenesis and chemotherapy resistance. P. palustris is a valuable source of active abietic acid, an antiproliferative agent to MCF-7 cells through induction of apoptosis with promising future anticancer agency in breast cancer therapy.

Spontaneous apoptosis and BCL2 gene expression as predictors of early death and short overall survival in acute leukemia patients: a prospective, case cohort study

Background

Spontaneous apoptosis and expression of MCL1, BCL2, and BCL-XL may be useful prognostic markers in acute leukemia patients. The purpose of this study is to examine the prognosis in adult leukemia patients based on spontaneous apoptosis and anti-apoptosis gene expressions in circulating leukocytes.

Results

Early, late, and total apoptosis were significantly increased in peripheral blood leukocytes from patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) compared to controls and in cases of ALL versus AML (P < 0.001). Total apoptosis decreased significantly in AML and ALL patients who died early (ED); P = 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively. Anti-apoptosis genes MCL1, BCL2, and BCL-XL were upregulated in 62.4%, 64.2%, and 62.4% of the acute leukemia patients, respectively. Among the AML patients, the up-regulation of BCL2 was paradoxically associated with increased apoptosis and low rates of ED. The expression levels of MCL1 and BCL-XL had no significant prognostic values; among patients diagnosed with non-acute promyelocytic leukemia (non-APL-AML), total spontaneous apoptosis, expression of BCL2, and performance status were independent predictors of overall survival (OS).

Conclusion

Total spontaneous apoptosis and BCL2 gene expression may be valuable independent markers for OS in patients with non-APL-AML. Moreover, in ALL patients decreased levels of spontaneous apoptosis were associated with ED, although this was not a significant predictor of OS.

Role of Autophagy and Apoptosis in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Background:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignant disease characterized by an excessive number of immature lymphocytes, including immature precursors of both B- and T cells. ALL affects children more often than adults. Immature lymphocytes lead to arrested differentiation and proliferation of cells. Its conventional treatments involve medication with dexamethasone, vincristine, and other anticancer drugs. Although the current first-line drugs can achieve effective treatment, they still cannot prevent the recurrence of some patients with ALL. Treatments have high risk of recurrence especially after the first remission. Currently, novel therapies to treat ALL are in need. Autophagy and apoptosis play important roles in regulating cancer development. Autophagy involves degradation of proteins and organelles, and apoptosis leads to cell death. These phenomena are crucial in cancer progression. Past studies reported that many potential anticancer agents regulate intracellular signaling pathways.

Methods:

The authors discuss the recent research findings on the role of autophagy and apoptosis in ALL.

Results:

The autophagy and apoptosis are widely used in the treatment of ALL. Most studies showed that many agents regulate autophagy and apoptosis in ALL cell models, clinical trials, and ALL animal models.

Conclusions:

In summary, activating autophagy and apoptosis pathways are the main strategies for ALL treatments. For ALL, combining new drugs with traditional chemotherapy and glucocorticoids treatments can achieve the greatest therapeutic effect by activating autophagy and apoptosis.