Inactivation of the apoptosis effector Apaf-1 in malignant melanoma Journal Article
| Authors: | Soengas, M. S.; Capodieci, P.; Polsky, D.; Mora, J.; Esteller, M.; Opitz-Araya, X.; McCombie, R.; Herman, J. G.; Gerald, W. L.; Lazebnik, Y. A.; Cordón-Cardó, C.; Lowe, S. W. |
| Article Title: | Inactivation of the apoptosis effector Apaf-1 in malignant melanoma |
| Abstract: | Metastatic melanoma is a deadly cancer that fails to respond to conventional chemotherapy and is poorly understood at the molecular level1. p53 mutations often occur in aggressive and chemoresistant cancers but are rarely observe in melanoma1.2. Here we show that metastatic melanomas often lose Apaf-1,a cell-death effector that acts with cytocrhome c and caspase-9 to mediate p53-dependent apoptosis3. Loss of Apaf-1 expression is accompanied by allelic loss in metastatic melanomas, but can be recovered in melanoma cell lines by treatment with the methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2' -deoxycytidine (5aza2dC). Apaf-1-negative melanomas are invariably chemoresistant and are unable to execute a typical apoptotic programme in response to p53 activation. Restoring physiological levels of Apaf-1 through gene transfer or 5aza2dC treatment markedly enhances chemosensivity and rescues the apoptotic defects associated with Apaf-1 loss. We conclude that Apaf-1 is inactivated in matastatic melanomas, which leads to defects in the execution of apoptotic cell death. Apaf-1 loss may contribute to the low frequency of p53 mutations observed in this highly chemoresistant tumour type. |
| Keywords: | controlled study; gene mutation; human cell; mutation; doxorubicin; antineoplastic agents; proteins; melanoma; metastasis; apoptosis; tumor cells, cultured; chemosensitivity; caspases; protein p53; dna methylation; gene transfer; cancer resistance; cloning, molecular; tumor suppressor gene; gene expression regulation, neoplastic; dna, neoplasm; 5 aza 2' deoxycytidine; caspase 9; loss of heterozygosity; genes, tumor suppressor; genes, p53; cytochrome c; apoptotic protease-activating factor 1; chromosomes, human, pair 12; allelism; humans; human; priority journal; article |
| Journal Title: | Nature |
| Volume: | 409 |
| Issue: | 6817 |
| ISSN: | 0028-0836 |
| Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
| Date Published: | 2001-01-11 |
| Start Page: | 207 |
| End Page: | 211 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1038/35051606 |
| PUBMED: | 11196646 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Export Date: 21 May 2015 -- Source: Scopus |
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25Mora -
12
Polsky -
375Gerald -
612
Cordon-Cardo -
19
Capodieci
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