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Original Studies |
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Gifu 500, Japan
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Atsushi Imai, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Tsukasamachi, Gifu 500, Japan.
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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The GnRH-induced antiproliferation may proceed by stimulated apoptotic (programmed) cell death (6, 7). A cell surface receptor protein, Fas, triggers apoptosis in a variety of cell types when cross-linked with its natural ligand, Fas ligand (8, 9). The similar characteristics in apoptosis of different cell types suggest that the mechanism of apoptosis may be common to all cell types. GnRH receptor reveals characteristics of the family of guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein-coupled receptors that possess seven putative transmembrane domains (10), whereas Fas is a single-chain polypeptide with a single transmembrane domain (11). However, cellular responses mediated by GnRH receptor or Fas include enhanced apoptotic cell death, and thus, these two may share the same intracellular signal transduction pathway. In fact, recent data have demonstrated the involvement of the tyrosine kinase/phosphatase system in signal transduction in the activation of the Fas ligand gene through the T cell receptor (8), as well as the action of GnRH on GnRH receptor-bearing tumors (12, 13, 14). These findings prompted us to examine the possible role of the Fas-Fas ligand system on the antiproliferative signaling process of GnRH receptor.
In the course of characterization of Fas (Fas ligand receptor) distribution (15), we found that GnRH induces intratumoral expression of Fas ligand in the GnRH-sensitive carcinoma cells. The local Fas ligand expression, responsive to a certain hormonal stimulus, may provide a potential mechanism through which tumors arising in reproductive organs undergo apoptosis with the hormone manipulation. Here we describe tight coupling of intratumoral production of Fas ligand to GnRH receptor activation.
| Materials and Methods |
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GnRH agonists, buserelin and leuprolide, were gifts from Hoechst Japan (Tokyo, Japan) and Takeda Pharmaceutical (Osaka, Japan), respectively. GnRH antagonist, antide, and TRH were purchased from Sigma Chemical (St. Louis, MO). Antibody PC78 against Fas ligand was obtained from Calbiochem (Cambridge, MA). The messenger RNA (mRNA) purification kit and nitrocellulose membranes were products of Pharmacia-LKB (Uppsala, Sweden). Moloney murine leukemia RT and Taq polymerase were from Takara-Shuzo (Tokyo, Japan). Hybond-N+ membranes, ECL-direct nucleic acid labeling and detection system, and sequence kit were from Amersham (Amersham, UK). Dispase was from Boehringer Mannheim (Indianapolis, IN). All other chemicals were of reagent grade.
Tissue collection and cell cultures
Reproductive tract tumor specimens were placed in ice-cold PBS
immediately after surgical removal, and representative portions were
excised to prepare the materials for histological frozen sections.
These tissue samples were washed and immediately minced in RPMI 1640
medium with dispase, as previously described (12), and the cells were
plated in RPMI 1640 medium with 10% FBS in the presence of agents to
be tested. Only tissues obtained at the initial surgery were used for
analyses. We screened the surgical samples for the presence of GnRH
binding sites and GnRH receptor mRNA, as described previously (3, 12).
Of a total of six samples (three endometrial carcinomas and three
ovarian carcinomas), five (three endometrial carcinomas and two ovarian
carcinomas) had obvious GnRH receptor. Clinical data and the results of
GnRH receptor analyses of all tumors submitted to the experiments in
this study are summarized in Table 1
. The
investigation had the approval of the Gifu University Research Ethics
Committee, and all patients gave informed consent to the disposition of
their surgically removed tissues. Aside from the diagnosis of
gynecological tumor, these patients were free of endocrine or systemic
diseases.
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Plasma membrane isolation
The procedure described previously (12, 16) was used to obtain highly purified plasma membrane fractions from the specimens. The isolated plasma membranes were immediately submitted to the following experiments. The SA of a marker enzyme 5'-nucleotidase in the plasma membrane fraction was increased approximately 6- to 9-fold, when compared with the homogenate (13 µmol/mg protein·h).
Immunoblotting
Immunoblotting was carried out, as described previously (13, 14), using the PC78 antibody raised against extracellular regions of Fas ligand. The primary antiserum was used at 1:1,000 dilution for 1 h at room temperature. Biotin-labeled antimouse whole antibody from sheep was used as a second antibody to develop the immunoblots.
RT-PCR amplification
Total RNA was extracted from cell pellets, according to the guanidine isothiocyanate/acid phenol method (17), and poly(A) RNA was selected by oligo(dT) cellulose column chromatography, according to the manufacturers instructions.
A random primed complementary DNA (cDNA) library was obtained from 200 ng of each of the poly(A) RNA prepared, using the Moloney murine leukemia RT under the conditions recommended by the supplier. The cDNA reaction (25 µL) was diluted with 300 µL water, was heat-denatured at 95 C for 5 min, and was quickly chilled on ice. The cDNA (1 µL) was amplified in a 50-µL reaction buffer containing 10 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 50 mmol/L KCl, 2 mmol/L MgCl2, 50 µmol/L each deoxynucleotide triphosphates, 1.25 U Taq polymerase, and 0.5 µmol/L primers (3, 18). The sequences of oligonucleotide primers, synthesized according to the published human Fas ligand sequence (19), were as followed: primer a (sense): 5'-TTCTTCCCTGTCCAACCTCT-3' (150169), primer b (sense): 5'-CGCCACCACTGCCTCCACTA-3' (243262), primer c (antisense): 5'-CTCATCATCTTCCCCTCCAT-3' (737756), primer d (antisense): 5'-CTTCCCCT-CCATCATCACCA-3' (729748). One tube contained each of the upstream and downstream primers, with a predicted DNA fragment of 607 bp (primers a and c), 599 bp (a and d), 514 bp (b and c), or 506 bp (b and d), respectively. Each primer set was designed to flank the entire transmembrane domain. We carried out 35 cycles of amplification; denaturation at 95 C for 20 sec, annealing at 55 C for 20 sec, and extension at 72 C for 20 sec followed by a final extension for 10 min at 72 C. The DNA product (10 µL) was run on 2% agarose gels, and bands were visualized by ethidium bromide staining on an ultraviolet transilluminator. Sequence of the PCR products was analyzed and confirmed manually by the dideoxy chain termination method (20) using Sequenase II according to the manufacturers protocols.
Statistics
Statistical analysis was performed by t test. Differences were considered significant if P was less than 0.05.
| Results |
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PCR amplification of first-strand cDNA from human endometrial and
ovarian carcinoma cells and their cloned cell lines was conducted with
four sets of oligonucleotide primers, as described in Materials
and Methods. As shown in Fig. 1
, A
and C, when incubated with a GnRH agonist buserelin (1 µmol/L) for
48 h, ovarian carcinoma cell line SK-OV-3 yielded an expected
amount of products, whereas there was no detectable product at 24
h. Similar results were obtained with another GnRH analog leuprolide
(data not shown). Control peptide, TRH, had no effect (Fig. 1A
).
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GnRH-induced Fas ligand protein expression
The GnRH receptor-bearing tumors were then examined for a presence
of immunoreactive Fas ligand. Immunoblotting with the specific
antibody, PC78, detected a band of 40 kDa in SK-OV-3 cells exposed to
GnRH analog buserelin (1 µmol/L) with a lag time of 48 h, as
shown in Fig. 2A
. No significant Fas
ligand protein was expressed within 24 h. Figure 3
shows the dose-response characteristics
of these effects of buserelin on SK-OV-3, endometrial carcinoma HHUA
cells, and isolated ovarian carcinoma cells of surgically removed
specimen (patient 4 of Table 1
). The stimulatory response to buserelin
of Fas ligand protein expression was dose dependent; a half-maximal
effect occurred at approximately 10 nmol/L in SK-OV-3 and HHUA cells.
The representative profile of the dose-related immunoblotting was
illustrated in Fig. 2B
. The GnRHs effect was abolished by the
addition of 10 µmol/L GnRH antagonist antide (Fig. 2B
), a dose that
displaces virtually all of the bound GnRH from its receptor under these
conditions (21). An identical result was obtained with another GnRH
agonist, leuprolide.
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| Discussion |
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The Fas ligand has four potential N-glycosylation sites, which seem to be variably used (22, 23). Because of the variation in glycosylation, the full-length protein migrates as several distinct molecular-weight species. The highest degree of homology with Fas ligand forms occurs in the extracellular domain corresponding to the carboxylterminal portion (22). Anti-Fas ligand antibody (PC78) used in the present study is raised against the extracellular domain corresponding to amino acid residues 261277. Using immunodetection with the specific antibody, we identified a substantial level of Fas ligand in isolated membranes of the endometrial carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma specimens and their cell lines that had been exposed to a GnRH analog for 48 h. Fas ligand mRNA was detected by RT-PCR amplification, based on the generation of identical PCR-amplified products to authorized Fas ligand cDNA. For amplification, four separate sets of primers were used; each set is designed to flank the nucleotide sequence encoding the entire transmembrane domain. The GnRH-responsive products had the predicted sizes, and they included complementary sequences confirmed by direct sequencing of the PCR products. Although surgically removed tumor specimens may contain some T cells, Fas ligand was not detected by PCR amplification 24 h after GnRH treatment. The expression of Fas ligand in T cells could be induced only by activation with a certain stimulus or T cell receptor engagement (24), and it is likely that resting T cells present in tumor specimens express no Fas ligand. In experiments with antide, the GnRH-stimulated Fas ligand expression was neutralized by the competitive antagonist; a dose of antide used in this study can replace the previously bound GnRH from its receptor under these conditions (21). These findings allow us to draw two important conclusions: 1) the hormonal activation of Fas ligand expression was mediated through GnRH receptor; and 2) GnRH-responsive Fas ligand was characterized as membrane protein (expressed in plasma membrane), although the Fas ligand is also cleaved from the surface of the cell and released as a soluble form (23).
Among the various human cell types examined, only activated T cells (8) and cytotrophoblasts (25) express Fas ligand, whereas Fas is detected in a variety of normal and neoplastic cells (8, 11). Our present results show that a GnRH agonist can induce Fas ligand production in GnRH receptor-bearing ovarian carcinoma cells and endometrial carcinoma cells. Apoptotic cell death via Fas requires the cross-linking of Fas, either with antibodies to Fas (with cell-expressing Fas ligand) or with purified Fas ligand (26). We recently have demonstrated the frequent expression of Fas in such GnRH receptor-positive carcinoma cells but not in the GnRH receptor-negative tumors (15). The intratumoral production of Fas ligand could be suggested to prevent the cellular proliferation through apoptotic attack on the Fas-bearing cells present in GnRH receptor-positive tumors.
There are differences in the signal transduction pathways activated by GnRH receptors in the peripheral tumor vs. the anterior pituitary. We have demonstrated that GnRH receptor is coupled to pertussis toxin-sensitive GTP-binding proteins of the Gi family in reproductive tract tumors (13, 14). Recent studies (27, 28) have identified that members of the pertussis toxin-insensitive GTP-binding proteins of the Gq/G11 subfamily mediate the message from GnRH receptor in pituitary gonadotrophs. The difference of GTP-binding protein coupled to GnRH receptor may assess that the cellular responses (including Fas ligand expression) to GnRH in the peripheral tumor are distinct from that in the anterior pituitary.
Lastly, the present results suggest that Fas ligand appears in endometrial carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma on GnRH stimulation. It cannot be ruled out that the Fas ligand represents only a phylogenetic residue without functional importance, but the sensitivity of tumors to physiological control is strongly associated with the possession of receptors for the ligand. The Fas ligand expression linked to GnRH receptor activation may, at least partially, mediate the antiproliferative action of GnRH agonists by increasing apoptotic cell death within the tumor. Although our data were derived from experiments that used surgically removed reproductive tract tumors and cell lines, our findings of a hormone-induced Fas ligand expression may be applicable to all hormone-dependent carcinomas responding to stimuli that lead to apoptosis.
| Footnotes |
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Received August 29, 1997.
Revised October 7, 1997.
Accepted October 14, 1997.
| References |
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