Date

2007-04-13

Author

Baran, Yusuf
Salas, Arelis
Senkal, Can E.
Gündüz, Ufuk
Bielawski, Jacek
Obeid, Lina M.
Ogretmen, Besim

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In this study, mechanisms of resistance to imatinib-induced apoptosis in human K562 cells were examined. Continuous exposure to stepwise increasing concentrations of imatinib resulted in the selection of K562/IMA-0.2 and -1 cells, which expressed similar to 2.3- and 19-fold resistance, respectively. Measurement of endogenous ceramides by high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy showed that treatment with imatinib increased the generation of ceramide, mainly C-18-ceramide, which is generated by the human longevity assurance gene 1 (hLASS1), in sensitive, but not in resistant cells. Inhibition of hLASS1 by small interfering RNA partially prevented imatinib-induced cell death in sensitive cells. In reciprocal experiments, overexpression of hLASS1, and not hLASS6, in drug-resistant cells caused a marked increase in imatinib-induced C-18-ceramide generation, and enhanced apoptosis. Interestingly, there were no defects in the levels of mRNA and enzyme activity levels of hLASS1 for ceramide generation in K562/IMA-1 cells. However, expression levels of sphingosine kinase-1 (SK1) and generation of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) were increased significantly in K562/IMA-1 cells, channeling sphingoid bases to the sphingosine kinase pathway. The partial inhibition of SK1 expression by small interference RNA modulated S1P levels and increased sensitivity to imatinib-induced apoptosis in resistant cells. On the other hand, forced expression of SK1 in K562 cells increased the ratio between total S1P/C-18-ceramide levels similar to 6-fold and prevented apoptosis significantly in response to imatinib. Additional data indicated a role for SK1/S1P signaling in the up-regulation of the Bcr-Abl expression at the post-transcriptional level, which suggested a possible mechanism for resistance to imatinib-mediated apoptosis. In conclusion, these data suggest a role for endogenous C-18-ceramide synthesis mainly via hLASS1 in imatinib-induced apoptosis in sensitive cells, whereas in resistant cells, alterations of the balance between the levels of ceramide and S1P by overexpression of SK1 result in resistance to imatinib-induced apoptosis.

Subject Keywords

Chronic myelogenous leukemia, Longevity assurance gene-1, Human acid ceramidase, Sphingosine 1-phosphate, Tyrosine kinase, Dihydroceramide synthase, Family-members, Cancer-therapy, Human head, Protein

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/31901

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Article