Biomedical subjects

A Ogata

Publications and source records attributed to A Ogata.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

Anti-estrogens induce apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells.

Previous studies have suggested that multiple myeloma (MM) cells express estrogen receptors (ER). In the present study, we characterized the effects of estrogen agonists and antagonists (anti-estrogens [AE]) on growth of MM cell lines and MM patient cells. In addition to antagonizing estrogen binding to ER, AE can trigger apoptosis. Hence, we also determined whether estrogens or AE altered MM cell survival. Immunoblotting showed that ER-alpha is expressed in 4 of 5 MM cell lines (ARH-77, RPMI 8226, S6B45, and U266, but not OCI-My-5 cells), as well as in freshly isolated MM cells from 3 of 3 patients. 17beta-estradiol (E2) did not significantly alter proliferation of MM cell lines or MM patient cells. In contrast, two structurally distinct AE, tamoxifen (TAM) and ICI 182,780 (ICI), significantly inhibited the proliferation of all 5 MM cell lines and MM cells from 2 of 2 patients (IC50, 2 to 4 micromol/L). Proliferation of these cell lines was also inhibited by the hydroxylated TAM derivative, 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4HTAM), although this derivative was less potent than TAM (IC50, 3 to 25 micromol/L). In contrast, the dehalogenated TAM derivative toremifene (TOR) did not inhibit MM cell proliferation. We next examined the effects of these agents on MM cell survival. TAM, ICI, and, to a lesser extent, 4HTAM and TOR triggered apoptosis in both ER-alpha-positive as well as ER-alpha-negative MM cell lines and patient MM cells, evidenced both by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis using propidium iodide staining and the TUNEL assay. TAM-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis of ER-alpha-positive S6B45 MM cells was not blocked by coculture with excess E2. TAM-induced apoptosis of S6B45 MM cells was also unaffected by addition of exogenous interleukin-6. Importantly, both the inhibition of MM cell proliferation and the induction of MM cell apoptosis were achieved at concentrations of TAM (0.5 and 5.0 micromol/L) that did not significantly alter in vitro growth of normal hematopoietic progenitor cells. Similar plasma levels of TAM have been achieved using high-dose oral TAM therapy, with an acceptable toxicity profile. These studies therefore provide the rationale for trials to define the utility of AE therapy in MM.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed1998

An allosteric drug, o,o'-bismyristoyl thiamine disulfide, suppresses HIV-1 replication through prevention of nuclear translocation of both HIV-1 Tat and NF-kappa B.

The efficacy of o,o'-bismyristoyl thiamine disulfide (BMT) was examined in detail against HIV-1 laboratory isolates (HTLV-IIIB, JRFL, and MN), primary isolates (KMT and KMO), and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac251) in vitro. BMT inhibited the replication of HIV-1 in both laboratory and primary isolates in vitro. In addition, BMT exhibited antiviral activity against SIVmac251. Minimizing energy studies of BMT structure reveal that a trans-disulfide of thiamine (holo drug) disulfide (TDS, protodrug) is allosterically transited to the reactive twisted disulfide of BMT (allo drug) by o,o'-bismyristoyl esterification of TDS. BMT inhibits nuclear translocation of both HIV-1 transactivator (TAT) and the cellular transcriptional nuclear factor-KB (NF-kappa B), resulting in the suppression of HIV-1 replication.

Allosteric Site↗

PubMed1998

Sustained release dosage of thyrotropin-releasing hormone improves experimental Japanese encephalitis virus-induced parkinsonism in rats.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) has been reported to have some possibilities toward the treatment of affective CNS disorders. However, long term treatments with daily injections are often required. Effects of TRH-SR (sustained release microspheres of TRH) which is encapsulated in copoly (dl-lactic/glycolic acid) using an in-water drying method were investigated in experimental Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)-induced post-encephalitic parkinsonism rats by a pole test and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with an electrochemical detector (ECD). We have already reported that in adult Fischer rats killed 12 weeks after infection with JEV at the age of 13 days a marked decrease of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons was found in the bilateral substantia nigra. TRH-SR (3 mg/kg per 2 weeks, 4 times injections, subcutaneous [s.c.]) improved bradykinesia observed in the JEV-induced parkinsonism rats. Dopamine (DA) concentrations in the JEV-infected rats were profoundly reduced in the striatum as compared with controls. TRH-SR (3 mg/kg, once, s.c.) increased DA in the striatum 7 days after the injection. Although the pathomechanism of post-encephalitic parkinsonism is different from that of Parkinson's disease and TRH possesses a variety of CNS effects as well, these results suggest that TRH-SR play a possible role in the treatment of Parkinson's disease in addition to post-encephalitic parkinsonism as a supportive drug of L-DOPA.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

MDM2 protein overexpression inhibits apoptosis of TF-1 granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-dependent acute myeloblastic leukemia cells.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a growth factor for acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) cells. Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) oncoprotein, a potent inhibitor of wild-type p53 (wtp53), can function both to induce cell proliferation and enhance cell survival, and is frequently overexpressed in leukemias. Therefore, we focused on the importance of MDM2 protein in GM-CSF-dependent versus GM-CSF- independent growth of AML cells. The TF-1 AML cell line, which has both wtp53 and mutant p53 genes, showed GM-CSF-dependent growth; deprivation of GM-CSF resulted in G1 growth arrest and apoptosis. MDM2 mRNA and protein were highly expressed in proliferating TF-1 cells in the presence of GM-CSF and decreased significantly with deprivation of GM-CSF. In contrast, p53 protein increased with GM-CSF deprivation. Ectopic overexpression of MDM2 in TF-1 AML cells conferred resistance to GM-CSF deprivation, and is associated with decreased p53 protein expression. Moreover, a variant of TF-1 cells that grows in a GM-CSF-independent fashion also expressed high levels of MDM2 and low levels of p53. These results suggest that GM-CSF-independent growth of AML cells is associated with overexpression of MDM2 protein and related modulation of p53 expression.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Identification of macrophage migration inhibitory factor mRNA expression in neural cells of the rat brain by in situ hybridization.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been rediscovered as a hormone and immunomodulator as well as a proinflammatory cytokine. We investigated the expression of MIF protein and mRNA in the rat brain using optimized immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively. By immunohistochemical analysis, we found that MIF protein was present in the epithelial cells of the choroid plexus and ependymal cells as well as astrocyte-like cells in the cerebral white matter and cortex. Tissue sections double-stained for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and MIF revealed the presence of MIF protein in astrocytes, whereas this protein was scarcely identified in the neurons by staining using an anti-MIF antibody. We also measured the MIF content in the cerebrospinal fluid, which was 15.5 +/- 2.5 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM), comparable to the serum MIF value. In contrast, expression of MIF mRNA was found not only in astrocytes but also in neurons by the in situ hybridization technique. These results suggest that MIF plays a pivotal role as an immunomodulatory cytokine for inflammatory reactions and immune responses in the whole central nervous system.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

The 86-kD subunit of Ku autoantigen mediates homotypic and heterotypic adhesion of multiple myeloma cells.

Previous studies have shown that triggering multiple myeloma (MM) cells via CD40 induces IL-6-mediated autocrine growth as well as increased expression of cell surface adhesion molecules including CD11a, CD11b, CD11c, and CD18. In this study, we generated the 5E2 mAb which targets an antigen that is induced upon CD40 ligand (CD40L) activation of MM cells. Immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, and protein sequencing studies identified the target antigen of 5E2 mAb as the 86-kD subunit of the Ku autoantigen. We demonstrate that increased cell surface expression of Ku on CD40L-treated cells is due to migration of Ku from the cytoplasm to the cell surface membrane. Moreover, cell surface Ku on CD40L-treated MM cells mediates homotypic adhesion of tumor cells, as well as heterotypic adhesion of tumor cells to bone marrow stromal cells and to human fibronectin; and 5E2 mAb abrogates IL-6 secretion triggered by tumor cell adherence to bone marrow stromal cells. These data suggest that CD40L treatment induces a shift of Ku from the cytoplasm to the cell surface, and are the first to show that Ku functions as an adhesion molecule. They further suggest that cell surface Ku may play a role in both autocrine and paracrine IL-6-mediated MM cell growth and survival.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1998

Anterior temporal white matter lesions in myotonic dystrophy with intellectual impairment: an MRI and neuropathological study.

We studied 12 patients with myotonic dystrophy using MRI and the Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), to see it specific MRI findings were associated with intellectual impairment. We also compared them with the neuropathological findings in an autopsy case of MD with intellectual impairment. Mild intellectual impairment was found in 8 of the 12 patients. On T2-weighted and proton density-weighted images, high-intensity areas were seen in cerebral white matter in 10 of the 12 patients. In seven of these, anterior temporal white-matter lesions (ATWML) were found; all seven had mild intellectual impairment (MMSE 22-26), whereas none of the four patients with normal mentation had ATWML. In only one of the eight patients with intellectual impairment were white-matter lesions not found. Pathological findings were severe loss and disordered arrangement of myelin sheaths and axons in addition to heterotopic neurons within anterior temporal white matter. Bilateral ATWML might be a factor for intellectual impairment in MD. The retrospective pathological study raised the possibility that the ATWML are compatible with focal dysplasia of white matter.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Regulation of cytokine expression by an autoreactive B cell clone derived from MRL/MP-lpr/lpr mice.

The B cell line, MRL159.5, was established by somatic hybridization between splenic MRL/MP-lpr/lpr (lpr) mice B cells and 2.52M, a hypoxanthine-aminopterine-thymidine (HAT) medium-sensitive B cell line mutant. It possessed a receptor molecule for mouse erythrocytes treated with bromelain (Br-MRBC) on its surface, likely to be an autoreactive B cell clone specific for Br-MRBC as detected by rosette-forming assay with Br-MRBC. MRL159.5 spontaneously produced IL-6 and secreted IgM, and was induced to augment IgM secretion when treated with Br-MRBC or IL-6. Triggering of CD40 led to an augmentation of IgM secretion as well as IL-6 expression. Blocking the binding of IL-6 to its cellular receptor through the use of inhibitory antibodies inhibited CD40-induced IgM secretion, suggesting a possible autocrine role of IL-6 for CD40-induced differentiation of this B cell hybridoma. Addition of IL-4 or Br-MRBC augmented IL-6 expression as well as IgM secretion by CD40-activated MRL159.5 cells. CD40 also augmented tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) expression but resulted in decreased IL-10 expression. Furthermore, under conditions where IL-6 expression was augmented, IL-6R alpha (gp80) expression was down-regulated, suggesting a negative feedback mechanism of an IL-6 autocrine loop in this hybridoma. These results demonstrate a role by which T cell-dependent activation through CD40 regulates an IL-6 autocrine loop, controlling differentiation of autoreactive B cells in autoimmune disease.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Religious experiences in epileptic patients with a focus on ictus-related episodes.

Two hundred thirty-four epileptic patients were examined for ictus-related religious experiences. Of the 234 cases, three (1.3%) were found to have had such religious experiences. All three cases had temporal lobe epilepsy with post-ictal psychosis, while one exhibited a simple partial seizure. At the same time, interictal experiences with hyperreligiosity were recognized in all three cases. The incidence of religious experiences while in a state of post-ictal psychosis was 27.3%, which is regarded as high, indicating some influence by the religions that the patients had faith in. Patients who had ictus-related or interictal religious experiences did not believe solely in Buddhism, a traditional religion in Japan, but rather in a combination of Buddhism and Shintoism, new Christian sect, contemporary Japanese religions and/or other folk beliefs. This indicates that these experiences had some connection not only with the personality characteristic of temporal lobe epilepsy, but also with the general lack of religious conviction and activity in Japan. In addition, the cases having ictus-related religious experiences also had interictal religious experiences and an interaction was seen between them. In this paper, the importance of taking bio-psycho-social aspects into consideration is pointed out in the discussion of epilepsy and religion.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Anticonvulsant effects of dipotassium clorazepate on hippocampal kindled seizures in rats.

We examined the anticonvulsant properties of dipotassium clorazepate (DC) against hippocampal kindled seizures in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were subjected to kindling 1 week after the implantation of electrodes. After five stage 5 seizures were induced, the generalized convulsion triggering threshold (GST) was determined. Dipotassium clorazepate was administered intraperitoneally in rats that showed two stable stage 5 seizures induced at the GST current intensity. Dipotassium clorazepate at doses of 1 mg/kg or more produced an anticonvulsant effect, but did not readily suppress limbic seizures. Dipotassium clorazepate did not completely suppress after-discharges (AD) even at the highest dose, which was 5 mg/kg. Moreover, raised stimulus intensity failed to affect its efficacy as an anticonvulsant. The results of the present study suggest that DC has a modest anticonvulsant potency. It is reasonable to assume that its anticonvulsant efficacy is primarily due to attenuation of AD propagation rather than the raising of the seizure triggering threshold at the kindling focus.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

[Fine-needle aspiration cytology of tumors of major salivary glands].

Between 1986 and 1997, 124 patients with tumors of major salivary glands (93 parotid tumors, 31 submandibular gland tumors) were assessed by fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). The 124 cases included 28 cases of primary malignant tumors and 96 cases of benign lesions. The preoperative fine-needle diagnoses were compared with postoperative pathologic findings. Sensitivity for malignancy was 64%, and specificity was 99%. Overall accuracy was 91%, and the predictive value for malignancy was 95%. FNAC allowed determination of histogenesis in 13 (68%) of the 19 cases cytologically diagnosed as malignant, and in 72 (71%) of the 105 cases cytologically diagnosed as benign. The diagnostic accuracy for histologic diagnosis of malignant neoplasms, pleomorphic adenoma, and Warthin's tumor was 46%, 73%, and 82%, respectively. The predictive value for specific histologic diagnosis of malignancy, pleomorphic adenoma, and Warthin's tumor was 100%, 91%, and 100%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy and the predictive value for histologic diagnoses were relatively high (> 70%) for squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, malignant lymphoma, pleomorphic adenoma, and Warthin's tumor. Adenoid cystic carcinoma and low-grade malignancies such as mucoepidermiod carcinoma and acinic cell carcinoma were the lesions most frequently misdiagnosed.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1998

[Neural protective agents, propentofylline (PPF) could induce apoptotic cell death in the human glioma cells: analysis of Bcl-2 and Bax alpha/Bax beta expressions].

In the previous study, we have shown that propentofylline (PPF) could induce the cellular differentiation and apoptosis-related growth regression in the human glioma cell lines. Its biological functions were partly due to the increasing endogeneous NGF and its high affinity receptor, trk A productions. Although little has been known about the precise machinary regulating the propentofylline induced apoptosis. Recently, we have found that propentofylline could modulate some apoptosis related genes products in the glioma cell lines, i.e. NGF, trk A mRNA levels and Fas protein expressions were increased, whereas bcl-2 mRNA level was decreased. In the present study, we examined the apoptotic signal cascade, especially focusing on the expressing pattern of Bcl-2/Bax gene products. In the normal human astrocyte cells, Bax-beta was markedly expressed, whereas Bcl-2 and Bax-alpha proteins and mRNA were weakly or even nondetectable. Accordingly, Bax beta might be a dominant variant in the normal glial cells, which could have the appropriate balance of proapoptotic (Bax beta) and anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2). In the glioma cells, we showed the over-expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax alpha compared with the normal counterparts. According to Bax dominant theory, Bax, not Bcl-2 may have a major role in regulating apoptosis by means of homodimerization. In might be implied that in the glioma cells, excessive expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax alpha would favor the formation of the Bax alpha/Bax beta heterodimer or the Bax beta/Bcl-2 heterodimer rather than the Bax beta/Bax beta homodimer, which might be presumed to be functional proteins. And finally the increasing relative ratio of Bax alpha/ Bax beta or Bax beta/Bcl-2 to Bax beta/Bax beta could allow the tumor cells to survive. Thus over-expression of the bcl-2 and bax alpha gene renders the glioma cells resistant to apoptosis. In the present study, PPF could promote Bax beta over-expression and Bcl-2 retardative expression in the glioma cells, whereas had no effect on Bax alpha expression. Therefore, PPF might promote apoptotic cell death through the mechanism that restore the glioma cells to the appropriate balance of proapoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins like as normal astrocytes. Our results indicated that propentofylline might have a potential role as apoptotic modulators in the human glioma cell lines, not only its protective activities against neuronal ischemic damages.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed1998

[Induction of apoptosis through NGF/p75NTR in human glioma cells treated with propentofylline].

Propentofylline (PPF) is a xanthine derivative and it has been reported that PPF stimulated the synthesis/secretion of nerve growth factor (NGF) by cultured astroglial cells. We have reported that PPF induced apoptosis in human glioma cells and as its mechanism, up-regulation of NGF, Fas, Bax beta and down-regulation of Bcl-2 were assumed. Recent studies demonstrated the presence of apoptosis induced via NGF/p75NTR in developmental neuron, oligodendroglia. In the present study, to examine whether signal cascade via NGF/p75NTR participates the apoptosis in human glioma cells treated with PPF, we investigated the immunohistochemical study using anti-mouse monoclonal antibody, immunoprecipitation and northern blot analysis for p75NTR, NF-kappa B in human glioma cells (U251MG, T98G, U87) treated with PPF. We observed the up-regulation of p75NTR, translocation of NF-kappa B to the nucleus after treatment with PPF in these cell lines. According to above results, it is assumed that apoptosis in human glioma cells treated with PPF was induced via NGF/p75NTR.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed1997

Cytochrome c-dependent and -independent induction of apoptosis in multiple myeloma cells.

Cytochrome c is a mitochondrial protein that induces apoptosis when accumulated in the cytosol in response to diverse stress inducers. This protein has also been shown to cause apoptosis when added to cell free extracts. In this report, we studied the role of cytochrome c (cyto-c) in dexamethasone (Dex), anti-Fas monoclonal antibody (mAb), and ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis in multiple myeloma cells. The results demonstrate that ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis is associated with an increase in cytosolic cyto-c levels, whereas apoptosis induced by Dex or anti-Fas mAb has no detectable effect on cyto-c release. By contrast, caspase-3 was activated in response to all of these agents. Thus, our findings suggest that Dex or anti-Fas mAb-induced apoptosis is not accompanied by cyto-c release and that there are at least two different pathways leading to activation of caspases and induction of apoptosis in multiple myeloma cells that can be distinguished by accumulation of cytosolic cyto-c.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed1997

p16INK4A promotes differentiation and inhibits apoptosis of JKB acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.

Homozygous p16(INK4A) (p16) gene deletion is frequent in primary tumor cells from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), suggesting that loss of p16 may be an important precursor to transformation in ALL. We have previously described JKB, a human ALL cell line, that contains homozygous deletion of the p16 gene. Because ectopic expression of p16 suppresses cell growth, we created a temperature sensitive p16 mutant to develop a system for inducible p16 function in human ALL. JKB cells were transfected either with a p16 gene mutated at position 119 (E119G) to confer temperature sensitivity (JKB p16MT) or with control vector. The percentage of cells in G1 phase was similar in JKB control cells or in JKB p16MT cells cultured at restrictive conditions (40 degrees C). However, with lowering of temperature from 40 degrees C to permissive conditions (31 degrees C), the percentage of JKB p16MT cells in G1 phase and binding of p16 to CDK4 and CDK6 increased, with associated decreases in CDK4 and CDK6 kinase activities, and dephosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (pRB). Culture of JKB p16MT cells at 31 degrees C for >/=3 days irreversibly inhibited growth. Moreover, JKB p16MT cells cultured under these permissive conditions showed a less transformed morphology and more differentiated phenotype than did these cells cultured under restrictive temperatures. Finally, dexamethasone (Dex) induced apoptosis of JKB p16MT cells cultured at 40 degrees C, but did not trigger death of these cells cultured at 31 degrees C. These results suggest that deletion of p16 gene in JKB human ALL cells is associated with dysregulated growth of less differentiated tumor cells, which nonetheless remain susceptible to apoptosis triggered by Dex.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1997

IL-6 triggers cell growth via the Ras-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade.

IL-6 mediates growth of some human multiple myeloma (MM) cells and IL-6-dependent cell lines. Although three IL-6 signaling pathways (STAT1, STAT3, and Ras-dependent MAPK cascade) have been reported, cascades mediating IL-6-triggered growth of MM cells and cell lines are not defined. In this study, we therefore characterized IL-6 signaling cascades in MM cell lines, MM patient cells, and IL-6-dependent B9 cells to determine which pathway mediates IL-6-dependent growth. IL-6 induced phosphorylation of JAK kinases and gp130, regardless of the proliferative response of MM cells to this growth factor. Accordingly, we next examined downstream IL-6 signaling via the STAT3, STAT1, and Ras-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. IL-6 triggered phosphorylation of STAT1 and/or STAT3 in MM cells independent of their proliferative response to IL-6. In contrast, IL-6 induced phosphorylation of Shc and its association with Sos1, as well as phosphorylation of MAPK, only in MM cells and B9 cells that proliferated in response to IL-6. Moreover, MAPK antisense, but not sense, oligonucleotide inhibited IL-6-induced proliferation of these cells. These data suggest that STAT1 and/or STAT3 activation may occur independently of the proliferative response to IL-6, and that activation of the MAPK cascade is an important distal pathway for IL-6-mediated growth.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed1997

MDM2 protein overexpression promotes proliferation and survival of multiple myeloma cells.

The murine double minute 2 (MDM2) protein facilitates G1 to S phase transition by activation of E2F-1 and can enhance cell survival by suppressing wild-type p53 (wtp53) function. In this study, we examined MDM2 expression and function in multiple myeloma (MM) cells. MDM2 is strongly and constitutively expressed in MM cell lines (ARH-77, RPMI 8226, and OCI-My5) and in the cells of plasma cell leukemia (PCL) patients, but is not expressed in normal bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM MNCs). Treatment of MM cells with MDM2 antisense, but not sense, nonsense, or scrambled, oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) decreased DNA synthesis and cell viability; it also induced G1 growth arrest, as evidenced by propidium iodide (PI) staining and induction of retinoblastoma protein (pRB) to E2F-1 binding. Moreover, inhibition of MDM2 using antisense ODNs also triggered MM cell apoptosis as evidenced by acridine orange-ethidium bromide staining. We next studied the association of MDM2 with wtp53 and/or mutant p53 (mtp53), E2F-1, CDK4, and p21. MDM2 constitutively binds to E2F-1 in all MM cells, to both wtp53 and mtp53, and to p21 in tumor cells lacking p53. These data suggest that MDM2 may enhance cell-cycle progression in MM cells both by activating E2F-1 and by downregulating cell-cycle inhibitory proteins (wtp53 and p21). Overexpression of MDM2 may therefore contribute to both growth and survival of MM cells, suggesting the potential utility of treatment strategies targeting MDM2 in MM.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed1997

Dexamethasone induces apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells in a JNK/SAP kinase independent mechanism.

The stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs), also known as c-Jun amino-terminal kinases (JNKs), are activated in response to diverse stimuli including DNA damage, heat shock, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and Fas. Although all these inducers cause apoptosis, whether SAPK/JNK activation is required for apoptosis is controversial. In this study, we demonstrate that ionizing radiation (IR) and dexamethasone (Dex) induce apoptosis in multiple myeloma (MM) derived cell lines, as well as in patient cells. IR-induced apoptosis is associated with activation of SAPK/JNK and p38 kinase, in contrast to Dex-induced apoptosis, which is not associated with activation of stress kinases. Moreover, Dex-induced apoptosis is associated with a significant decrease in the activities of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and p70S6K, whereas IR-treatment does not alter the activity of these kinases. Both IR and Dex induce poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, a signature event of apoptosis. Finally, interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibits Dex-induced apoptosis, downregulation of MAP and p70S6K growth kinases and PARP cleavage; in contrast, IL-6 does not inhibit IR-induced apoptosis, activation of SAPK/JNK, and PARP cleavage. Taken together, our findings suggest that SAPK/JNK activation is not required for apoptosis in MM cells, and that there are at least two distinct apoptotic signaling pathways: (i) SAPK/JNK-associated, which is induced by IR and unaffected by IL-6; and (ii) SAPK/JNK-independent, which is induced by Dex, associated with downregulation of MAPK and p70S6K and inhibited by IL-6.

Apoptosis↗