張梅超, 孟依靈, 應(yīng)影霞, 李 棟
(上海交通大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院附屬第九人民醫(yī)院 放療科, 上海 201999)
急性髓系白血病是由正常髓系細(xì)胞分化的發(fā)育過(guò)程中不同階段造血細(xì)胞惡性變轉(zhuǎn)化而來(lái),是造血系統(tǒng)的髓系原始細(xì)胞的克隆性惡性增殖疾病[1]?,F(xiàn)已證實(shí),全反式維甲酸(all trans retinoic acid,ATRA)是其中急性早幼粒細(xì)胞白血病(acute promyelocytic leukemia,APL)特異相關(guān)基因靶向的治療藥物,其敏感性與APL中PML-RARα融合基因高度相關(guān)[2]。自采用ATRA治療以來(lái),APL預(yù)后大為改觀,成為唯一的一種只需化療而不需要骨髓移植就能治愈的白血病[3]。ATRA的應(yīng)用不僅取得了高完全緩解率,且奠定了由“殺傷”到“誘導(dǎo)”的白血病治療新思路。研究表明,除了PML-RARα融合的APL,ATRA在無(wú)PML-RARα融合的急性髓系白血病中也有一定的治療效果[4]。ATRA治療也會(huì)引起一些并發(fā)癥(例如高白細(xì)胞綜合癥、維甲酸綜合征等)或發(fā)生愈后復(fù)發(fā)。因此,對(duì)ATRA誘導(dǎo)分化調(diào)控機(jī)制的研究非常重要,以期尋找能夠促進(jìn)ATRA誘導(dǎo)分化、縮短治療時(shí)間、維持治療效果、減少并發(fā)癥等的方法。
轉(zhuǎn)谷氨酰胺酶 2 (transglutaminase 2,TGM2) 屬于轉(zhuǎn)谷氨酰胺酶家族,它是在哺乳動(dòng)物組織中普遍表達(dá)的多功能酶[5,6]。TGM2具有Ca2+依賴性蛋白質(zhì)翻譯后修飾功能,催化肽鏈上的谷氨酰胺和多種伯胺之間形成共價(jià)鍵,包括肽鏈上賴氨酸的γ氨基,或單胺和多胺,形成不可逆的 e-(c-glutamyl)-lysine交聯(lián),從而產(chǎn)生交聯(lián)或胺化的蛋白質(zhì)。TGM2 還具有多種酶活性,包括水解酶、蛋白質(zhì)二硫鍵異構(gòu)酶和蛋白激酶活性[5-7]。TGM2 還與多種生物學(xué)功能相關(guān),包括細(xì)胞凋亡、細(xì)胞遷移和細(xì)胞黏附等[5,6,8,9]。TGM2能夠參與多種信號(hào)通路的調(diào)控,例如NF-κB 信號(hào)通路、mTOR信號(hào)和自噬等[10-12]。
ATRA能誘導(dǎo)TGM2表達(dá),從而導(dǎo)致增殖抑制和細(xì)胞分化等。在人支氣管表皮細(xì)胞中,ATRA能誘導(dǎo)TGM2表達(dá)上調(diào),導(dǎo)致細(xì)胞增殖受到抑制[13];ATRA誘導(dǎo)的上皮細(xì)胞向黏膜表皮細(xì)胞轉(zhuǎn)分化過(guò)程中也需要TGM2的作用[14]。ATRA誘導(dǎo)APL細(xì)胞NB4分化時(shí),TGM2表達(dá)升高;TGM2被敲低,則分化受到抑制[15]。但其調(diào)控細(xì)胞分化的機(jī)制及涉及的信號(hào)通路尚不明確,且TGM2在ATRA治療其它急性髓系白血病中的作用和機(jī)制也不明確。本研究旨在進(jìn)一步確認(rèn)TGM2在ATRA誘導(dǎo)白血病細(xì)胞分化中的表達(dá)變化和作用,并初步探究其作用機(jī)制。
Western印跡中使用的抗體如下:兔源一抗mTOR(2983)、p-mTOR(2971)、S6K1(9202)、p-S6K1(9208)、p-ULK1(14202)、ULK1(8054)、LC3A/B(12741)、P62(5114)購(gòu)自Cell Signaling Technology;兔源一抗p-eIF4EBP1(AP0032)、eIF4EBP1(A19045)購(gòu)自武漢埃博泰克生物科技有限公司;鼠源一抗β-肌動(dòng)蛋白(HC-201)購(gòu)自北京全式金生物技術(shù)股份有限公司。二抗抗兔IgG-HRP(7074)、抗鼠IgG-HRP(7076)購(gòu)自Cell Signaling Technology,一抗按1∶1 000用一抗稀釋液(P0023A,碧云天)稀釋,二抗按1∶5 000用5%脫脂牛奶稀釋。
10 mmol/L 濃度的ATRA(HY-14649)購(gòu)自MedChemExpress,用DMSO倍比稀釋為5 mmol/L、2.5 mmol/L、1.25 mmol/L、0.625 mmol/L、0.3125 mmol/L及1 mmol/L,-20 ℃保存。
HL60細(xì)胞和U937細(xì)胞接種于添加有10%胎牛血清(FBS;Sigma-Aldrich)、2 mmol/L 谷氨酰胺(Sigma-Aldrich)、100 U/mL青霉素和100 μg/mL 鏈霉素溶液(Sigma-Aldrich)的RPMI1640培養(yǎng)基(Sigma-Aldrich)中。以上細(xì)胞皆靜置在37 ℃、5% CO2培養(yǎng)箱中培養(yǎng)。
基于慢病毒載體pLKO.1-TRC構(gòu)建干擾TGM2的shRNA質(zhì)粒,shRNA序列如下:
Sh1:5′-CCGGCCACCCACCATATTGTTTGATCT CGAGATCAAACAATATGGTGGGTGGTTTTTG-3′;sh2:5′-CCGGACAGCAACCTTCTCATCGAGTCTCGAGAC TCGATGAGAAGGTTGCTGTTTTTTG-3′。
根據(jù)pLKO.1-TRC載體說(shuō)明書包裝病毒并收集病毒液,4 ℃ 3 000 r/min離心15 min。每1×106細(xì)胞用2 mL病毒液重懸鋪入6孔板,并加入10 ng/mL聚凝胺,混勻后放入培養(yǎng)箱孵育過(guò)夜,離心去掉病毒液,細(xì)胞用新鮮培養(yǎng)基重懸后,繼續(xù)培養(yǎng)24 h,加入5 ng/mL嘌呤霉素篩選培養(yǎng),每d離心去除死亡細(xì)胞,直至穩(wěn)定培養(yǎng)并收集部分細(xì)胞用于檢測(cè)敲低效率。
細(xì)胞離心沉淀后去上清,并用PBS洗2次。細(xì)胞沉淀用RNAiso plus試劑(9109,TAKARA),并根據(jù)說(shuō)明書抽提總RNA。RNA定量后,使用PrimeScript? One Step RT-PCR Kit Ver.2(RR055A,TAKARA)反轉(zhuǎn)錄成cDNA,并使用SYBR Green Master Mix Reagent (11201ES03,上海翌圣)在羅氏Light Cycler 480熒光定量PCR儀進(jìn)行檢測(cè)。
使用的引物:分化抗原簇分子11b(cluster of differentiation molecule 11b,CD11b)上游引物:5′-ACTTGCAGTGAGAACACGTATG-3′,下游引物:5′-TCATCCGCCGAAAGTCATGTG-3′;TGM2上游引物:5′-CAAGGCCCGTTTTCCACTAAG-3′,下游引物:5′-GAGGCGATACAGGCCGATG-3′,以GAPDH為內(nèi)參,采用2-ΔΔCt法分析CD11b和TGM2 mRNA的相對(duì)表達(dá)量。
采用細(xì)胞裂解液(P0013,碧云天)提取細(xì)胞總蛋白質(zhì),并使用BCA法(P0010,碧云天)進(jìn)行蛋白質(zhì)定量,經(jīng)聚丙烯酰胺凝膠電泳分離,轉(zhuǎn)至PVDF膜,加入5%脫脂牛奶,室溫封閉2 h,加入一抗,4 ℃ 孵育過(guò)夜,洗膜緩沖液洗膜,加入二抗(稀釋比例為1∶5 000),室溫孵育1 h,化學(xué)發(fā)光顯影。
使用 GraphPad Prism 8.0分析軟件處理數(shù)據(jù), 組間數(shù)據(jù)比較采用 Student’st檢驗(yàn)分析。所有數(shù)據(jù)均重復(fù)3次。P<0.05被認(rèn)為差異具有統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)意義。
有文獻(xiàn)報(bào)道,ATRA能夠誘導(dǎo)HL60和U937兩種細(xì)胞的髓系分化[16]。對(duì)這2種細(xì)胞在ATRA處理下的分化特性進(jìn)行了驗(yàn)證。首先,用不同濃度的ATRA(0、0.3125、0.625、1.25、2.5、5 μmol/L)處理HL60和U937兩種細(xì)胞24 h,檢測(cè)髓系分化標(biāo)志CD11b的mRNA水平。在HL60細(xì)胞中,與0 μmol/L ATRA處理的相比,不同濃度的ATRA處理分別使CD11b的mRNA升高10.1倍、31.2倍、42.4倍、71.8倍、82.7倍;而在U937細(xì)胞中,分別升高1.16倍、1.36倍、2.84倍、6.33倍、6.61倍(P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.1A)。由此可見,ATRA處理24 h后,2種細(xì)胞中CD11b的mRNA水平均升高,且呈現(xiàn)濃度梯度依賴性的升高。結(jié)合文獻(xiàn),1 μmol/L的ATRA 經(jīng)5 d誘導(dǎo),可使大部分HL60細(xì)胞分化[17],CD11b表達(dá)上調(diào),且第5 d之后細(xì)胞開始大量凋亡[18]。因此,1 μmol/L的ATRA被用來(lái)分別處理HL60和U937兩種細(xì)胞0、1、2、3、4、5 d,檢測(cè)HL60和U937兩種細(xì)胞髓系分化標(biāo)志CD11b的mRNA水平的時(shí)相變化。檢測(cè)發(fā)現(xiàn),2種細(xì)胞中CD11b的mRNA水平均升高:其中,HL60細(xì)胞在ATRA處理3 d時(shí),CD11b的mRNA水平均升至最高,為0 d的60.4倍,之后升高倍數(shù)降低;而U937細(xì)胞在ATRA處理5 d時(shí)升至最高,為0 d的4.18倍(P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.1B)。這些數(shù)據(jù)表明,ATRA能夠誘導(dǎo)HL60和U937細(xì)胞分化,并呈現(xiàn)濃度梯度依賴特性,且隨時(shí)間延長(zhǎng)分化增強(qiáng)。
經(jīng)進(jìn)一步檢測(cè)在HL60和U937細(xì)胞中ATRA處理對(duì)TGM2的影響。結(jié)果顯示,1 μmol/L ATRA處理細(xì)胞,使HL60細(xì)胞中TGM2的mRNA水平在第3 d達(dá)到最高,為0 d的5.65倍;而在U937細(xì)胞中,TGM2的mRNA水平第1 d升至最高,為0 d的4.98倍,之后升高倍數(shù)降低,但仍維持在0 d的2倍以上(P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.2A)。在HL60細(xì)胞中,TGM2蛋白質(zhì)水平隨刺激天數(shù)升高,第5 d達(dá)到最高;在U937細(xì)胞中,TGM2蛋白質(zhì)水平第1 d升至最高,之后維持較高水平(P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.2B)。這些結(jié)果表明,ATRA能誘導(dǎo)HL60和U937細(xì)胞中的TGM2表達(dá)上調(diào)。
Fig.2 Effects of ATRA on TGM2 expression in HL60 and U937 cells (A) HL60 and U937 cells were plated into 6-well plates at 1×106 cells/well. ATRA at a final concentration of 1 μmol/L was added, and samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days to detect the mRNA level of TGM2 by qPCR. Values are the mean ± SD of three separate experiments. *P<0.05, compared with 0 day. (B) HL60 and U937 cells were plated into 6-well plates at 1×106 cells/well, ATRA at a final concentration of 1 μmol/L was added, and samples were collected at 0, 1, 3 and 5 days to detect the protein level of TGM2 by Western blotting. Three separate experiments were performed, and similar results were obtained
為了探究TGM2在ATRA誘導(dǎo)HL60和U937細(xì)胞分化中的作用,本文構(gòu)建包含TGM2 shRNA序列的慢病毒載體,并篩選出穩(wěn)轉(zhuǎn)細(xì)胞株,通過(guò)Western印跡檢測(cè),2個(gè)shRNA序列均能有效敲低TGM2(P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.3A)。HL60和U937穩(wěn)轉(zhuǎn)細(xì)胞分別經(jīng)1 μmol/L ATRA處理3 d和5 d,檢測(cè)CD11b的mRNA水平。結(jié)果顯示,與對(duì)照NC相比,誘導(dǎo)后HL60細(xì)胞敲低組中,CD11b的mRNA水平都明顯降低,2個(gè)敲低細(xì)胞株分別降低44.3%、39.1%;誘導(dǎo)后U937細(xì)胞的2個(gè)敲低細(xì)胞株的CD11bmRNA水平分別比NC組降低59.1%、54.3%(P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.3B)。上述結(jié)果表明,在HL60和U937細(xì)胞中TGM2敲低可抑制ATRA誘導(dǎo)的髓系分化。
Fig.3 Effects of TGM2 knockdown on ATRA-induced differentiation of HL60 and U937 cells (A) Lentiviral vectors containing TGM2 shRNA sequences were constructed, and stably transfected cells were screened. 1×106 cells of each were taken to extract proteins, and Western blotting was performed. Three experiments were performed, and similar results were obtained. (B) The cells were plated into 6-well plates at 1×106 cells/well, and were added with 2 μL DMSO or ATRA (1 mmol/L), respectively. After 3 days of induction for stably transfected HL60 cells, and 5 days for stably transfected U937 cells, samples were collected to detect the mRNA level of CD11b. Values are the mean ± SD of three separate experiments. *P<0.05, compared with NC
為了進(jìn)一步探究TGM2調(diào)控ATRA誘導(dǎo)的HL60和U937細(xì)胞分化的作用機(jī)制,本文檢測(cè)了TGM2敲低的細(xì)胞在ATRA誘導(dǎo)時(shí)mTOR信號(hào)通路的改變。結(jié)果顯示,同DMSO對(duì)照相比,加入ATRA誘導(dǎo)24 h,mTOR和其下游的核糖體S6蛋白激酶1(ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1,S6K1)、真核翻譯起始因子4E結(jié)合蛋白 1(recombinant eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1,eIF4EBP1)、UNC-51樣自噬激活激酶1(UNC-51-like autophagy activating kinase 1,ULK1)的磷酸化水平明顯降低 (#P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.4),結(jié)果提示,ATRA能夠抑制mTOR信號(hào)通路,這與文獻(xiàn)報(bào)道一致[19]。而TGM2敲低后,mTOR和其下游的S6K1、eIF4EBP1、ULK1的磷酸化水平均明顯升高(*P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.4),這提示TGM2敲低能夠增強(qiáng)mTOR信號(hào)通路。同時(shí),TGM2的敲低能夠部分恢復(fù)ATRA處理導(dǎo)致的mTOR和S6K1磷酸化水平的降低 (Fig.4)。上述結(jié)果表明,TGM2可增強(qiáng)ATRA對(duì)mTOR信號(hào)通路的抑制。
Fig.4 Effects of TGM2 knockdown and ATRA induction on the mTOR signaling pathway (A) The stably transfected HL60 cells with TGM2 knockdown were plated into 6-well plates at 1×106 cells/well, and 2 μL of DMSO or ATRA (1 mmol/L) were added, respectively. After 24 hours, samples were collected, and Western blotting was used to detect the correlation of the mTOR signaling pathway. The gray value of each band was measured and the relative levels of p-mTOR/mTOR, p-S6K1/S6K1, p-eIF4EBP1/eIF4EBP1 and p-ULK1/ULK1 were calculated. Values are the mean ± SD of three separate experiments. *P<0.05, compared with NC; #P<0.05 vs compared with the DMSO group. (B) The stably transfected U937 cells with TGM2 knockdown were plated into 6-well plates at 1×106 cells/well, and 2 μL of DMSO or ATRA (1 mmol/L) were added, respectively. After 24 hours, samples were collected, and Western blotting was used to detect the correlation of the mTOR signaling pathway. The gray value of each band was measured and the relative levels of p-mTOR/mTOR, p-S6K1/S6K1, p-eIF4EBP1/eIF4EBP1 and p-ULK1/ULK1 were calculated. Values are the mean ± SD of three separate experiments. *P<0.05, compared with NC; #P<0.05 vs compared with DMSO group
前述結(jié)果顯示,TGM2敲低能夠促進(jìn)mTOR下游的ULK1上757位的絲氨酸磷酸化水平升高,而其磷酸化會(huì)抑制自噬[20]。為了探究TGM2敲低對(duì)ATRA誘導(dǎo)的HL60和U937細(xì)胞分化的抑制作用是否通過(guò)自噬途徑,本文檢測(cè)了自噬標(biāo)志P62和LC3 Ⅱ與LC3 Ⅰ的比率(LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ)。結(jié)果顯示,同DMSO對(duì)照相比,加入ATRA誘導(dǎo)24 h,自噬標(biāo)志P62蛋白水平降低,LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ的比值升高(#P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.5)。而TGM2敲低后,P62蛋白水平升高,LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ的比值降低(*P<0.05,F(xiàn)ig.5)。TGM2敲低能夠部分恢復(fù)ATRA處理導(dǎo)致P62降低、LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ升高(Fig.5)。結(jié)果表明,TGM2敲低可減弱ATRA誘導(dǎo)的自噬增強(qiáng)。
Fig.5 Effects of TGM2 knockdown and ATRA induction on autophagy (A) The stably transfected HL60 cells with TGM2 knockdown were plated into 6-well plates at 1×106 cells/well, and 2 μL of DMSO or ATRA (1 mmol/L) were added, and the samples were collected 24 hours later, and the indicated markers of autophagy were detected by Western blotting. The gray value of each band was measured and the relative levels of P62/β-Actin and LC3 II/I were shown. Values are the mean ± SD of three separate experiments. * P<0.05, compared with NC; N.S., no significance, #P<0.05 vs compared with the DMSO group. (B) The stably transfected U937 cells with TGM2 knockdown were plated into 6-well plates at 1×106 cells/well, and 2 μL of DMSO or ATRA (1 mmol/L) were added. The samples were collected 24 hours later, and the indicated markers of autophagy were detected by Western blotting. The gray value of each band was measured and the relative levels of P62/β-Actin and LC3 II/I were shown. Values are the mean ± SD of three separate experiments. * P<0.05, compared with NC; #P<0.05 vs compared with DMSO group
綜合以上結(jié)果,本研究發(fā)現(xiàn):ATRA能誘導(dǎo)HL60和U937細(xì)胞的CD11b和TGM2表達(dá)升高;而TGM2敲低則抑制ATRA誘導(dǎo)的CD11b升高。在HL60和U937中,ATRA能抑制mTOR信號(hào)通路、誘導(dǎo)自噬;TGM2敲低則增強(qiáng)mTOR信號(hào)通路并抑制自噬,且能部分恢復(fù)ATRA導(dǎo)致的mTOR信號(hào)通路抑制和自噬增強(qiáng)。這提示,TGM2可能通過(guò)mTOR信號(hào)通路和自噬調(diào)控ATRA誘導(dǎo)髓系分化。
已有研究報(bào)道,在APL細(xì)胞NB4中,ATRA能夠誘導(dǎo)TGM2表達(dá)上調(diào),而TGM2被敲低,ATRA誘導(dǎo)的分化標(biāo)志表達(dá)水平降低,分化的細(xì)胞增殖能力增強(qiáng),黏附、遷移和吞噬能力降低[15]。為了進(jìn)一步確定TGM2在ATRA誘導(dǎo)白血病細(xì)胞分化中的作用,并研究其作用機(jī)制,本文選用了HL60和U937細(xì)胞。ATRA誘導(dǎo)HL60和U937細(xì)胞分化存在濃度梯度和時(shí)間依賴的特征,其中HL60細(xì)胞的髓系標(biāo)志CD11b的mRNA表達(dá)改變倍數(shù)比U937細(xì)胞更高(Fig.1)。而ATRA同樣能夠誘導(dǎo)TGM2在mRNA水平和蛋白質(zhì)水平升高(Fig.2)。進(jìn)一步將TGM2敲低能夠抑制ATRA誘導(dǎo)的髓系分化(Fig.3)。這些結(jié)果表明,TGM2對(duì)ATRA誘導(dǎo)的HL60和U937細(xì)胞的髓系分化有正調(diào)控作用,且ATRA誘導(dǎo)的TGM2的升高及TGM2的調(diào)控作用并不是NB4細(xì)胞特異的,具有一定的廣泛性。
有文獻(xiàn)報(bào)道,在NB4和HL60中,ATRA能夠抑制mTOR信號(hào)通路,用雷帕霉素進(jìn)一步抑制mTOR信號(hào)通路時(shí)分化增強(qiáng)[19,21]。與文獻(xiàn)報(bào)道相似,本研究發(fā)現(xiàn),ATRA均能夠抑制HL60和U937細(xì)胞中mTOR及其下游分子的磷酸化,且誘導(dǎo)其分化。且結(jié)果進(jìn)一步表明,TGM2被敲低,mTOR及其下游分子的磷酸化增強(qiáng),而且被ATRA抑制的mTOR信號(hào)通路得到部分恢復(fù),同時(shí)ATRA誘導(dǎo)的髓系分化被部分抑制。上述結(jié)果提示,TGM2可能通過(guò)mTOR信號(hào)通路調(diào)控ATRA誘導(dǎo)的髓系分化。
ATRA能夠誘導(dǎo)自噬,通過(guò)自噬途徑降解異常融合蛋白PML-RARα促進(jìn)APL細(xì)胞分化[22,23];而在腫瘤細(xì)胞中,TGM2能夠調(diào)控自噬[12,24]。通過(guò)Western印跡檢測(cè)自噬標(biāo)志P62及LC3 II/I,本文發(fā)現(xiàn),在HL60和U937細(xì)胞中,ATRA均能夠抑制促進(jìn)自噬;TGM2敲低后則自噬被抑制,且由ATRA增強(qiáng)的自噬被適當(dāng)減弱。結(jié)合TGM2敲低抑制ATRA誘導(dǎo)的髓系分化的結(jié)果推測(cè),TGM2可通過(guò)增強(qiáng)自噬促進(jìn)ATRA誘導(dǎo)的白血病細(xì)胞髓系分化。
另外,ULK1是mTOR的底物之一,其757位絲氨酸可被mTOR磷酸化,從而抑制ULK1的活性,導(dǎo)致自噬減弱[20]。本研究發(fā)現(xiàn),ATRA能抑制ULK1磷酸化,而TGM2敲低則促進(jìn)ULK1磷酸化。這提示,TGM2可能通過(guò)mTOR信號(hào)通路調(diào)控自噬并進(jìn)一步調(diào)控ATRA誘導(dǎo)的髓系分化。但是,TGM2在ATRA誘導(dǎo)HL60和U937細(xì)胞分化中調(diào)控mTOR信號(hào)通路和自噬的具體機(jī)制尚需進(jìn)一步的研究。
本研究確認(rèn)了TGM2在ATRA誘導(dǎo)髓系白血病細(xì)胞分化中的作用,并初步揭示了其通過(guò)調(diào)控mTOR信號(hào)通路和自噬參與了ATRA誘導(dǎo)的髓系白血病細(xì)胞分化的作用機(jī)制。該研究將有利于更深入地了解ATRA誘導(dǎo)AML細(xì)胞分化的過(guò)程和機(jī)制,也有利于加深對(duì)TGM2的多功能性的認(rèn)識(shí);有助于對(duì)AML等白血病及其它癌癥的藥物誘導(dǎo)療法的探討。