Abstract
The Sec61 protein translocon is a multimeric complex that transports proteins across lipid bilayers. We discovered that the Sec61β subunit modulates cellular sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents, particularly the platinum drugs. To investigate the mechanism, expression of Sec61β was constitutively knocked down in 2008 ovarian cancer cells. Sec61β knockdown (KD) resulted in 8-, 16.8-, and 9-fold resistance to cisplatin (cDDP), carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, respectively. Sec61β KD reduced the cellular accumulation of cDDP to 67% of that in parental cells. Baseline copper levels, copper uptake, and copper cytotoxicity were also reduced. Because copper transporters and chaperones regulate platinum drug accumulation and efflux, their expression in 2008 Sec61β-KD cells was analyzed; ATP7A was found to be 2- to 3-fold overexpressed, whereas there was no change in ATP7B, ATOX1, CTR1, or CTR2 levels. Cells lacking ATP7A did not exhibit increased cDDP resistance upon knockdown of Sec61β. Sec61β-KD cells also exhibited altered ATP7A cellular distribution. We conclude that Sec61β modulates the cytotoxicity of many chemotherapeutic agents, with the largest effect being on the platinum drugs. This modulation occurs through effects of Sec61β on the expression and distribution of ATP7A, which was shown previously to control platinum drug sequestration and cytotoxicity.
Footnotes
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The online version of this article (available at http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org) contains supplemental material.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute [Grants T32-CA121938, CA152185, CA095298]; and a grant from the Tower Cancer Research Foundation.
Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org.
ABBREVIATIONS:
- ARF
- ADP-ribosylation factor
- GEF
- guanine nucleotide exchange factor
- BCS
- bathocuproine disulfonate
- cDDP
- cisplatin
- ICP
- inductively coupled plasma
- MS
- mass spectrometry
- KD
- knockdown
- PBS
- phosphate-buffered saline
- ER
- endoplasmic reticulum
- MES
- 4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid
- qRT-PCR
- quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
- shRNA
- short hairpin RNA.
- Received May 8, 2012.
- Accepted June 18, 2012.
- Copyright © 2012 The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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