Protein phosphatase 1 activation and alternative splicing of Bcl-X and Mcl-1 by EGCG + ibuprofen.

Protein phosphatase 1 activation and alternative splicing of Bcl-X and Mcl-1 by EGCG + ibuprofen.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and ibuprofen synergistically act to suppress proliferation and enhance apoptosis of prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and LNCaP. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of underlying this synergism. Most interestingly, EGCG + ibuprofen treatment in PC-3 cells resulted in altering the ratio of the splice variants of Bcl-X and Mcl-1, downregulating the mRNA levels of anti-apoptotic Bcl-X(L) and Mcl-1(L) with a concomitant increase in the mRNA levels of pro-apoptotic Bcl-X(s) and Mcl-1(s). However, there were no apparent changes in splicing variants in either ibuprofen or EGCG treated cells. Induction of alternative splicing was correlated with increased activity of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) in EGCG + ibuprofen-treated cells, since pretreatment with calyculin A and tautomycin blocked EGCG + ibuprofen-induced alternative splicing in PC-3 cells in contrast to pretreatment with okadaic acid. On the other hand, EGCG + ibuprofen treatment in LNCaP cells did not alter splicing variants of Bcl-X and Mcl-1, despite the increase in protein phosphatase activity. In both cell lines, EGCG + ibuprofen inhibited cell proliferation synergistically. Taken together, this study demonstrate for the first time that EGCG + ibuprofen upregulated PP1 activity, which in turn induced alternative splicing of Bcl-X and Mcl-1 in a cell-type specific manner. Our study also demonstrates that the activation of PP1 contributes to the alternative splicing of Mcl-1. J. Cell. Biochem. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Kim MH.

Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas 76107.

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