Codium fragile F2 sensitize colorectal cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis via c-FLIP ubiquitination

Abstract

This study demonstrates that combined treatment with subtoxic doses of Codium extracts (CE), a flavonoid found in many fruits and vegetables, and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), induces apoptosis in TRAIL-resistant colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Effective induction of apoptosis by combined treatment with CE and TRAIL was not blocked by Bcl-xL overexpression, which is known to confer resistance to various chemotherapeutic agents. While TRAIL-mediated proteolytic processing of procaspase-3 was partially blocked in various CRC cells treated with TRAIL alone, co-treatment with CE efficiently recovered TRAIL-induced caspase activation. We observed that CE treatment of CRC cells did not change the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins and pro-apoptotic proteins, including death receptors (DR4 and DR5). However, CE treatment markedly reduced the protein level of the short form of the cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIPS), an inhibitor of caspase-8, via proteasome-mediated degradation. Collectively, these observations show that CE recovers TRAIL sensitivity in various CRC cells via down-regulation of c-FLIPS.

Keywords: CHX; Codium extracts (CE); Cycloheximide; FITC; FLICE-Like inhibitory protein; FLIP; Fluorescein isothiocyanate; PARP; PBS; PI; Phosphate-buffered saline; Poly (ADP-Ribose) polymerase; Propidium iodide; SDS-PAGE; Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; TNF; TNF-Related apoptosis-inducing ligand; TRAIL; Tumor necrosis factor; Ubiquitination; c-FLIP.