Peroxiredoxin V is essential for protection against apoptosis in human lung carcinoma cells

Sensitivity of tumor cells to treatment with anticancer drugs depends on expression and function of antiapoptotic and antioxidant proteins. The goal of our study was to determine the functional role of the novel antioxidant protein Peroxiredoxin V (PrxV), in protection of human lung carcinoma cell lines against apoptosis. Analysis of expression of PrxV in multiple lung carcinoma cell lines revealed a positive correlation between the expression of PrxV and radioresistance in vitro. Clones of the lung carcinoma cells U1810 with down-regulated expression of PrxV, or with its impaired enzymatic function (expression of redox-negative PrxV), demonstrated increased sensitivity to treatment with anticancer drugs etoposide and adriamycin. Pre-treatment of these clones with antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine did not change their sensitivity to adriamycin, suggesting the involvement of a non-redox activity of PrxV. Expression of the redox-negative PrxV mainly affected the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, as assessed by cytochrome c release assay. Impairment of the PrxV enzymatic function also affected transmembrane potential and calcium loading capacity of mitochondria, as well as mitochondrial morphology. Altogether, these findings suggest that PrxV is a multifunctional protein, which is essential for protection against apoptosis induced by anticancer drugs.