Important role of caspase-8 for chemosensitivity of ALL cells

Sensitivity of tumor cells toward chemotherapy mainly determines the prognosis of patients suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); nevertheless, underlying mechanisms regulating chemosensitivity remain poorly understood. Here, we aimed at characterizing the role of caspase-8 for chemosensitivity of B- and T-ALL cells.

Primary tumor cells from children with ALL were evaluated for expression levels of the caspase-8 protein, were amplified in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice, transfected with siRNA, and evaluated for their chemosensitivity in vitro.

Effective cell death in B- and T-ALL cells depended on the presence of caspase-8 for the majority of cytotoxic drugs routinely used in antileukemia treatment. Caspase-8 was activated independently from extrinsic apoptosis signaling. Accordingly in primary ALL cells, the expression level of caspase-8 protein correlated with cell death sensitivity toward defined cytotoxic drugs in vitro. In the subgroup of primary ALL cells, with low expression of caspase-8, methotrexate (MTX) upregulated the expression of caspase-8 mediated by the transcription factor p53, suggesting epigenetic silencing of caspase-8. RNA interference in patient-derived B- and T-ALL cells revealed that effective cell death induction by most routine drug combinations involving MTX depended on the presence of caspase-8.

Our results indicate that caspase-8 is crucial for the high antileukemic efficiency of numerous routine cytotoxic drugs. Reexpression of epigenetically downregulated caspase-8 represents a promising approach to increase efficiency of antileukemic therapy.