Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

Strategies for Tracking Anastasis, A Cell Survival Phenomenon that Reverses Apoptosis
12:55

Strategies for Tracking Anastasis, A Cell Survival Phenomenon that Reverses Apoptosis

Published on: February 16, 2015

Mitotic catastrophe triggered in human cancer cells by the viral protein apoptin

H L Lanz1, R M E Zimmerman, J Brouwer

  • 1Department of Molecular Genetics, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Cell Death & Disease
|February 9, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Apoptin protein from Chicken Anemia Virus (CAV) induces mitotic catastrophe, a cell death process, in cancer cells by causing abnormal spindle formation. This targeted cell death offers a promising therapeutic strategy against tumors.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Virology

Background:

  • Mitotic catastrophe is a crucial oncosuppressive mechanism that eliminates cells with mitotic failures, preventing aneuploidy and genetic instability.
  • Inducing mitotic catastrophe in cancer cells is a promising therapeutic strategy.
  • Apoptin, a protein from Chicken Anemia Virus (CAV), selectively induces cell death in human tumor cells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanism by which apoptin induces cell death in tumor cells.
  • To determine if apoptin triggers mitotic catastrophe in a p53-independent manner.
  • To evaluate the potential of apoptin as an anti-cancer therapeutic agent.

Main Methods:

  • Osteosarcoma cells were treated with apoptin.
  • Abnormal spindle formation was assessed using microscopy.
  • Mitotic progression was monitored using time-lapse microscopy.
  • Caspase-3 activation was measured in both mitotic and non-mitotic cells.

Main Results:

  • Apoptin induced abnormal spindle formation in approximately 50% of osteosarcoma cells, a tenfold increase compared to controls.
  • Apoptin-expressing cells showed significantly impaired progression through anaphase and telophase.
  • Time-lapse microscopy revealed aberrant mitotic figures and prolonged mitotic duration in apoptin-expressing cells.
  • All dividing cells expressing apoptin underwent cell death during mitosis or interphase.
  • Apoptin also induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis in non-mitotic cancer cells.

Conclusions:

  • Apoptin efficiently triggers cell death in dividing human tumor cells via mitotic catastrophe.
  • Apoptin's anti-cancer activity extends to non-mitotic cancer cells by inducing apoptosis.
  • Apoptin represents a potential therapeutic agent for cancer treatment, targeting both dividing and non-dividing tumor cells.

More Related Videos

Enhancement of Apoptotic and Autophagic Induction by a Novel Synthetic C-1 Analogue of 7-deoxypancratistatin in Human Breast Adenocarcinoma and Neuroblastoma Cells with Tamoxifen19:44

Enhancement of Apoptotic and Autophagic Induction by a Novel Synthetic C-1 Analogue of 7-deoxypancratistatin in Human Breast Adenocarcinoma and Neuroblastoma Cells with Tamoxifen

Published on: May 30, 2012

Preparation of Cell-lines for Conditional Knockdown of Gene Expression and Measurement of the Knockdown Effects on E4orf4-Induced Cell Death13:54

Preparation of Cell-lines for Conditional Knockdown of Gene Expression and Measurement of the Knockdown Effects on E4orf4-Induced Cell Death

Published on: October 21, 2012

Related Concept Videos

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:31

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...
Apoptosis01:30

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a combination of two Greek words, 'apo' and 'ptosis,' meaning separation and falling off, respectively. Hippocrates used this word to describe gangrene, which was caused due to bandaging of fractured bones. Apoptosis was distinguished from necrosis in 1970 when John Kerr reported observations of morphological changes occurring during apoptosis. During one experiment, he observed that the disruption of blood supply to the liver tissue resulted in a size reduction of the tissue.
The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:17

The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

The extrinsic apoptotic pathway is initiated when extracellular death-inducing signals, such as specific cytokines, activate the death receptors expressed on the cell surface. The immune cells involved in this pathway are natural killer cells (NK cells) and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. NK cells are critical in innate immune response, while cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are associated with adaptive immune response. These cells recognize specific receptors expressed on the altered cells and activate...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...
Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy01:22

Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy

Cells respond to damage and stress through highly coordinated processes that decide whether they survive or undergo controlled self-destruction. Two major pathways involved in this regulation are apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death, and autophagy, a survival mechanism that helps cells adapt to adverse conditions.ApoptosisApoptosis removes aged or injured cells to maintain tissue balance. During this process, the cell shrinks, chromatin condenses and fragments, and membrane-bound...
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle02:36

DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle

In response to DNA damage, cells can pause the cell cycle to assess and repair the breaks. However, the cell must check the DNA at certain critical stages during the cell cycle. If the cell cycle pauses before DNA replication, the cells will contain twice the amount of DNA. On the other hand, if cells arrest after DNA replication but before mitosis, they will contain four times the normal amount of DNA. With a host of specialized proteins at their disposal,cells must use the right protein at...