RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Cascade Plays a Role in Stress-Induced Apoptosis in Jurkat Cells by Up-Regulating Fas Ligand Expression
JF The Journal of Immunology
JO J. Immunol.
FD American Association of Immunologists
SP 134
OP 144
VO 160
IS 1
A1 Faris, Mary
A1 Kokot, Niels
A1 Latinis, Kevin
A1 Kasibhatla, Shailaja
A1 Green, Douglas R.
A1 Koretzky, Gary A.
A1 Nel, Andre
YR 1998
UL http://www.jimmunol.org/content/160/1/134.abstract
AB T lymphocytes undergo apoptosis in response to cellular stress, including UV exposure and gamma irradiation. However, the mechanism by which stress stimuli induce apoptosis is not well understood. While stress stimuli induce the activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway, it is not clear whether the JNK cascade is activated as a result of cell death or whether the cascade participates in inducing apoptosis. Using a Jurkat T cell line transfected with dominant active (DA)-mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MEKK1) in a tetracycline-regulated expression system, we found that expression of DA-MEKK1 results in the apoptosis of Jurkat cells in parallel with prolonged JNK activation. Moreover, DA-MEKK1 induced Fas ligand (FasL) cell surface and mRNA expression, as well as FasL promoter activation. Interference with Fas/FasL interaction prevented DA-MEKK1-mediated apoptosis. In comparing the effect of different stress stimuli to DA-MEKK1, we found that UV, gamma irradiation, and anisomycin prolonged JNK activation in parallel with FasL expression and onset of cell death. In addition, these stimuli also enhance cell surface expression of FasL. Interference with Fas/FasL interactions inhibited anisomycin but not UV- or gamma irradiation-induced apoptosis. Our data show that while the JNK pathway contributes to stress-induced apoptosis in T lymphocytes by regulating FasL expression, not all stress stimuli use the same cell death pathway.