Beclin 1, an autophagy-related gene, augments apoptosis in U87 glioblastoma cells

Huang,Xin; Qi,Qiangqian; Hua,Xuming; Li,Xinyuan; Zhang,Wenchuan; Sun,Hui; Li,Shiting; Wang,Xiaoqiang; Li,Bin

doi:10.3892/or.2014.3015

Beclin 1, an autophagy-related gene, augments apoptosis in U87 glioblastoma cells

Authors:
- Xin Huang
- Qiangqian Qi
- Xuming Hua
- Xinyuan Li
- Wenchuan Zhang
- Hui Sun
- Shiting Li
- Xiaoqiang Wang
- Bin Li
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Affiliations: Department of Neurosurgery, 171 Hospital, Jiujiang, Jiangxi 33200, P.R. China, Department of Neurosurgery, Changzheng Hospital Affiliated to Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003, P.R. China, Department of Neurosurgery, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, P.R. China
Published online on: February 10, 2014 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2014.3015
Pages: 1761-1767

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Abstract

Beclin 1 acts as a tumor suppressor and is an essential mediator of autophagy. Beclin 1 also interacts with Bcl-2 and can induce apoptosis by activating the mitochondrion permeabilizing function of proapoptotic multidomain proteins from the Bcl-2 family. Moreover, these Bcl-2 family members can activate autophagy by liberating Beclin 1 from its inhibition by Bcl-2/Bcl-XL at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum. We found that overexpression of Beclin 1 in U87 glioblastoma cells enhanced the capacity for cellular autophagy and induced apoptosis. Silencing of Beclin 1 decreased autophagic capacity but had little effect on apoptosis and cell proliferation. Beclin 1-Bcl-2 and Beclin 1-Bcl-xL complexes were detected by immunoprecipitation in cells that overexpressed Beclin 1. Furthermore, the levels of cytochrome c in the cytosol and the activity of caspases-3/-9 in the cytosol increased after overexpression of Beclin 1. Our results suggest that Beclin 1 induces apoptosis via binding to Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, followed by the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol and activation of caspases-3/-9.

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