Differentiation-dependent Sensitivity to Apoptogenic Factors in PC12 Cells

Abstract We have investigated the role of the mitochondrial pathway during cell death following serum and nerve growth factor (NGF)/dibutyryl cyclic AMP (Bt2cAMP) withdrawal in undifferentiated or NGF/Bt2cAMP-differentiated PC12 cells, respectively. Holocytochrome c, Smac/DIABLO, and Omi/HtrA2 are released rapidly following trophic factor deprivation in PC12 cells. Bcl-2 and Akt inhibited this release. The protection, however, persisted longer in differentiated PC12 cells. In differentiated, but not undifferentiated cells, Bcl-2 and Akt also inhibited apoptosis downstream of holocytochrome c release. Thus, undifferentiated PC12 cells showed marked sensitivity to induction of apoptosis by microinjected cytochrome c even in the presence of NGF, Bcl-2, or Akt. In contrast, in differentiated cells these factors suppressed cell death. Consistent with these observations, in vitro processing of procaspase 9 in response to cytochrome c was observed in extracts from undifferentiated but not differentiated cells expressing Akt or Bcl-2. Endogenous caspase 9 was cleaved during cell death, whereas dominant negative caspase 9 inhibited cell death. The results from determining the role of inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs) suggest that acquisition of inhibition by IAPs is part of the differentiation program. Ubiquitin-ΔN-AVPI Smac/DIABLO induced cell death in differentiated cells only. c-IAP-2 is unregulated in differentiated cells, whereas X-linked IAP levels decreased in these cells coincident with cell death. Moreover, expressing X-linked IAP rendered undifferentiated cells resistant to microinjected cytochrome c. Overall, the inhibitory regulation, of cell death at the level of release of mitochondrial apoptogenic factors and at post-mitochondrial activation of caspase 9 observed in differentiated PC12 cells, is reduced or absent in the undifferentiated counterparts.