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. 2001 Oct;85(8):1185–1192. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2001.2055

Down-regulation of Fas-L in glioma cells by ribozyme reduces cell apoptosis, tumour-infiltrating cells, and liver damage but accelerates tumour formation in nude mice

C-C Chio 1, Y-S Wang 2, Y-L Chen 2, S-J Lin 3, B-C Yang 2
PMCID: PMC2375147  PMID: 11710833

Abstract

Fas-L (CD95L, APO-1L) expresses in a variety of tumours and has been proposed to play a role in tumour formation and metastasis. The contribution of Fas-L to tumour growth, however, is not conclusive especially in systems using cells with over-expressed Fas-L. In this study we down-regulated the expression o Fas-L in human glioma cells by a hammerhead ribozyme (Fas-Lribozyme) targeting against Fas-L mRNA. Fas-Lribozyme-carrying cells exhibited slightly enhanced growth rate and less degree of spontaneous apoptosis in vitro as compared with vector controls. In nude mice, Fas-Lribozyme-carrying cells grew faster with lesser apoptosis, formed bigger tumour with significantly fewer infiltrating cells in the tumour area, and triggered relatively milder tumour-associated liver damage than vector controls did. Thus, down-regulation of Fas-L not only improved viability of glioma cells but also reduces local immune responses that may consequently affect tumour formation. Taken together, our findings imply that endogenous expression of Fas-L in malignant cells is not always growth promoting. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign  http://www.bjcancer.com

Keywords: Fas-L, ribozyme, tumorigenesis, glioma

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Selected References

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