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We studied patterns of DNA damage signaling and cell cycle response to clinically-relevant (bolus) and high doses of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in three colorectal cancer cell lines with differing MMR and TP53 status in an attempt to better understand how 5-FU exerts its cytotoxicity. The ATM/CHEK2/ CHEK1 signaling pathway was not activated in response to bolus 5-FU in the MMR-deficient cell lines HCT116 (TP53- proficient or TP53-depleted) and HCT15 (TP53-deficient), consistent with negligible/reparable DNA damage and no cell death. The pattern of DNA damage checkpoint activation in bolus 5-FU-treated HT29 (TP53-deficient/MMR-proficient) cultures suggested SSB formation (CHEK1 activation) followed by DSB formation (CHEK2 activation and increased phospho- H2AX levels), but no cell death suggested that DNA repair capacity was not overwhelmed. High-dose 5-FU treatment led to activation of ATM/CHEK2/TP53 (not CHEK1) in TP53- proficient and TP53-depleted HCT116 (later CHEK2 activation relative to TP53-proficient) cultures; HCT15 cultures had ATM activation only. These data and increased phospho-H2AX levels indicated DSB formation; apoptosis was induced in both cell lines indicating irreparable DNA damage. TP53-depleted HCT116 cultures also had DSBs after high-dose 5-FU treatment but experienced a (transient) G1/S cell cycle arrest that protected them from apoptosis. TP53 phosphorylation at Ser20/33/37 was seen in TP53-proficient HCT116 cultures regardless of 5-FU concentration at ≥4 h following treatment, indicating TP53 stabilization/transcriptional activation. Overall, activation of ATM, CHEK1 and/or CHEK2 and phospho-H2AX levels reflected the nature of 5-FU-induced DNA damage and indi - cated when DNA damage was signi ficant (5-FU-dose-dependent). DNA repair and cell cycle responses to 5-FU-induced DNA damage were distinctly affected by MMR and TP53 (role in BER/NER) functionalities, but MMR deficiency especially seemed to confer less overall sensitivity to 5-FU.

Loss of TP53 function may contribute to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance in colorectal cancer since TP53-deficient cells may be unable to undergo apoptosis in response to 5-FU-induced DNA damage. 5-FU treatment of TP53-deficient cells would provide useful information on the apoptotic response to drug-induced DNA damage in the absence of TP53 and its transcriptional targets. We investigated apoptosis induction and cell cycle alterations in response to short-term treatment with two different 5-FU concentrations following siRNA-mediated knockdown of TP53 in the TP53-proficient HCT116 colon cancer cell line. We focused on high-dose 5-FU treatment to investigate the apoptotic phenotype in 5-FU-treated cultures since this dose resulted in apoptosis induction at 24 h of treatment, whereas clinically-relevant bolus 5-FU treatment of HCT116 cultures did not. Gene expression alterations were also assessed in 5-FU-treated HCT116 cultures using whole genome expression arrays. Compared to 5-FU-treated TP53-proficient HCT116 cultures, 5-FU-treated TP53-depleted HCT116 cultures showed lack of CDKN1A induction, decreased apoptotic levels, decreased FAS and TNFRSF10B transcript levels and cleaved PARP protein levels, G1/S transition arrests, decreased CCND1 protein levels, and smaller intra-S phase arrests. Alterations in gene expression in 5-FU-treated TP53-depleted HCT116 cultures confirmed previously-reported TP53 target genes and suggested potentially novel TP53 target genes (e.g. APOBEC3C, BIRC3, JMJD2B, LAMP3, MYO1E, PRRG1, SULF2, TACSTD2, TncRNA, ZFYVE20) that may play a role in mediating the 5-FU-induced DNA damage response in TP53-proficient cells. Abrogation of TP53 function in 5-FU-treated HCT116 cultures results in reduced apoptosis, TP53- and CDKN1A-independent G1/S phase arrests that may be protective against apoptosis, smaller intra-S phase arrests, and transcript level decreases of both reported TP53 target genes as well as potentially novel TP53 target genes.

Loss of TP53 function may contribute to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance in colorectal cancer since TP53-deficient cells may be unable to undergo apoptosis in response to 5-FU-induced DNA damage. 5-FU treatment of TP53-deficient cells would provide useful information on the apoptotic response to drug-induced DNA damage in the absence of TP53 and its transcriptional targets. We investigated apoptosis induction and cell cycle alterations in response to short-term treatment with two different 5-FU concentrations following siRNA-mediated knockdown of TP53 in the TP53-proficient HCT116 colon cancer cell line. We focused on high-dose 5-FU treatment to investigate the apoptotic phenotype in 5-FU-treated cultures since this dose resulted in apoptosis induction at 24 h of treatment, whereas clinically-relevant bolus 5-FU treatment of HCT116 cultures did not. Gene expression alterations were also assessed in 5-FU-treated HCT116 cultures using whole genome expression arrays. Compared to 5-FU-treated TP53-proficient HCT116 cultures, 5-FU-treated TP53-depleted HCT116 cultures showed lack of CDKN1A induction, decreased apoptotic levels, decreased FAS and TNFRSF10B transcript levels and cleaved PARP protein levels, G1/S transition arrests, decreased CCND1 protein levels, and smaller intra-S phase arrests. Alterations in gene expression in 5-FU-treated TP53-depleted HCT116 cultures confirmed previously-reported TP53 target genes and suggested potentially novel TP53 target genes (e.g. APOBEC3C, BIRC3, JMJD2B, LAMP3, MYO1E, PRRG1, SULF2, TACSTD2, TncRNA, ZFYVE20) that may play a role in mediating the 5-FU-induced DNA damage response in TP53-proficient cells. Abrogation of TP53 function in 5-FU-treated HCT116 cultures results in reduced apoptosis, TP53- and CDKN1A-independent G1/S phase arrests that may be protective against apoptosis, smaller intra-S phase arrests, and transcript level decreases of both reported TP53 target genes as well as potentially novel TP53 target genes.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is the chemotherapeutic drug of choice for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, but resistance to 5-FU remains a major obstacle to successful therapy. We generated 5-FU-resistant derivatives of the HCT116 human colon cancer cell line by serial passage of these cells in the presence of increasing 5-FU concentrations in an attempt to elucidate the biological mechanisms involved in resistance to 5-FU. Two resultant resistant derivatives, HCT116 ResB and ResD, were characterized for resistance phenotypes, genotypes, and gene expression using cells maintained long-term in 5-FU-free media. Compared to parental HCT116 cells that respond to 5-FU challenge by inducing high levels of apoptosis, ResB and ResD derivatives had significantly reduced apoptotic fractions when transiently challenged with 5-FU. ResB and ResD cells were respectively 27- and 121-fold more resistant to 5-FU, had increased doubling times, and significantly increased plating efficiencies compared to the parental cells. Both resistant derivatives retained the wild-type TP53 genotype, TP53 copy number and CGH profile characteristic of the parental line. Alterations in gene expression in the resistant derivatives compared to the parental line were assessed using oligonucleotide microarrays. Overall, the 5-FU-resistant derivatives were characterized by reduced apoptosis and a more aggressive growth phenotype, consistent with the observed up-regulation of apoptosis-inhibitory genes (e.g., IRAK1, MALT1, BIRC5), positive growth-regulatory genes (e.g., CCND3, CCNE2, CCNF, CYR61), and metastasis genes (e.g., LMNB1, F3, TMSNB), and down-regulation of apoptosis-promoting genes (e.g., BNIP3, BNIP3L, FOXO3A) and negative growth-regulatory genes (e.g., AREG, CCNG2, CDKN1A, CDKN1C, GADD45A). 5-FU metabolism-associated genes (e.g., TYMS, DTYMK, UP) and DNA repair genes (e.g., FEN1, FANCG, RAD23B) were also up-regulated in one or both resistant derivatives, suggesting that the resistant derivatives might be able to overcome both 5-FU inhibition of thymidylate synthase and the DNA damage caused by 5-FU, respectively. Development of 5-FU resistance thus appears to encompass deregulation of apoptosis-, proliferation-, DNA repair-, and metastasis-associated regulatory pathways.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is the chemotherapeutic drug of choice for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, but resistance to 5-FU remains a major obstacle to successful therapy. We generated 5-FU-resistant derivatives of the HCT116 human colon cancer cell line by serial passage of these cells in the presence of increasing 5-FU concentrations in an attempt to elucidate the biological mechanisms involved in resistance to 5-FU. Two resultant resistant derivatives, HCT116 ResB and ResD, were characterized for resistance phenotypes, genotypes, and gene expression using cells maintained long-term in 5-FU-free media. Compared to parental HCT116 cells that respond to 5-FU challenge by inducing high levels of apoptosis, ResB and ResD derivatives had significantly reduced apoptotic fractions when transiently challenged with 5-FU. ResB and ResD cells were respectively 27- and 121-fold more resistant to 5-FU, had increased doubling times, and significantly increased plating efficiencies compared to the parental cells. Both resistant derivatives retained the wild-type TP53 genotype, TP53 copy number and CGH profile characteristic of the parental line. Alterations in gene expression in the resistant derivatives compared to the parental line were assessed using oligonucleotide microarrays. Overall, the 5-FU-resistant derivatives were characterized by reduced apoptosis and a more aggressive growth phenotype, consistent with the observed up-regulation of apoptosis-inhibitory genes (e.g., IRAK1, MALT1, BIRC5), positive growth-regulatory genes (e.g., CCND3, CCNE2, CCNF, CYR61), and metastasis genes (e.g., LMNB1, F3, TMSNB), and down-regulation of apoptosis-promoting genes (e.g., BNIP3, BNIP3L, FOXO3A) and negative growth-regulatory genes (e.g., AREG, CCNG2, CDKN1A, CDKN1C, GADD45A). 5-FU metabolism-associated genes (e.g., TYMS, DTYMK, UP) and DNA repair genes (e.g., FEN1, FANCG, RAD23B) were also up-regulated in one or both resistant derivatives, suggesting that the resistant derivatives might be able to overcome both 5-FU inhibition of thymidylate synthase and the DNA damage caused by 5-FU, respectively. Development of 5-FU resistance thus appears to encompass deregulation of apoptosis-, proliferation-, DNA repair-, and metastasis-associated regulatory pathways.