The influence of arsenic trioxide on the cell cycle, apoptosis and expression of cyclin D1 in the Jurkat cell line

Cyclin D1 drives cell cycle progression at the G1/S transition and is believed to play a significant role in tumorigenesis, contributing to efficient proliferation of many cancer cells. Consequently, it is also recognized as an end-point biomarker of therapeutic outcome for different treatment modalities in cancer. In this study we aimed to evaluate the expression and localization of cyclin D1 in arsenic trioxide (ATO) treated Jurkat cells (lymphoblastic leukemia cell line) and to correlate these results with the extent of cell death and/or cell cycle alterations. Jurkat cells were incubated with increasing concentrations of ATO (0.2, 0.6 and 1.0μM) for 24h in standard cell culture conditions. To reach our goal we performed annexin V/PI labeling for detection of cell death and RNase/PI labeling for evaluation of cell cycle distribution, which were followed by the respective flow cytometric analyses of ATO-treated Jurkat cells. Transmission electron microscopy was applied for visualization of the cell ultrastructure. For cyclin D1 estimation a biparametric cyclinD1/cell cycle assay was done and localization of the protein was shown after immuno-labeling using light microscopy (ABC procedure) and confocal fluorescence microscopy. We found that there were no significant changes in the percentages of cyclin D1-positive cells after the treatment with ATO, but at the same time mean fluorescence intensity reflecting cyclin D1 content was gradually increasing along with the cell cycle progression, irrespective of the applied dose of the drug. On the other hand, we found a nuclear-cytoplasmic shift of this protein as a major treatment-related response, which was in good accord with an increased rate of cell death and suggested that cyclin D1 cytoplasmic degradation is an important determinant of the therapeutic efficiency of ATO in the Jurkat cell line.