A cellular screening assay to test the ability of PKR to induce cell death in mammalian cells

Long double-stranded RNA (> 30 bp), usually expressed in cells infected with RNA viruses, triggers antiviral responses that induce apoptosis of the infected cells. PKR can be selectively activated in glioblastoma cells by in situ generation of dsRNA following introduction of antisense RNA complementary to an RNA expressed specifically in these cells. Harnessing PKR for the selective killing of cancer cells is potentially a powerful strategy for treating cancer, but we were unable to induce apoptosis by this approach in a T cell lymphoma. We therefore established a cellular screening assay to test the ability of PKR to induce death in cell lines, especially those originating from human cancers. This "PKR killing screen" is based on the infection of cells with an adenoviral vector encoding GyrB-PKR, followed by coumermycin treatment. Cancers represented by cell lines in which PKR activation leads to cell death are good candidates for the dsRNA killing approach, using antisense to RNA molecules specifically expressed in these cells. The PKR killing screen may also serve as a tool for exploring PKR signaling and other related pathways, by identifying new cases in which PKR signaling is inhibited or impaired.