Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-induced death-inducing signaling complex and its modulation by c-FLIP and PED/PEA-15 in glioma cells

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) can trigger apoptosis in some tumor cells but not other tumor cells. To explore the signal transduction events in TRAIL-triggered apoptosis and its modulation in nontransfected tumor cells, we analyzed TRAIL-induced death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) in TRAIL-sensitive and -resistant glioma cells. Caspase-8 and caspase-10 were recruited to the DISC, where they were proteolytically activated to initiate apoptosis in TRAIL-sensitive glioma cells. Caspase-8 and caspase-10 were also recruited to the DISC in TRAIL-resistant cells, but their further activation was inhibited by two antiapoptotic proteins termed cellular Fas-associated death domain-like interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) and phosphoprotein enriched in diabetes/phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes-15kDa (PED/PEA-15). Both long and short forms of c-FLIP were recruited to the DISC, where the long form c-FLIP was cleaved to produce intermediate fragments. Of the three isoforms of PED/PEA-15 proteins, only the doubly phosphorylated form was expressed and recruited to the DISC in TRAIL-resistant cells, indicating that the phosphorylation status of PED/PEA-15 determines its recruitment in the cells. Treatment with calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase inhibitor rescued TRAIL sensitivity in TRAIL-resistant cells, providing a potential new approach to sensitize the cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.