Background
Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) is one of several oncofetal proteins synthesized in large amounts by the fetus and drops in serum markedly shortly after birth. AFP as a tumor-associated fetal protein has demonstrated clinical utility as a tumor marker. Besides its role as a carrier or transporter for various serum ligands including fatty acids, retinoids, steroids, drugs, dyes and heavy metals, AFP has been reported to display growth regulatory properties. Previous studies have verified that AFP appears to functions as a growth regulator rather than only serum carrier. Multitude of cell types involving the growth and differentiation effects of AFP include placental [
1], lymphoid [
2], ovarian [
3], uterine [
4], gastric cancer [
5], epidermal [
6], breast cancer [
7] and fetal fibroblasts [
8]. Recently, some studies on the mechanisms of AFP suggested that AFP induced apoptosis in tumor cells independently of Fas/Fas ligand or TNFR/TNF signaling pathway, and AFP-mediated cell death involved activation of the effector caspase-3-like proteases, but was independent of upstream activation of the initiator caspase-1, caspase-8, and caspase-9-like proteases [
9]. The intracellular mechanism of AFP involving to cAMP-PKA signaling pathway after its binding to different affinity receptors has been also reported [
10].
Although the biological roles of the oncoembryonal protein AFP, including immunoregulatory functions in a variety of immune responses including the humoral and cell-mediated types, have been reviewed in detail, the evidences for the role of AFP in hepatoma cells escaping from host immune surveillance are still unknown [
11,
12]. In a recent study, AFP was used as an effective tumor rejection antigen to observe its effect in T-cell immune responses, implicating a gene therapy-based strategy for hepatoma cells [
13]. However, the over-expression of AFP in human hepatoma cells is concurrent with aberrant growth manifestation. We presume that the altered serum AFP level is the cause of such changes rather than a coincident phenomenon and should be responsible for the malignant progression of liver cancer. Thus revealing the intracellular mechanisms underlying the evasion of tumor from host immune surveillance will provide further insights into the understanding for the biological role of AFP, particularly in the case of hepatocellular carcinomas.
Methods
Determination of cells proliferation
Jurkat T cells and Bel 7402 cells, the human hepatoma cell line, were adjusted to 3.0 × 104 per ml separately and maintained in PRMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum. The cells were seeded into 24-well plates and incubated at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2. The supernatant was replaced to RPMI-1640 medium free serum for 24 h, then the various concentrations (5, 10, 20, 40, 80 or 100 mg/L) of AFP (Biodesign International Co. USA), human serum albumin (HSA, from Sigma, USA) and anti-AFP antibody (Santa Cruz. USA) were administrated into Jurkat T cells and Bel 7402 cells for 60 h respectively. The viability of cells was determined by Trypan blue exclusion assay.
Cell co-culture assay
To observe the effect of AFP on the escape of tumor cell from the attack of lymphocytes, 1.5 × 104 of Jurkat calls and equal Bel 7402 cells that grew under such conditions were mixed and co-cultured onto 24-well plate. Following the incubation in RPMI-1640 medium for 24 h, AFP (20 mg/L), HSA (20 gm/L), AFP (20 mg/L) plus anti-AFP antibody (40 mg/L) and anti-AFP antibody (40 mg/L) were added into culture for 60 h. The fraction containing Jurkat cells were removed from flask by resuspending the supernatant gently and transferring the supernatant to a centrifuge tube. Bel 7402 cells in the bottom were scraped and collected. The viability of each cell line was determined by Trypan blue exclusion.
Determination of Fas and FasL expression
Bel 7402 cells and Jurkat T cells were co-cultured as described above in Petri dish. AFP (20 mg/L), HSA (20 mg/L), AFP (20 mg/L) plus anti-AFP antibody (40 mg/L) and anti-AFP antibody (40 mg/L) were added into culture. At 48 hours treatment, Bel 7402 cells were washed 3 times with RPMI-1640 free serum to remove Jurkat cells. Cells were incubated with 0.5 ml of rabbit anti-Fas or anti-FasL solution (Santa Cruz Co, USA. 1:250 in RPMI-1640 medium) for 1 h. After washing with medium 3 times at room temperature, secondary goat anti-rabbit IgG antibodies conjugated with FITC (Santa Cruz, USA) were applied, and incubated for 1 hour at 37°C. After washing with PBS, the cells were observed under Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (Leica TCS-NT SP2, Germany).
Western blot immunodetection
1.5 × 104 Jurkat T cells and 1.5 × 104 Bel 7402 cells per ml were co-cultured in 75-cm2 flasks and maintained in RPMI-1640 medium free serum for 24 h. To replace the supernatant with medium supplemented with 10% FCS, the supernatant which containing the Jurkat cells were removed, centrifuged and resuspended with fresh medium. The suspension was replaced into flasks to remix with Bel 7402 cells. Afterward, the co-cultured cells were treated with AFP (20 mg/L), HSA (20 gm/L), AFP (20 mg/L) plus anti-AFP antibody (40 mg/L) and anti-AFP antibody (40 mg/L) for 36 h respectively. Proteins were quantified before being loaded onto the gel. 40 μg of extracted proteins from each group was loaded onto 10% SDS polyacrylamide gels. Proteins were blotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane (Amersham, UK). Membranes were incubated for 1 h with anti-caspase-3 or anti-survivin monoclonal antibodies (Santa Cruz Co. USA) and then washed and revealed using anti-rabbit IgG horseradish peroxidase conjugate. Immunoreaction protein was detected by the chemiluminescence luminol reagent (Santa Cruz, USA).
Statistical analyses
All experiments were performed at least three times. Data were presented as mean ± SD. The significance of the difference between experimental and control groups was analyzed with Student's t test. A value of p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Discussion
During the last decade, it has been confirmed from a multitude of studies that AFP as a growth regulator modulates the ontogenic growth and tumor progression even though the overall findings remain controversial and their interpretations are still being debated. Previous studies also implicated that AFP expressed during pregnancy inhibits the maternal immune exclusion by suppressing immune responses of the humoral and cell-mediated types [
14]. The higher level of AFP in the serum of liver cancer subject has been considered to be the reason of tumor development rather than merely the concomitant oncofetal protein. Hereby, the implication was emerged that AFP functions to constitute one of fundamental steps in the progression of hepatoma. It is in fact that one of mechanisms of progression and development of liver cancer is due to its escaping from immune surveillance. Experimental results obtained from the present study showed that AFP was capable of suppressing the growth of Jurkat cells with the concomitant proliferation of Bel 7402, indicating the diversity effects of AFP on the regulation of immune and tumor cells growth. This result was supported by a recent study, which indicated that AFP induced significant apoptosis of dendritic cells [
15]. AFP-treated dendritic cells could produce low levels of IL-12 and TNF-α, a cytokine pattern that could hamper an efficient antitumor immune response. These results thereby offered a mechanism by which hepatocellular carcinoma escapes immunological control.
Co-culture experiment has been widely used for the determination of apoptosis, pathological response and tumor related protein synthesis [
16‐
18]. The effects of Fas/FasL in the mechanism of tumor escaping from immune surveillance have been extensively documented [
19‐
22]. It has been proposed that the expression of Fas/FasL in tumors may play a critical role in immune escape. In the present study, the expression of Fas/Fas L in target hepatoma Bel 7402 cells was examined after co-culture with the effector Jurkat cells
in vitro. Our data showed that the expression of membrane Fas was enhanced in Bel 7402 cells co-cultured with Jurkat cells. The fact that the enhanced expression of Fas was abolished by AFP exposure indicated that the stimulation of Jurkat cells to Bel 7402 cells was able to be blocked by AFP. This is in accordance with our recent findings from immunodetection analysis (unpublished data). On the other hand, AFP enhanced the synthesis of FasL in Bel 7402 cells, which was consistent with previous findings [
23‐
27]. AFP-induced over-expression of Fas on the surface of lymphocytes, together with simultaneous over-secreted FasL from tumor cells, could be one of reasons to accelerate the death of lymphocytes and facilitate the immune escape of liver cancer. This conclusion is supported by a recent study, which indicated that Fas-mediated apoptosis resulted by cancers expressing FasL and killing lymphocytes was irrespective of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) expression [
28].
Although the precise mechanism of AFP-mediated cell growth regulation and apoptosis induction remains obscure, there have been considerable investigations indicating that AFP can modulate apoptotic signals induced by various factors by either promoting or abrogating apoptosis. In the present study, the intracellular level of caspase-3 in Bel 7402 cells after co-culture with Jurkat cells was up-regulated, indicating the inducement of the apoptotic protein by lymphocytes. Furthermore, the pretreatment of AFP
in vitro in co-cultured cells led to the full abolishment of caspase-3. Whereas, an increment at the level of caspase-3 protein was observed in co-cultured Jurkat cells after stimulated by AFP, which resulted in the depletion of lymphocytes in culture. The accelerated death of lymphocytes in current study might serve to certify the speculation that AFP-mediated apoptosis involved activation of the effector caspase-3-like proteases [
9]. Therefore, it is reasonable to postulate that the escaping of tumor cells from immune surveillance is partly attributable to the apoptosis of lymphocytes induced by AFP. Taking into consideration the ability of AFP to alter the Fas/FasL expression in Bel 7402 and Jurkat cells, the signaling pathway involved might be initiated through the interaction of AFP with corresponding receptors and induced the activation of Fas/FasL and caspase-3 system. Our data elucidated that the death signal was triggered by activation of specific membrane AFP receptors involved in apoptosis signaling, leading to the expressional alteration of Fas/FasL and caspase-3. These findings are in accordance with the previous data showing that Fas/FasL was involved in AFP-induced immune escape [
29‐
31].
Conclusions
In summary, the present study has at least partly explained demonstrated the potential effect of AFP in malignant growth and transformation of liver tumor cell. Take together all findings, we propose that the effect of AFP in the escape of hepatoma Bel 7402 cells from immune surveillance is achieved though decreasing Fas in its membrane and secreting FasL which in turn to trigger apoptosis of lymphocytes via caspase-3 cascade. Thus, the involvement of Fas- and caspase-related signal pathway in the occurrence of liver tumor was thereby indicated in this study. The precise elucidation of the biological effect of AFP will help to better understand the regulatory mechanism of immune surveillance in liver cancer.
Competing interests
The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
Mengsen Li and Xinhua Liu: carried out the study and contributed equally to this study.
Sheng Zhou: participated in the statistical analysis.
Pingfeng Li: conceived of the study, and participated in its design and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript.
Gang Li: conceived and design of the study, corresponding author.