hMTH1 depletion promotes oxidative-stress-induced apoptosis through a Noxa- and caspase-3/7-mediated signaling pathway

Although the accumulation of 8-oxo-dGTP in DNA is associated with apoptotic cell death and mutagenesis, little is known about the exact mechanism of hMTH1-mediated suppression of oxidative-stress-induced cell death. Therefore, we investigated the regulation of DNA-damage-related apoptosis induced by oxidative stress using control and hMTH1 knockdown cells. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to suppress hMTH1 expression in p53-proficient GM00637 and H460 cells, resulting in a significant increase in apoptotic cell death after H2O2 exposure; however, p53-null, hMTH1-deficient H1299 cells did not exhibit H2O2-induced apoptosis. In addition, hMTH1-deficient GM00637 and H460 cells showed increased caspase-3/7 activity, cleaved caspase-8, and Noxa expression, and γ-H2AX formation in response to H2O2. In contrast, the caspase inhibitors, p53-siRNA, and Noxa-siRNA suppressed H2O2-induced cell death. Moreover, in 8-week (long-term) cultured H460 and H1299 cells, hMTH1 suppression increased cell death, Noxa expression, and γ-H2AX after H2O2 exposure, compared to 3-week (short-term) cultured cells. These data indicate that hMTH1 plays an important role in protecting cells against H2O2-induced apoptosis via a Noxa- and caspase-3/7-mediated signaling pathway, thus conferring a survival advantage through the inhibition of oxidative-stress-induced DNA damage.