Modulation of 1-[beta-D-arabinofuranosyl] cytosine-induced apoptosis in human myeloid leukemia cells by staurosporine and other pharmacological inhibitors of protein kinase C.

We have examined the effects of both nonspecific and highly selective pharmacological inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC) on the capacity of a 6-h exposure to 1-[beta-D-arabinofuranosyl]cytosine (ara-C; 10 microM) to induce apoptotic DNA fragmentation and cell death in the human myeloid leukemia cell lines HL-60 and U937. Staurosporine, a highly potent, nonspecific inhibitor of PKC (20-50 nM), uniquely potentiated ara-C-related degradation of DNA to oligonucleosomal fragments in both cell lines (i.e., 2- to 3-fold), but was ineffective when given alone at these concentrations. In contrast, co-administration of the nonspecific PKC inhibitor H7 and two highly selective PKC inhibitors, calphostin C and chelerythrine, also increased the extent of DNA fragmentation observed in ara-C-treated cells, but these effects were evident only at inhibitor concentrations that were by themselves sufficient to induce DNA damage. Agarose gel electrophoresis demonstrated that cells co-exposed to staurosporine and ara-C exhibited considerably more pronounced internucleosomal DNA cleavage than did cells exposed to ara-C alone; moreover, this effect was suppressed by Zn2+ (1 mM) and the permeant Ca2+ chelator BAPTA-AM (50 microM). Potentiation of ara-C-related DNA fragmentation by subeffective concentrations of staurosporine was accompanied by a pronounced increase in the morphological features characteristic of apoptosis. A synergistic interaction between staurosporine and ara-C with respect to inhibition of clonogenicity in both HL-60 and U937 cells was demonstrated by median dose-effect analysis. The actions of staurosporine did not result from enhanced ara-C metabolism, as preincubation of cells with concentrations of this agent that potentiated ara-C actions (e.g., 20-50 nM) did not increase intracellular levels of the lethal metabolite ara-CTP. Lastly, preexposure of HL-60 and U937 cells to staurosporine did not block ara-C-mediated upregulation of c-jun, an oncogene whose increased expression has been temporally associated with ara-C-induced apoptosis. Together, these findings indicate that staurosporine exhibits a unique pattern of potentiation of ara-C-related apoptosis in human myeloid leukemias, and provide a rationale for exploring the antileukemic potential of this combination regimen.