ABSTRACTS – ORAL PRESENTATIONS - AMCA, spol. s r.o.

Effects of studied newly synthesized PDMP derivatives were dependent on their chemical
structure and duration of cell cultivation. Several derivatives were able to change
Ca 2+ transport already after 15 minutes of cultivation, but their effect of cell viability
manifested only after 12 h of cultivation. Activity of GlcCer synthase was affected in case
of 4 from 12 studied compounds after longer cultivation, but was not in relation with
changes in calcium transport and cell viability.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by grant agency VEGA No. 01/0471/11 and 01/0441/11
References:
1. Hakomori, S. and Igarashi, Y. (1993) Adv. Lipid Res. 23, 147–162
2. Lahiri, S. and Futerman, A. H. (2007) Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 64 (2007) 2270 – 2284
P27. DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID EFFECTIVELY STIMULATES TRAIL-INDUCED APOPTOSIS
OF COLON CANCER CELLS AT THE LEVEL OF MITOCHONDRIA
Belma Skender 1, 2 , Björn Kruspig 3 , Vladimir Gogvadze 3 , Jiřina Hofmanová 1, 2 , Alois
Kozubík 1, 2 , Boris Zhivotovsky 3 , Alena Hyršlová Vaculová 1
1
Department of Cytokinetics, Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech
Republic, v.v.i., Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic;
2
Department of Animal Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk
University, Terezy Novákové 64, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
3
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Toxicology, Karolinska Institutet, Box
210, Stockholm, SE-171 77 Sweden
belma@ibp.cz, vaculova@ibp.cz
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an essential n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, is known for
its beneficial effect in a wide variety of diseases ranging from autoimmune disorders
to several types of malignancies including colorectal cancer. During carcinogenesis,
mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways are very frequently suppressed, which
results in attenuation of cell death and enhanced proliferation. Mitochondria belong
to the subcellular sites where n-3 fatty acids are rapidly incorporated. DHA containing
six double bonds causes cardiolipin structural changes and increases mitochondrial
membrane fatty acids unsaturation, their susceptibility to oxidative stress and alters
membrane barrier properties. We hypothesize that DHA might facilitate the toxic effects
of certain antitumour agents, which could directly and specifically reinforce apoptosis in
cancer cells. Our aim was to elucidate a potential sensitizing effect of DHA on apoptosis
induced by a cytokine of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family - TRAIL (TNF-related
apoptosis inducing ligand) in colon cancer cells. TRAIL has been shown to selectively
induce apoptosis in tumor, but not in normal cells. However, many tumor cells may still
exhibit a TRAIL-resistant phenotype, which is currently a major obstacle in TRAIL-based
therapy.
Here, we demonstrate that DHA is capable to increase significantly apoptosis induced
by this cytokine and highlight the importance of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in
Analytical Cytometry VII 119