Sodium orthovanadate (vanadate) inhibits the DNA-binding activity of p53, but its precise effects on p53 function have not been examined. Here, we show that vanadate exerts a potent antiapoptotic activity through both transcription-dependent and transcription-independent mechanisms relative to other p53 inhibitors, including pifithrin (PFT) α. We compared the effects of vanadate to PFTα and PFTµ, an inhibitor of transcriptionindependent apoptosis by p53. Vanadate suppressed p53-associated apoptotic events at the mitochondria, including the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, the conformational change of Bax and Bak, the mitochondrial translocation of p53, and the interaction of p53 with Bcl-2. Similarly, vanadate suppressed the apoptosis-inducing activity of a mitochondrially targeted temperature-sensitive p53 in stable transfectants of SaOS-2 cells. In radioprotection assays, which rely on p53, vanadate completely protected mice from a sublethal dose of 8 Gy and partially from a lethal dose of 12 Gy. Together, our findings indicated that vanadate effectively suppresses p53-mediated apoptosis by both transcription-dependent and transcriptionindependent pathways, and suggested that both pathways must be inhibited to completely block p53-mediated apoptosis. Cancer Res; 70(1); 257-65. ©2010 AACR.

Poly(e-lysine) (PL), lysine (Lys), monosodium glutamate (GluNa), glycine (Gly), alanine (Ala), and leucine (Leu) were used to regulate the characteristic gelatinization behavior of potato starch. As determined by differential scanning calorimetry, PL, Lys, and GluNa with positive or negative net charge elevated the gelatinization temperature with increasing amount added as compared with the small effect of Gly, Ala, and Leu with zero net charge. The peak viscosity evaluated by a Rapid Viscoanalyser was markedly decreased by adding PL, Lys, and GluNa, whereas Gly and Ala had no effect on the peak viscosity. The swelling was also decreased by added PL, Lys, and GluNa, whereas it was unchanged by added Gly, Ala, and Leu. Potato starch immersed in PL or amino acid solution released most of the retained PL and amino acids by the subsequent washing with water. The increased gelatinization temperature of the PL-treated potato starch returned to the original value by washing with water. It is thus considered that the regulatory effects of PL and amino acids on the gelatinization behavior of potato starch were substantially reversible.

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The binding of an amino acid, glycine (Gly), alanine (Ala), epsilon-aminocaproic acid (-AC), monosodium glutamate (GluNa), or lysine (Lys), to starch was examined by a biomolecular interaction analyzer (IAsys). A starch sample (ATS) hydrolyzed to an extent of 1% hydrolysis rate with 15% sulfuric acid was used as a model starch for the binding examination. The reducing end of ATS was oxidized by the Somogyi reagent, and the conversion of the reducing end to the carboxyl group of ATS was confirmed by a carboxylic acid fluorescence labeling reagent. The oxidized ATS was immobilized to the amino group of a sensor cuvette by using water-soluble carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide through an amide bond. The IAsys examination showed that Gly, Ala, and epsilon-AC scarcely bound to the immobilized starch chains but that GluNa and Lys favorably bound with their increasing concentrations. The relative binding index (RBI) of each amino acid was defined by the ratio of the slope of the linear regression equation between the binding response and the concentration for each amino acid to that for Gly. Because the relationships between the RBI and the pasting characteristics (pasting temperature, peak viscosity, breakdown, and swelling index) could each be expressed by a linear regression equation with a high correlation coefficient, it is concluded that the regulation of the pasting behavior of starch with an amino acid is caused by binding of the amino acid to the starch chains.