PI-PLCβ1b affects Akt activation, cyclin E expression, and caspase cleavage, promoting cell survival in pro-B-lymphoblastic cells exposed to oxidative stress

The phosphoinositide-dependent signal transduction pathway has been implicated in the control of a variety of biologic processes, such as the regulation of cellular metabolism and homeostasis, cell proliferation and differentiation, and apoptosis. One of the key players in the regulation of inositol lipid signaling is the phospholipase Cβ1 (PI-PLCβ1), that hydrolyzes phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtIns(4,5)P2], giving rise to the second messengers inositol triphosphate and diacylglicerol. PI-PLCβ1 has been associated with the regulation of several cellular functions, some of which have not yet been fully understood. In particular, it has been reported that PI-PLCβ1 protects murine fibroblasts from oxidative stress-induced cell death. The mediators of oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS), have been shown to regulate major epigenetic processes, causing the silencing of tumor suppressors and enhancing the proliferation of leukemic cells under oxidative stress. Investigation of the interplay between ROS, PI-PLCβ1, and their signaling mediators in leukemia might therefore reveal innovative targets of pharmacological therapy in the treatment for leukemia. In this work, we demonstrate that in pro-B-lymphoblastic cells (Ba/F3), treated with H2O2, PI-PLCβ1b conferred resistance to cell death, promoting cell cycle progression and cell proliferation and influencing the expression of cyclin A and E. Interestingly, we found that, expression of PI-PLCβ1b affects the activity of caspase-3, caspase-7, and of several protein kinases induced by oxidative stress. In particular, PI-PLCβ1b expression completely abolished the phosphorylation of Erk1/2 MAP kinases, down-regulated phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), and up-regulated the phosphorylation of Akt, thereby sustaining cellular proliferation.