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The effects of L-glutamate on activation-induced cell death (AICD) of human activated (1 μg ml−1 phytohemagglutinin plus 2 U ml−1 interleukin-2; 8 days) T lymphocytes were studied by measuring anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (10 μg ml−1; 18 h)-induced cell apoptosis (Annexin V and propidium iodide staining).L-Glutamate (1 × 10−8–1 × 10−4 M) significantly (P0.01) inhibited AICD in a concentration-dependent manner (EC50=6.3 × 10−8 M; maximum inhibition 54.8±6.3% at 1 × 10−6 M).The L-glutamate inhibitory effect was pharmacologically characterized as mediated by group I mGlu receptors, since mGlu receptor agonists reproduced this effect. The EC50 values were: 3.2 × 10−7 M for (1S,3R)-ACPD; 4.5 × 10−8 M for quisqualate; 1.0 × 10−6 M for (S)-3,5-DHPG; 2.0 × 10−5 M for CHPG.Group I mGlu receptor antagonists inhibited the effects of quisqualate 1.0 × 10−6 M. The IC50 values calculated were: 8.7 × 10−5, 4.3 × 10−6 and 6.3 × 10−7 M for AIDA, LY 367385 and MPEP, respectively.L-Glutamate (1 × 10−6 M; 18 h) significantly (P0.05) inhibited FasL expression (40.8±11.3%) (cytofluorimetric analysis), whereas it did not affect Fas signalling.Expression of both mGlu1 and mGlu5 receptor mRNA by T lymphocytes and T-cell lines, as demonstrated by reverse transcriptase–PCR analysis, suggests that L-glutamate-mediated inhibition of AICD was exerted on T cells.These data depict a novel role for L-glutamate in the regulation of the immune response through group I mGlu receptor-mediated mechanisms.British Journal of Pharmacology (2006) 148, 760–768. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706746; published online 5 June 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure to perform the Fas-related apoptosis pathway can account for tumor resistance both to chemotherapeutic agents and to immunological effectors. We studied the role of NK-κB in Fas-resistance, employing the Fas-sensitive human T-lymphoma HuT78 cell line and its Fas-resistant variants HuT78B1 and HuT78G9. All these cell lines expressed high levels of constitutively activated NF-κB. Pretreatment of cells with NF-κB inhibitors (PDTC, MG132, or SN50) strongly enhanced CH11-induced apoptosis in HuT78 and Hut78G9 cells, while only MG132 showed a similar potentiating effect in HuT78B1. The described synergism was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with the anti-Fas-blocking antibody ZB4 or with the pancapsase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK, but not by capsase-8 or -9 inhibitors. Overall, these data suggest that NF-κB inhibition may restore the Fas-pathway in Fas-resistant NF-κB-overexpressing tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]