Docetaxel is a member of the
taxane anti-microtubule class of chemotherapeutic agents, which are currently widely used in clinical
cancer therapy. However, the anti-
tumor mechanisms of
docetaxel are not fully understood. Herein we show that
docetaxel induces dose-dependent apoptosis in
non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells, as detected by
Annexin-V positive cells and PARP cleavage, which is via mitochondrial pathway and dependent on
caspase-3 activation. Our study on the mechanisms confirms that
docetaxel induces dose-dependent accumulation of cells in M phase and acetylation of α-
tubulin, marker of
tubulin stablization. Furthermore,
docetaxel induces replication-dependent γ-H2AX formation which plays a crucial role in
docetaxel-triggered apoptosis. The
DNA polymerase inhibitor aphidicolin dose-dependently prevents
docetaxel-induced γ-H2AX formation, as well as apoptosis. Notably, 0.6 µM APC almost completely blocked
docetaxel-induced γ-H2AX formation and apoptosis. In addition,
wortmannin pretreatment caused elevated γ-H2AX level, which was accompanied with increased apoptosis. This effect was due to the inhibition of DNA repair process by
wortmannin, as down regulation of p21Waf1/Cip1 and DNA repair
proteins such as Ku70, Ku80,
DNA-
PKcs and Rad50, were detected. These data show, for the first time, that the induction of apoptosis by
docetaxel requires DNA replication, and replication-mediated DSBs are critical triggers of
docetaxel-induced apoptosis.