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Query: EC:2.4.2.30 (
PARP
)
13,611
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Although the commonly activated death protease caspase-3 appears not to be essential for apoptosis during development except in the brain, it was not shown whether substrates known to be cleaved by caspase-3 are still proteolyzed in its absence. We have addressed this question with
MCF
-7 breast carcinoma cells that we recently showed lack caspase-3 owing to the functional deletion of the CASP-3 gene. Tumor necrosis factor- or staurosporine-induced apoptosis of caspase-3-deficient
MCF
-7 cells resulted in cleavage of the death substrates
PARP
, Rb, PAK2, DNA-PKcs, gelsolin, and DFF-45, but not alpha-fodrin. In contrast, all these substrates including alpha-fodrin were cleaved in apoptotic HeLa cells expressing caspase-3. Introduction of CASP-3 cDNA, but not CASP-10 cDNA, into
MCF
-7 cells restored alpha-fodrin cleavage. In addition, tumor necrosis factor- or staurosporine-induced apoptosis of
MCF
-7 cells stably expressing pro-caspase-3 also resulted in alpha-fodrin cleavage. Although the specific caspase inhibitory peptides Z-VAD-fmk and Z-DEVD-fmk prevented apoptosis of
MCF
-7 cells, we were unable to detect activation of caspases 2 and 7, which are known to be inhibited by Z-DEVD-fmk. Together our results suggest that caspase-3 is essential for cleavage of alpha-fodrin, but dispensable for the cleavage of
PARP
, Rb, PAK2, DNA-PKcs, gelsolin, and DFF-45 and imply that one or more caspases other than caspases 2, 3, and 7 is activated and plays a crucial role in the cleavage of these substrates in
MCF
-7 cells.
...
PMID:Caspase-3 is required for alpha-fodrin cleavage but dispensable for cleavage of other death substrates in apoptosis. 962 43
Immunotoxins composed of antibodies linked to plant or bacterial toxins are being evaluated in the treatment of cancer. It is known that the toxin moieties of immunotoxins, including Pseudomonasexotoxin A (PE), diphtheria toxin, and ricin, are capable of inducing apoptosis. Since the efficiency of induction of apoptosis and the apoptosis pathway may have direct effects on the therapeutic usefulness of immunotoxins, we have studied how B3(Fv)-PE38, a genetically engineered immunotoxin in which the Fv fragment of an antibody is fused to a mutated form of PE, induces apoptosis of the
MCF
-7 breast cancer cell line. We show for the first time that a PE-containing immunotoxin activates ICE/ced-3 proteases, now termed caspases, and causes characteristic cleavage of the "death substrate" poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase (
PARP
) to an 89 kDa fragment with a time course of cleavage comparable to that induced by TNFalpha. Also the fluorescent substrate, DEVD-AFC, is cleaved 2-4-fold more rapidly by lysates from B3(Fv)-PE38 treated
MCF
-7 cells than untreated control cells, suggesting that a CPP32-like caspase is involved in B3(Fv)-PE38-mediated apoptosis. B3(Fv)-PE38-induced
PARP
cleavage is inhibited by several protease inhibitors known to inhibit caspases (zVAD-fmk, zDEVD-fmk, zIETD-fmk) as well as by overexpression of Bcl-2 providing additional evidence for caspase involvement. zVAD-fmk, a broad spectrum inhibitor of most mammalian caspases, prevents the early morphological changes and loss of cell membrane integrity produced by B3(Fv)-PE38, but not its ability to inhibit protein synthesis, arrest cell growth, and subsequently kill cells. Despite inhibition of apoptosis, the immunotoxin is still capable of selective cell killing, which indicates that B3(Fv)-PE38 kills cells by two mechanisms: one requires caspase activation, and the other is due to the arrest of protein synthesis caused by inactivation of elongation factor 2. The fact that an immunotoxin can specifically kill tumor cells without the need of inducing apoptosis makes such agents especially valuable for the treatment of cancers that are protected against apoptosis, e.g., by overexpression of Bcl-2.
...
PMID:Role of caspases in immunotoxin-induced apoptosis of cancer cells. 983 86
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signal transduction is a complex process involving activation of receptor-linked and stress-sensitive signaling cascades that stimulate apoptosis in some tumor cell lines. Initial studies suggested that these signaling events cooperatively induced TNF responses, but recent studies suggest that some of these signals antagonize the apoptotic response or play no discernible role in cell death. As TNF induces cellular stress and activates several stress-sensitive cascades that may play a role in apoptosis, TNF-induced stress signaling was examined in
MCF
-7 cells and compared with a variant
MCF
-7 cell line resistant to TNF-mediated apoptosis (
MCF
-7/3E9). TNF rapidly stimulated both NF-kappaB and JNK activation in
MCF
-7 and
MCF
-7/3E9 cells, but JNK activation was significantly reduced (threefold) in apoptotically resistant cells. TNF also stimulated p53, p21WAF1, and Bax accumulation with subsequent
PARP
cleavage and nucleosomal DNA laddering in
MCF
-7 cells but did not stimulate these processes in
MCF
-7/3E9 cells. Importantly, 3E9 cells retained wild-type p53 function, induced p21WAF1 in response to DNA damage, and expressed almost equal sensitivity to other stress stimuli (gamma-radiation, chemotherapeutic agents) as parental
MCF
-7 cells. These results suggest that selective defects in TNF-activated stress cascades are associated with reduced sensitivity to TNF but not other cell death stimuli. Loss of potent TNF-mediated activation of JNK and p53 cascades may permit tumor cells to evade receptor-mediated apoptosis but have only limited influence on cellular sensitivity to other agents that effectively engage these stress pathways.
...
PMID:JNK and p53 stress signaling cascades are altered in MCF-7 cells resistant to tumor necrosis factor-mediated apoptosis. 1021 65
The enhanced expression of the RI alpha subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase type 1 (PKA-1) has been correlated with cancer cell growth. We have investigated the effects of sequence-specific inhibition of RI alpha gene expression on the growth of
MCF
-7 human breast cancer cells. We report that RI alpha antisense treatment results in a reduction in RI alpha expression at both mRNA and protein levels and inhibition of cell growth. The growth inhibition was accompanied by changes in cell morphology, cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (
PARP
) and appearance of apoptotic nuclei. In addition, bcl-2 protein level was reduced and p53 expression increased in growth arrested cells. Interestingly, RI alpha antisense inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis in the absence of p53, suggesting that these actions of RI alpha antisense are exerted independent of p53. In contrast, two- and four-base mismatched control oligonucleotides had no effect on either cell growth or morphology. These results demonstrate that the RI alpha antisense, which efficiently depletes the growth stimulatory molecule RI alpha, induces cell differentiation and apoptosis, providing a new approach to combat breast cancer cell growth.
...
PMID:Growth arrest and induction of apoptosis in breast cancer cells by antisense depletion of protein kinase A-RI alpha subunit: p53-independent mechanism of action. 1039 66
PED/PEA-15 is a recently cloned 15 kDa protein possessing a death effector domain (DED). In
MCF
-7 and HeLa cells, a fivefold overexpression of PED/PEA-15 blocked FasL and TNFalpha apoptotic effects. This effect of PED overexpression was blocked by inhibition of PKC activity. In
MCF
-7 and HeLa cell lysates, PED/PEA-15 co-precipitated with both FADD and FLICE. PED/PEA-15-FLICE association was inhibited by overexpression of the wild-type but not of a DED-deletion mutant of FADD. Simultaneous overexpression of PED/PEA-15 with FADD and FLICE inhibited FADD-FLICE co-precipitation by threefold. Based on cleavage of the FLICE substrate
PARP
, this inhibitory effect was paralleled by a threefold decline in FLICE activation in response to TNF-alpha. TNFalpha, in turn, reduces PED association with the endogenous FADD and FLICE of the cells. Thus, PED/PEA-15 is an endogenous protein inhibiting FAS and TNFR1-mediated apoptosis. At least in part, this function may involve displacement of FADD-FLICE binding through the death effector domain of PED/PEA-15.
...
PMID:PED/PEA-15: an anti-apoptotic molecule that regulates FAS/TNFR1-induced apoptosis. 1044 31
The abundant nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (
PARP
) synthesizes poly(ADP-ribose) in response to DNA strand breaks. During almost all forms of apoptosis,
PARP
is cleaved by caspases, suggesting the crucial role of its inactivation. A few studies have also reported a stimulation of
PARP
during apoptosis. However, the role of
PARP
stimulation and cleavage during this cell death process remains poorly understood. Here, we measured the stimulation of endogenous poly(ADP-ribose) synthesis during VP-16-induced apoptosis in HL60 cells and found that
PARP
was cleaved by caspases at the time of its poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation. In vitro experiments showed that
PARP
cleavage by caspase-7, but not by caspase-3, was stimulated by its automodification by long and branched poly(ADP-ribose). Consistently, caspase-7 exhibited an affinity for poly(ADP-ribose), whereas caspase-3 did not. In addition, caspase-7 was activated and accumulated in the nucleus of HL60 cells in response to the VP-16 treatment. Furthermore, caspase-7 activation was concommitant with
PARP
cleavage in the caspase-3-deficient cell line
MCF
-7 in response to staurosporine treatment. These results strongly suggest that, in vivo, it is caspase-7 that is responsible for
PARP
cleavage and that poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of
PARP
accelerates its proteolysis. Cleavage of the active form of caspase substrates could be a general feature of the apoptotic process, ensuring the rapid inactivation of stress signaling proteins.
...
PMID:Cleavage of automodified poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase during apoptosis. Evidence for involvement of caspase-7. 1049 98
Recently a new member of the human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family named as VEGI was reported. However, very little is known about the biological activities displayed by this cytokine. In this report, we show that in myeloid cells VEGI activated the transcription factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) as determined by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay, induced degradation of I kappa B alpha, and nuclear translocation of p65 subunit of NF-kappa B. VEGI also activated NF-kappa B-dependent reporter gene expression. In addition, VEGI activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase. When examined for growth modulatory effects, VEGI inhibited the proliferation of breast carcinoma (
MCF
-7), epithelial (HeLa), and myeloid (U-937 and ML-1a) tumor cells; and activated caspase-3 leading to
PARP
cleavage. VEGI-induced cytotoxicity was potentiated by inhibitors of protein synthesis. VEGI also induced proliferation of normal human foreskin fibroblast cells. The activity of VEGI could neither be neutralized by antibodies against TNF, nor could it compete with TNF binding, indicating that the activity of VEGI is not due to TNF and it binds to a distinct receptor. These results suggest that VEGI, a new member of the TNF family, has a signaling pathway similar to TNF and is most likely a multifunctional cytokine.
...
PMID:VEGI, a new member of the TNF family activates nuclear factor-kappa B and c-Jun N-terminal kinase and modulates cell growth. 1059 52
beta-Lapachone (beta-lap) effectively killed
MCF
-7 and T47D cell lines via apoptosis in a cell-cycle-independent manner. However, the mechanism by which this compound activated downstream proteolytic execution processes were studied. At low concentrations, beta-lap activated the caspase-mediated pathway, similar to the topoisomerase I poison, topotecan; apoptotic reactions caused by both agents at these doses were inhibited by zVAD-fmk. However at higher doses of beta-lap, a novel non-caspase-mediated "atypical" cleavage of
PARP
(i.e., an approximately 60-kDa cleavage fragment) was observed. Atypical
PARP
cleavage directly correlated with apoptosis in
MCF
-7 cells and was inhibited by the global cysteine protease inhibitors iodoacetamide and N-ethylmaleimide. This cleavage was insensitive to inhibitors of caspases, granzyme B, cathepsins B and L, trypsin, and chymotrypsin-like proteases. The protease responsible appears to be calcium-dependent and the concomitant cleavage of
PARP
and p53 was consistent with a beta-lap-mediated activation of calpain. beta-Lap exposure also stimulated the cleavage of lamin B, a putative caspase 6 substrate. Reexpression of procaspase-3 into caspase-3-null
MCF
-7 cells did not affect this atypical
PARP
proteolytic pathway. These findings demonstrate that beta-lap kills cells through the cell-cycle-independent activation of a noncaspase proteolytic pathway.
...
PMID:Activation of a cysteine protease in MCF-7 and T47D breast cancer cells during beta-lapachone-mediated apoptosis. 1069 31
Breast cancer has a prodigious capacity to metastasize to bone. In women with advanced breast cancer and bone metastases, bisphosphonates reduce the incidence of hypercalcaemia and skeletal morbidity. Recent clinical findings suggest that some bisphosphonates reduce the tumour burden in bone with a consequent increase in survival, raising the possibility that bisphosphonates may have a direct effect on breast cancer cells. We have investigated the in vitro effects of bisphosphonates zoledronate, pamidronate, clodronate and EB 1053 on growth, viability and induction of apoptosis in three human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, Hs 578T and
MCF
-7). Cell growth was monitored by crystal violet dye assay, and cell viability was quantitated by MTS dye reduction. Induction of apoptosis was determined by identification of morphological features of apoptosis using time-lapse videomicroscopy, identifying morphological changes in nucleis using Hoechst staining, quantitation of DNA fragmentation, level of expression of bcl-2 and bax proteins and identification of the proteolytic cleavage of Poly (ADP)-ribose polymerase (
PARP
). All four bisphosphonates significantly reduced cell viability in all three cell lines. Zoledronate was the most potent bisphosphonate with IC50 values of 15, 20 and 3 microM respectively in MDA-MB-231,
MCF
-7 and Hs 578T cells. Corresponding values for pamidronate were 40, 35 and 25 microM, whereas clodronate and EB 1053 were more than two orders of magnitude less potent. An increase in the proportion of cells having morphological features characteristic of apoptosis, characteristic apoptotic changes in the nucleus, time-dependent increase in the percentage of fragmented chromosomal DNA, down-regulation in bcl-2 protein and proteolytic cleavage of
PARP
, all indicate that bisphosphonates have direct anti-tumour effects on human breast cancer cells.
...
PMID:Bisphosphonates induce apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines. 1078 May 27
Herbal therapies are commonly used by patients with cancer, despite little understanding about their clinical and biological activity. We recently demonstrated that the herbal combination PC-SPES, which contains licorice root, had potent estrogenic activity in vitro, in animals, and in patients with prostate cancer. Licochalcone-A (LA) is one flavonoid extracted from licorice root with antiparasitic and anti-tumor activity, but the effect on the human estrogen receptor and mechanism of anti-tumor activity is unknown. Recent studies demonstrated that the mechanism of cytotoxic effect by some estrogens may involve modulation of the anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2. In the present study, we determined if LA had estrogenic activity, anti-tumor activity, and modulated the apoptotic protein bcl-2 in human cell lines derived from acute leukemia, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. A yeast growth-based assay under the control of the human estrogen receptor (hER) demonstrated that LA was a phytoestrogen. A cell viability assay demonstrated that LA had anti-tumor activity in all cell lines tested and enhanced the effect of paclitaxel and vinblastine chemotherapy. LA induced apoptosis in
MCF
-7 and HL-60 cell lines, as demonstrated by cleavage of
PARP
, the substrate of ICE-like proteases. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that LA decreased the anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2 and altered the bcl-2/bax ratio in favor of apoptosis. In contrast, the parent compound chalcone or estradiol did not decrease bc1-2 expression. Therefore, these data demonstrate that LA is a phytoestrogen with anti-tumor activity and is capable of modulating bcl-2 protein expression. The modulation of bcl-2 may be dependent on specific structural differences between LA and the parent compound chalcone and independent of LA estrogenicity.
...
PMID:Modulation of bcl-2 and cytotoxicity by licochalcone-A, a novel estrogenic flavonoid. 1095 39
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