Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.10.1 (ERK)
 95,504 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Quinolones (QNs)-induced arthropathy is an important toxic effect in immature animals leading to restriction of their therapeutic use in pediatrics. However, the exact mechanism still remains unclear. Recently, we have demonstrated that ofloxacin, a typical QN, induces apoptosis of alginate microencapsulated juvenile rabbit joint chondrocytes by disturbing the beta 1 integrin functions and inactivating the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway. In this study, we extend our initial observations to further elucidate the mechanism(s) of ofloxacin-induced apoptosis by utilizing specific caspase inhibitors. Pretreatment with both caspase-9-specific inhibitor zLEHD-fmk and caspase-8 inhibitor zIETD-fmk attenuated ofloxacin-induced apoptosis and activation of caspase-3 of chondrocyte in a concentration-dependent manner, as determined by fluorescent dye staining, enzyme activity assay and immunoblotting. Furthermore, the activation of caspase-9, -8 and -3 stimulated by ofloxacin was significantly inhibited in the presence of zIETD-fmk while pretreatment with zLEHD-fmk only blocked the activation of caspase-9 and -3. Ofloxacin also stimulated a concentration-dependent translocation of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol and a decrease of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, which was completely inhibited by zIETD-fmk. In addition, ofloxacin was found to increase the level of Bax, tBid, p53 in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Taken together, The current results indicate that the caspase-8-dependent mitochondrial pathway is primarily involved in the ofloxacin-induced apoptosis of microencapsulated juvenile rabbit joint chondrocytes.
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PMID:Ofloxacin induces apoptosis in microencapsulated juvenile rabbit chondrocytes by caspase-8-dependent mitochondrial pathway. 1796 19

We previously showed that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 inhibition using an adenovirus-mediated delivery of MMP-9 small interfering RNA (Ad-MMP-9), caused senescence in medulloblastoma cells. Regardless of whether or not Ad-MMP-9 would induce apoptosis, the possible signaling mechanism is still obscure. In this report, we demonstrate that Ad-MMP-9 induced apoptosis in DAOY cells as determined by propidium iodide and terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated nick end labeling staining. Ad-MMP-9 infection induced the release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase-9 and -3, and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Ad-MMP-9 infection stimulated ERK, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated an increase in NF-kappaB activation. ERK inhibition, using a kinase-dead mutant for ERK, ameliorated NF-kappaB activation and caspase-mediated apoptosis in Ad-MMP-9-infected cells. beta1-Integrin expression in Ad-MMP-9-infected cells also increased, and this increase was reversed by the reintroduction of MMP-9. We found that the addition of beta1 blocking antibodies inhibited Ad-MMP-9-induced ERK activation. Taken together, our results indicate that MMP-9 inhibition induces apoptosis due to altered beta1-integrin expression in medulloblastoma. In addition, ERK activation plays an active role in this process and functions upstream of NF-kappaB activation to initiate the apoptotic signal.
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PMID:Blockade of tumor growth due to matrix metalloproteinase-9 inhibition is mediated by sequential activation of beta1-integrin, ERK, and NF-kappaB. 3315 22

This study is the first to investigate the anticancer effect of plumbagin in human melanoma A375.S2 cells. Plumbagin exhibited effective cell growth inhibition by inducing cancer cells to undergo S-G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis. Further investigation revealed that plumbagin's inhibition of cell growth was also evident in a nude mice model. Blockade of cell cycle was associated with increased levels of p21, and reduced amounts of cyclin B1, cyclin A, Cdc2, and Cdc25C. Plumbagin also enhanced the levels of inactivated phosphorylated Cdc2 and Cdc25C. Plumbagin triggered the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway indicated by a change in Bax/Bcl-2 ratios, resulting in caspase-9 activation. We also found the generation of ROS is a critical mediator in plumbagin-induced cell growth inhibition. Plumbagin increased the activation of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1, JNK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), but not p38. In addition, antioxidants vitamin C and catalase significantly decreased plumbagin-mediated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and apoptosis. Moreover, blocking ERK and JNK by specific inhibitors suppressed plumbagin-triggered mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Taken together, these results imply a critical role for ROS and JNK in the plumbagin's anticancer activity.
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PMID:Plumbagin induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through reactive oxygen species/c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathways in human melanoma A375.S2 cells. 1802 67

The present studies have determined whether interactions between the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor flavopiridol and the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA; vorinostat; Zolinza) occur in breast cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells were treated with flavopiridol (25-100 nmol/L) and vorinostat (125-500 nmol/L) in vitro, and mechanisms of cell killing were determined. Concurrent treatment of cells with flavopiridol and vorinostat or treatment of cells with flavopiridol followed by vorinostat promoted cell killing in a greater than additive fashion. Similar data were obtained with the CDK inhibitor roscovitine. Flavopiridol suppressed c-FLIP-l/s and BCL-xL expression, whereas vorinostat reduced expression of BCL-xL, and combined exposure to flavopiridol and vorinostat reduced MCL-1 and X-chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) levels. Pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of caspase-8 reduced flavopiridol toxicity, but abolished killing by vorinostat and cell death caused by the vorinostat/flavopiridol regimen. Loss of BAX/BAK function or loss of BID function modestly reduced flavopiridol toxicity, but abolished vorinostat-mediated potentiation of flavopiridol toxicity, as did inhibition of caspase-9. Inhibition and/or deletion of cathepsin B function significantly attenuated vorinostat/flavopiridol lethality. Flavopiridol suppressed extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and AKT activity and expression of activated forms of AKT and mitogen-activated protein/ERK kinase 1 maintained c-FLIP-l/s, BCL-xL, and XIAP expression and protected cells against flavopiridol/vorinostat lethality. Overexpression of c-FLIP-s and BCL-xL abolished the lethality of flavopiridol/vorinostat. Collectively, these data argue that flavopiridol enhances the lethality of vorinostat in breast cancer cells in part through the inhibition of AKT and ERK1/2 function, leading to reduced expression of multiple inhibitors of the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, as well as activation of cathepsin protease-dependent pathways.
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PMID:Extrinsic pathway- and cathepsin-dependent induction of mitochondrial dysfunction are essential for synergistic flavopiridol and vorinostat lethality in breast cancer cells. 1806 90

The activation of caspases is the principal event in the execution of apoptosis. Initiator caspases are activated through an autocatalytic mechanism often involving dimerisation or oligomerisation. In Drosophila, the only initiator caspase DRONC, is tightly inhibited by DIAP1 and removal of DIAP1 permits activation of DRONC by the Drosophila Apaf-1-related killer, ARK. ARK is proposed to facilitate DRONC oligomerisation and autoprocessing at residue E352. This study examines whether autoprocessing of DRONC is required for its activation and for DRONC-mediated cell death. Using purified recombinant proteins, we show here that while DRONC autocleaves at residue E352, mutation of this site did not abolish enzyme activation, DRICE-induced cleavage of DRONC or DRONC-mediated activation of DRICE. We performed a detailed mutational analysis of DRONC cleavage sites and show that overexpression of DRONC cleavage mutants in Drosophila cells retain pro-apoptotic activity. Using an in vitro cell-free assay, we found ARK alone did not activate DRONC and demonstrate a requirement for an additional cytosolic factor in ARK-mediated DRONC activation. These results suggest that, similar to mammalian caspase-2 and caspase-9, the initial cleavage of DRONC is not essential for its activation and suggest a mechanism of ARK-mediated DRONC activation different from that proposed previously.
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PMID:A biochemical analysis of the activation of the Drosophila caspase DRONC. 1808 39

Our study reports that staurosporine induces apoptosis in cultured rat hepatocytes in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Staurosporine induced apparent cleavage of caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3. The release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and Bid activation were also detected in staurosporine-treated primary hepatocytes. These results suggest that mitochondria-mediated cell death signaling may be involved in staurosporine-induced hepatocyte apoptosis. Bcl-x(L) overexpression protected from "loss of" mitochondrial transmembrane potential and prevented staurosporine-induced caspase-3 and caspase-8 cleavage. Overexpression of constitutively active ERK and PKB inhibited staurosporine-induced caspase-3 activation and hepatocyte death. PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) and ERK inhibitor (PD98059) significantly reversed the protective effects of Bcl-x(L) on staurosporine-induced hepatocyte death. Our data suggest that Bcl-x(L) prevents staurosporine-induced hepatocyte apoptosis by modulating protein kinase B and p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase activity and disrupts mitochondria death signaling.
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PMID:Bcl-xL prevents staurosporine-induced hepatocyte apoptosis by restoring protein kinase B/mitogen-activated protein kinase activity and mitochondria integrity. 1816 94

Desferrioxamine (DFX) induces apoptosis in human lymphocytes, although the mechanism leading to cell death is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the signaling pathways implicated in DFX-induced apoptosis in lymphocytes. DFX treatment activated caspase-9, caspase-3, and caspase-8. DFX-induced apoptosis was inhibited by both z-IETD-fmk and z-DEVD-fmk. DFX treatment also enhanced caspase-8 activity, Bid cleavage, and the conformational activation of Bax. DFX treatment activated two MAPKs, p38 and JNK, and induced the phosphorylation of two proteins in the p38 pathway, MKK3 and MKK6. DFX treatment also increased the phosphorylation of two downstream targets of p38, ATF-2 and MAPKAPK2, indicating that DFX promotes p38 activity. In addition, the selective p38 inhibitor SB203580 suppressed DFX-induced apoptosis and caspase-8 activation, whereas the JNK inhibitor, SP600125, and the ERK inhibitor, PD98059, had no effect. Our results suggest that DFX-induced apoptosis is mediated by the p38 pathway and a caspase-8-dependent Bid-Bax pathway in human lymphocytes.
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PMID:Desferrioxamine (DFX) induces apoptosis through the p38-caspase8-Bid-Bax pathway in PHA-stimulated human lymphocytes. 1818 75

We compared the response of normal (FHC) and cancer (HT-29) human colon epithelial cells to the important apoptotic inducers TNF-alpha, anti-Fas antibody and TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL). The two cell lines did not respond to TNF-alpha (15 ng/ml), expressed a limited sensitivity to anti-Fas antibody (200 ng/ml) and a different response to TRAIL (100 ng/ml). We studied apoptosis with regard to the changes at the receptor level (DR, DcR and FLIP) and at the level of mitochondria (Bid protein cleavage, Apo2.7 protein expression and caspase-9 activation). Two different approaches were used to sensitize the cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis: inhibition of protein synthesis (cycloheximide, CHX) and inhibition of the pro-survival MEK/ERK pathway (U0126). While the two cell lines were markedly sensitized to all three TNF family members by CHX, a different degree of response (especially for TRAIL) was obtained when inhibition of the MEK/ERK pathway was achieved. TRAIL-induced apoptosis was significantly enhanced by U0126 co-treatment in the HT-29 cells, but not in the FHC cells. The most significant differences between the HT-29 and FHC cells co-treated with TRAIL and U0126 were demonstrated with regard to the involvement of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, suggesting its importance in the regulation of cell sensitivity to the TRAIL-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Response of normal and colon cancer epithelial cells to TNF-family apoptotic inducers. 1820 9

The mycotoxin citrinin (CTN) is a natural contaminant in foodstuffs and animal feeds, and exerts cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on various mammalian cells. CTN causes cell injury, including apoptosis. However, its precise regulatory mechanisms of action, particularly in stem cells and embryos, are currently unclear. Recent studies show that CTN has cytotoxic effects on mouse embryonic stem cells and blastocysts, and is associated with defects in their subsequent development, both in vitro and in vivo. Experiments with the embryonic stem cell line, ESC-B5, disclose that CTN induces apoptosis via several mechanisms, including ROS generation, increased cytoplasmic free calcium levels, intracellular nitric oxide production, enhanced Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome c release, activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and p21-activated protein kinase 2 and c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase activation. Additional studies show that CTN promotes cell death via inactivation of the HSP90/multi-chaperone complex and subsequent degradation of Ras and Raf-1, further inhibiting anti-apoptotic processes such as the Ras-->ERK signal transduction pathway. On the basis of these findings, we propose a model for CTN-induced cell injury signalling cascades in embryonic stem cells and blastocysts.
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PMID:Citrinin induces apoptosis in mouse embryonic stem cells. 1838 9

Apoptosis is a major cause of cell death in the nervous system. It plays a role in embryonic and early postnatal brain development and contributes to the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we report that activation of the P2X(7) nucleotide receptor (P2X(7)R) in rat primary cortical neurons (rPCNs) causes biochemical (i.e., caspase activation) and morphological (i.e., nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation) changes characteristic of apoptotic cell death. Caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation in rPCNs induced by the P2X(7)R agonist BzATP were inhibited by the P2X(7)R antagonist oxidized ATP (oATP) or by pre-treatment of cells with P2X(7)R antisense oligonucleotide indicating a direct involvement of the P2X(7)R in nucleotide-induced neuronal cell death. Moreover, Z-DEVD-FMK, a specific and irreversible cell permeable inhibitor of caspase-3, prevented BzATP-induced apoptosis in rPCNs. In addition, a specific caspase-8 inhibitor, Ac-IETD-CHO, significantly attenuated BzATP-induced caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation, suggesting that P2X(7)R-mediated apoptosis in rPCNs occurs primarily through an intrinsic caspase-8/9/3 activation pathway. BzATP also induced the activation of C-jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) in rPCNs, and pharmacological inhibition of either JNK1 or ERK1/2 significantly reduced caspase activation by BzATP. Taken together, these data indicate that extracellular nucleotides mediate neuronal apoptosis through activation of P2X(7)Rs and their downstream signaling pathways involving JNK1, ERK and caspases 8/9/3.
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PMID:P2X(7) nucleotide receptors mediate caspase-8/9/3-dependent apoptosis in rat primary cortical neurons. 1840 18


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