Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.22.36 (caspase-1)
6,285 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Resistance to apoptosis is essential for cancer survival and plays a critical role in carcinogenesis. Growing evidence suggests that nicotine can act as a tumor promoter, impairing apoptotic process in certain types of human cancer cell lines. Our previous study revealed in human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) a concomitant antiapoptotic and genotoxic effect of nicotine, manifested by the attenuation of staurosporine (STP)-induced apoptosis and the increase of micronucleus frequency. The present report provides evidence that nitric oxide (NO) is critically involved in these actions. In vitro treatment with sodium nitroprusside as NO donor showed that NO produced similar effects as those observed with nicotine: it caused DNA damage and partially prevented apoptosis induced by staurosporine. Exposure of HGFs to nicotine, at concentrations similar to those found in the blood of habitual smokers, leads to the production of NO associated with the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression. Experiments using an inhibitor of iNOS, N-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMA), together with nicotine confirmed the involvement of NO in the drug action, abrogating completely cell death and a good part of the genotoxicity. Finally, we show by different approaches that the inhibition of cell death by nicotine through NO release is related to modulation of caspase-1 activation.
...
PMID:Evidence for the role of nitric oxide in antiapoptotic and genotoxic effect of nicotine on human gingival fibroblasts. 1692 20

Previously we demonstrated an ameliorating effect of the interleukin-1beta converting enzyme (ICE) inhibitor pralnacasan on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. This study investigates the effects of pralnacasan on cytokine expression in DSS-induced colitis. Colitis was induced by oral administration of DSS. Mice were treated intraperitoneally with the ICE inhibitor pralnacasan (50 mg/kg body weight twice daily). Body weight as well as the presence of occult blood or diarrhea was monitored daily. Subgroups were sacrificed at days 4, 8, and 11 after the beginning of DSS application. Cytokine profiles in colonic tissue were analyzed on the protein level by ELISA and on the mRNA level by real time RT-PCR. Administration of DSS led to an increase in IL-18, IL-12, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma protein as well as IP-10 and TNF-alpha mRNA. The increase in IL-18 and IFN-gamma was reduced by ICE inhibition. Pralnacasan prevented DSS-induced colitis in C57BL/6 mice. In C57BL/6 mice, the DSS-induced increase in IP-10 mRNA, but not TNF-alpha mRNA, was completely prevented by ICE inhibition. In conclusion, prevention of colitis in C57BL/6 mice was associated with a suppresion of IP-10 mRNA, but not TNF-alpha mRNA expression, indicating that IL-18-mediated cytokine production is a key element in the pathogenesis of DSS-induced colitis.
...
PMID:The ICE inhibitor pralnacasan prevents DSS-induced colitis in C57BL/6 mice and suppresses IP-10 mRNA but not TNF-alpha mRNA expression. 1739 15

In the heart, thermal injury activates a group of intracellular cysteine proteases known as caspases, which have been suggested to contribute to myocyte inflammation and dyshomeostasis. In this study, Sprague-Dawley rats were given either a third-degree burn over 40% total body surface area plus conventional fluid resuscitation or sham burn injury. Experimental groups included 1) sham burn given vehicle, 400 microl DMSO; 2) sham burn given Q-VD-OPh (6 mg/kg), a highly specific and stable caspase inhibitor, 24 and 1 h prior to sham burn; 3) burn given vehicle, DMSO as above; 4) burn given Q-VD-OPh (6 mg/kg) 24 and 1 h prior to burn. Twenty-four hours postburn, hearts were harvested and studied with regard to myocardial intracellular sodium concentration, intracellular pH, ATP, and phosphocreatine (23Na/31P nuclear magnetic resonance); myocardial caspase-1, -3,and -8 expression; myocyte Na+ (fluorescent indicator, sodium-binding benzofurzan isophthalate); myocyte secretion of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-10; and myocardial performance (Langendorff). Burn injury treated with vehicle alone produced increased myocardial expression of caspase-1, -3, and -8, myocyte Na+ loading, cytokine secretion, and myocardial contractile depression; cellular pH, ATP, and phosphocreatine were stable. Q-VD-OPh treatment in burned rats attenuated myocardial caspase expression, prevented burn-related myocardial Na+ loading, attenuated myocyte cytokine responses, and improved myocardial contraction and relaxation. The present data suggest that signaling through myocardial caspases plays a pivotal role in burn-related myocyte sodium dyshomeostasis and myocyte inflammation, perhaps contributing to burn-related contractile dysfunction.
...
PMID:Caspase inhibition reduces cardiac myocyte dyshomeostasis and improves cardiac contractile function after major burn injury. 1743 Oct 85

The nonselective contact herbicide, paraquat (PQ), is a strong pneumotoxicant, especially due to its accumulation in the lung through a polyamine uptake system and to its capacity to induce redox cycling, leading to oxidative stress-related damage. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of apoptotic events in the lungs of male Wistar rats, 24, 48, and 96 h after PQ exposure (25 mg/kg ip) as well as the putative healing effects provided by sodium salicylate [(NaSAL), 200 mg/kg ip] when administered 2 h after PQ. PQ exposure resulted in marked lung apoptosis, in a time-dependent manner, characterized by the "ladder-like" pattern of DNA observed through electrophoresis and by the presence of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells (TPC) as revealed by immunohistochemistry. The two main caspase cascades (the extrinsic receptor-mediated and the intrinsic mitochondria-mediated) and the expressions of p53 and activator protein-1 (AP-1) were also evaluated, to obtain an insight into apoptotic cellular signaling. PQ-exposed rats suffered a time-dependent increase of caspase-3 and caspase-8 and a decrease of caspase-1 activities in lungs compared to the control group. A marked mitochondrial dysfunction evidenced by cytochrome c (Cyt c) release was also observed as a consequence of PQ exposure. In addition, fluorescence electrophoretic mobility shift assay (fEMSA) revealed a transcriptional induction of the p53 and AP-1 transcription factors in a time-dependent manner as a consequence of PQ exposure. NaSAL treatment resulted in the remission of the observed apoptotic signaling and consequently of lung apoptosis. Taken together, the present results showed that PQ activates several events involved in the apoptotic pathways, which might contribute to its lung toxicodynamics. NaSAL, a recently implemented antidote for PQ intoxications, proved to protect lungs from PQ-induced apoptosis.
...
PMID:Sodium salicylate prevents paraquat-induced apoptosis in the rat lung. 1756 Oct 93

Interleukin (IL)-1 beta is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that has been shown to play a pivotal role in the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the production of IL-1 beta in IBD are not fully understood. We investigated dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced IL-1 beta production and caspase-1 activities in murine peritoneal macrophages (pM phi). Further, the activation status of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK1/2), as well as their upstream target kinases, were examined by Western blotting. In addition, mRNA expression was assessed by RT-PCR and CXC chemokine ligand 16 (CXCL16) protein was detected by immunocytochemistry. DSS-treated pM phi released IL-1 beta protein in a time-dependent manner without affecting mRNA levels during 3-24 h, and caspase-1 activity peaked at 5 min (29-fold). IL-1 beta release and caspase-1 activity induced by DSS were significantly inhibited by a MAPK kinase 1/2 inhibitor, a p38 MAPK inhibitor, and NAC, however, not by JNK1/2 or a protein kinase C inhibitor. In addition, DSS strikingly induced the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 within 2 and 10 min, respectively. DSS also induced intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Pre-treatment with anti-CXCL16 for 24 h, but not anti-scavenger receptor-A, anti-CD36, or anti-CD68 antibodies, significantly suppressed DSS-induced IL-1 beta production. Our results suggest that DSS triggers the release of IL-1 beta protein from murine pM phi at a post-translational level through binding with CXCL16, ROS generation, and resultant activation of both p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 pathways, and finally caspase-1 activation.
...
PMID:Dextran sulfate sodium enhances interleukin-1 beta release via activation of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 pathways in murine peritoneal macrophages. 1762 10

Interleukin-18 (IL-18), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, is a key factor in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Caspase-1 activates this cytokine, but other proteases are likely involved in maturation. Because meprin metalloproteinases have been implicated in IBD, the interaction of these proteases with proIL-18 was studied. The results demonstrate that the meprin beta subunit of meprins A and B cleaves proIL-18 into a smaller 17-kDa product. The cleavage is at the Asn51-Asp52 bond, a site C-terminal to caspase-1 cleavage. The cleavage occurred in vitro with a Km of 1.3 microm and in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells transfected with meprin beta when proIL-18 was added to the culture medium. The product of meprin B cleavage of proIL-18 activated NF-kappaB in EL-4 cells, indicating that it was biologically active. To determine the physiological significance of the interactions of meprins with proIL-18, an experimental model of IBD was produced by administering dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to wild-type and meprin beta knock-out (betaKO) mice, and the serum levels of active IL-18 were determined. DSS-treated meprin betaKO mice had lower levels of the active cytokine in the serum compared with wild-type mice. Furthermore, in meprin alphaKO mice, which express meprin beta but not alpha, active IL-18 was elevated in the serum of DSS-treated mice compared with wild-type mice, indicating that the meprin isoforms have opposing effects on the IL-18 levels in vivo. This study identifies proIL-18 as a biologically important substrate for meprin beta and implicates meprins in the modulation of inflammation.
...
PMID:Prointerleukin-18 is activated by meprin beta in vitro and in vivo in intestinal inflammation. 1878 24

Systems for protein degradation are essential for tight control of the inflammatory immune response. Autophagy, a bulk degradation system that delivers cytoplasmic constituents into autolysosomes, controls degradation of long-lived proteins, insoluble protein aggregates and invading microbes, and is suggested to be involved in the regulation of inflammation. However, the mechanism underlying the regulation of inflammatory response by autophagy is poorly understood. Here we show that Atg16L1 (autophagy-related 16-like 1), which is implicated in Crohn's disease, regulates endotoxin-induced inflammasome activation in mice. Atg16L1-deficiency disrupts the recruitment of the Atg12-Atg5 conjugate to the isolation membrane, resulting in a loss of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) conjugation to phosphatidylethanolamine. Consequently, both autophagosome formation and degradation of long-lived proteins are severely impaired in Atg16L1-deficient cells. Following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, a ligand for Toll-like receptor 4 (refs 8, 9), Atg16L1-deficient macrophages produce high amounts of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and IL-18. In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages, Atg16L1-deficiency causes Toll/IL-1 receptor domain-containing adaptor inducing IFN-beta (TRIF)-dependent activation of caspase-1, leading to increased production of IL-1beta. Mice lacking Atg16L1 in haematopoietic cells are highly susceptible to dextran sulphate sodium-induced acute colitis, which is alleviated by injection of anti-IL-1beta and IL-18 antibodies, indicating the importance of Atg16L1 in the suppression of intestinal inflammation. These results demonstrate that Atg16L1 is an essential component of the autophagic machinery responsible for control of the endotoxin-induced inflammatory immune response.
...
PMID:Loss of the autophagy protein Atg16L1 enhances endotoxin-induced IL-1beta production. 1884 65

Cyclosporine is a potent immunomodulator and has a beneficial effect in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). We analyzed the mechanism of the effects of cyclosporine on the regulation of epithelial apoptosis via TGF-beta-related signaling, because the balance between the apoptosis and regeneration of epithelial cells seems to be a key factor to maintain the intestinal homeostasis. For this purpose, colitis was induced by treatment of 4% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and the effect of treatment with cyclosporine and anti-TGF-beta antibody was assessed. Treatment with cyclosporine ameliorated body weight loss, mucosal destruction, and epithelial apoptosis in DSS-induced colitis. Cyclosporine was shown to upregulate the expression of TGF-beta in the colonic tissue, enhance the expression of p-Smad2 and cFLIP in epithelial cells, and inhibit caspase-8 activity but not caspase-1 or -9. Upregulation of cFLIP in the colonic epithelial cells, amelioration of body weight loss, and mucosal destruction by cyclosporine were attenuated by anti-TGF-beta antibody treatment. These results indicated that cyclosporine could have a protective role against epithelial apoptosis associated with upregulation of TGF-beta-related signaling.
...
PMID:Cyclosporine regulates intestinal epithelial apoptosis via TGF-beta-related signaling. 1960 30

Decreased expression of the Nlrp3 protein is associated with susceptibility to Crohn's disease. However, the role of Nlrp3 in colitis has not been characterized. Nlrp3 interacts with the adaptor protein ASC to activate caspase-1 in inflammasomes, which are protein complexes responsible for the maturation and secretion of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and IL-18. Here, we showed that mice deficient for Nlrp3 or ASC and caspase-1 were highly susceptible to dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Defective inflammasome activation led to loss of epithelial integrity, resulting in systemic dispersion of commensal bacteria, massive leukocyte infiltration, and increased chemokine production in the colon. This process was a consequence of a decrease in IL-18 in mice lacking components of the Nlrp3 inflammasome, resulting in higher mortality rates. Thus, the Nlrp3 inflammasome is critically involved in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and protection against colitis.
...
PMID:The NLRP3 inflammasome protects against loss of epithelial integrity and mortality during experimental colitis. 2042 20

Colitis-associated cancer (CAC) is a major complication of inflammatory bowel diseases. We show that components of the inflammasome are protective during acute and recurring colitis and CAC in the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and azoxymethane + DSS models. Mice lacking the inflammasome adaptor protein PYCARD (ASC) and caspase-1 demonstrate increased disease outcome, morbidity, histopathology, and polyp formation. The increased tumor burden is correlated with attenuated levels of IL-1beta and IL-18 at the tumor site. To decipher the nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-repeat-containing (NLR) component that is involved in colitis and CAC, we assessed Nlrp3 and Nlrc4 deficient mice. Nlrp3(-/-) mice showed an increase in acute and recurring colitis and CAC, although the disease outcome was less severe in Nlrp3(-/-) mice than in Pycard(-/-) or Casp1(-/-) animals. No significant differences were observed in disease progression or outcome in Nlrc4(-/-) mice compared with similarly treated wild-type animals. Bone marrow reconstitution experiments show that Nlrp3 gene expression and function in hematopoietic cells, rather than intestinal epithelial cells or stromal cells, is responsible for protection against increased tumorigenesis. These data suggest that the inflammasome functions as an attenuator of colitis and CAC.
...
PMID:The NLRP3 inflammasome functions as a negative regulator of tumorigenesis during colitis-associated cancer. 2050 88


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>