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)

The use of cooling garments in conjunction with fully encapsulating suits offers the potential for reducing the heat strain for workers at hazardous waste sites and chemical emergencies. This study examined the use of ice- and Freon-based cooling garments during exercise in the heat while wearing a U.S. Coast Guard chemical response suit (CRS), a fully encapsulating, Teflon-coated, Nomex suit. Responses of nine healthy men (mean age 28.8 yr) were measured during moderate exercise at 30% of their maximal oxygen consumption in an environmental chamber maintained at 33.9 degrees C (93 degrees F) and 82% relative humidity. The four randomly assigned experimental conditions were (1) the CONTROL, consisting of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) worn in conjunction with shorts, shirt, helmet, and shoes; (2) the CRS, consisting of the Coast Guard CRS worn with shorts, shirt, SCBA, helmet, gloves, and boots; (3) the ICE, which was identical to the CRS ensemble, with the addition of an ice and water cooling system; and (4) the FREON, which was also identical to the CRS ensemble, with the addition of a Freon-based cooling system. To the author's knowledge, this paper is the first to quantify and compare a Freon-based system with a circulating ice water system. The subjects performed repeated rest/work intervals for 45 min, followed by a 10-min recovery period. Measured physiological responses, including heart rate, skin, rectal, and axillary temperatures, were recorded at 1-min intervals during the tests.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:The effectiveness of ice- and Freon-based personal cooling systems during work in fully encapsulating suits in the heat. 202 17

In this paper, I attempt to summarize the main qualitative features of electrostatic complementarity and similarity, important determinants of molecular recognition. The two aspects, Coulombic and hydrophobic matching, can be formulated in terms of molecular electrostatic potentials and fields. The Coulombic aspect is equivalent to the requirement to produce a potential pattern in the host cavity that is opposite in sign to that emerging from a guest. Hydrophobic complementarity is best described by the similis simili gaudet principle. This means that field patterns near the interacting molecular surfaces must be of similar magnitude. The above rules, which may find useful application in molecular graphics, were studied for different cases of enzyme-ligand interactions in trypsin. A further example, a noncovalent structural model of the catalytic diad in Streptomyces Griseus protease A, supports the observation that the same molecular entities form similar associations even in different environments, as is the case in the complex of small species in a crystal and amino acid residues with structural water molecules in a protein.
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PMID:Electrostatic complementarity in molecular associations. 248 67

Moojeni protease A was purified from the venom of Bothrops moojeni by chromatography on Sephadex G-100, DEAE Sephadex A-50 and rechromatography on Sephadex G-100. The enzyme shows one protein band in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8.5 or at pH 4.3. The pI of moojeni protease A was approximately 7.7. In immunoelectrophoresis it migrates to the cathode. The enzyme was homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis and analyses in the ultracentrifuge. The S20,w and D20,w are 2.68 S and 10.34 X 10(-7) cm2/sec, respectively. The molecular weight calculated by s/D ratio was 22,500 and a value of 22,800 was obtained by sedimentation equilibrium. In SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the enzyme exhibits a single polypeptide chain of approximately 20,400 mol. wt under denaturating conditions. In water or low salt solution it undergoes denaturation and autolysis. The enzyme is also unstable at acidic pH and to heat treatment and precipitates in the presence of metal chelating compounds such as EDTA or 1,10 phenanthroline. Leucine, the NH2-terminal amino acid of moojeni protease A is blocked after EDTA treatment. The proteolytic activity of this enzyme increases about 20% in the presence of Ca2+; Mg2+ has no effect and other divalent cations cause inhibition. The removal of Ca2+ ions by oxalate causes about 20% inhibition; the activity was restored by addition of Ca2+.
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PMID:Isolation of the major proteolytic enzyme from the venom of the snake Bothrops moojeni (caissaca). 393 45

We report here that the activation of the interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta)-converting enzyme (ICE) family is likely to be one of the crucial events of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) cytotoxicity. The cowpox virus CrmA protein, a member of the serpin superfamily, inhibits the enzymatic activity of ICE and ICE-mediated apoptosis. HeLa cells overexpressing crmA are resistant to apoptosis induced by Ice but not by Ich-1, another member of the Ice/ced-3 family of genes. We found that the CrmA-expressing HeLa cells are resistant to TNF-alpha/cycloheximide (CHX)-induced apoptosis. Induction of apoptosis in HeLa cells by TNF-alpha/CHX is associated with secretion of mature IL-1 beta, suggesting that an IL-1 beta-processing enzyme, most likely ICE itself, is activated by TNF-alpha/CHX stimulation. These results suggest that one or more members of the ICE family sensitive to CrmA inhibition are activated and play a critical role in apoptosis induced by TNF.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor-induced apoptosis is mediated by a CrmA-sensitive cell death pathway. 766 87

Although the interleukin-1beta converting enzyme (ICE)/CED-3 family of proteases has been implicated recently in neuronal cell death in vitro and in ovo, the role of specific genes belonging to this family in cell death in the nervous system remains unknown. To address this question, we examined the in vivo expression of one of these genes, Ice, after global forebrain ischemia in gerbils. Using RT-PCR and Western immunoblot techniques, we detected an increase in the mRNA and protein expression of ICE in hippocampus during a period of 4 d after ischemia. Chromatin condensation was observed in CA1 neurons within 2 d after ischemia. Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and apoptotic bodies were observed between 3 and 4 d after ischemia, a period during which CA1 neuronal death is maximal. In nonischemic brains, ICE-like immunoreactivity was relatively low in CA1 pyramidal neurons but high in scattered hippocampal interneurons. After ischemia, ICE-like immunoreactivity was not altered in these neurons. ICE-like immunoreactivity, however, was observed in microglial cells in the regions adjacent to the CA1 layer as early as 2 d after ischemic insult. The increase in ICE-like immunoreactivity was robust at 4 d after ischemia, a period that correlates with the DNA fragmentation observed in hippocampal homogenates of ischemic brains. These results provide the first evidence for the localization and induction of ICE expression in vivo after ischemia and suggest an indirect role for ICE in ischemic damage through mediation of an inflammatory response.
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PMID:Increased expression of IL-1beta converting enzyme in hippocampus after ischemia: selective localization in microglia. 875 76

Prointerleukin-1 beta (pro-IL-1 beta) is the only known physiologic substrate of the interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta)-converting enzyme (ICE), the founding member of the ICE/ced-3 cell death gene family. Since secreted mature IL-1 beta has been detected after apoptosis, we investigated whether this cytokine, when produced endogenously, plays a role in cell death. We found that hypoxia-induced apoptosis can be inhibited by either the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) or by neutralizing antibodies to IL-1 or to its type 1 receptor. IL-1Ra also inhibits apoptosis induced by trophic factor deprivation in primary neurons, as well as by tumor necrosis factor alpha in fibroblasts. In addition, during the G1/S phase arrest, mature IL-1 beta induces apoptosis through a pathway independent of CrmA-sensitive gene activity. We also demonstrate that Ice, when expressed in COS cells, requires the coexpression of pro-IL-1 beta for the induction of apoptosis, which is inhibited by IL-1Ra. Interestingly, we found that mature IL-1 beta has antiapoptotic activity when added exogenously before the onset of hypoxia, which we found is caused in part by its ability to downregulate the IL-1 receptor. Our findings demonstrate that pro-IL-1 beta is a substrate of ICE relevant to cell death, and depending on the temporal cellular commitment to apoptosis, mature IL-1 beta may function as a positive or negative mediator of cell death.
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PMID:Functional role of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) in IL-1 beta-converting enzyme-mediated apoptosis. 876 Aug 25

Topotecan, a topoisomerase I poison and water-soluble derivative of camptothecin, has shown promise in treating solid tumors; however, the drug is unstable under physiological conditions and converts to an inactive form within 30 minutes. Encapsulating topotecan in liposomes (LIP-TPT) minimizes inactivation. The efficacy of LIP-TPT was examined with a novel in vivo bioassay called ICE for In vivo Complexes of Enzyme. This bioassay uses antibodies to probe DNA for the presence of topoisomerase I covalent complexes and thereby allows direct quantification of topoisomerase I driven DNA adducts in living cells. We report that LIP-TPT was three- to fourfold more effective than free TPT in stabilizing covalent topoisomerase I-DNA intermediates inside tumor cells. These findings reveal that liposomal wrapping permitted effective delivery of camptothecin derivatives to active enzyme in the nucleus of the cell.
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PMID:Liposomal encapsulation increases the activity of the topoisomerase I inhibitor topotecan. 883 90

We have developed a system for killing specific cells in Drosophila using ectopic expression of cell death genes. CED-3 and ICE (caspase-1) are proteins required for programmed cell death in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and in mammals, respectively. Our previous study has shown that both ced-3 and Ice can elicit cell death in Drosophila. By expressing ced-3 or Ice in several kinds of cells using a GAL4-UAS system and examining the resulting morphological defects, we show that these abnormalities are thought to be caused by the action of ced-3 or Ice genes. As cells are killed by apoptosis in our system, we could eliminate the possibility of harmful effects on the neighboring cells. Our system provides an alternative and novel cell ablation method to elucidate mechanisms of cell differentiation and cell-cell interactions during development in Drosophila.
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PMID:Cell ablation by ectopic expression of cell death genes, ced-3 and Ice, in Drosophila. 935 96

We report here the inactivation of a member of the Ice/Ced-3 (caspase) family of cell death genes, casp-11, by gene targeting. Like Ice-deficient mice, casp-11 mutant mice are resistant to endotoxic shock induced by lipopolysaccharide. Production of both IL-1alpha and IL-1beta after lipopolysaccharide stimulation, a crucial event during septic shock and an indication of ICE activation, is blocked in casp-11 mutant mice. casp-11 mutant embryonic fibroblast cells are resistant to apoptosis induced by overexpression of ICE. Furthermore, we found that pro-caspase-11 physically interacts with pro-ICE in cells, and the expression of casp-11 is essential for activation of ICE. Our data suggest that caspase-11 is a component of ICE complex and is required for the activation of ICE.
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PMID:Murine caspase-11, an ICE-interacting protease, is essential for the activation of ICE. 949 91

We have reported previously that axonal degeneration in specific brain regions occurs in rats infected with the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. These degenerative changes occur in spatiotemporal association with over-expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine messenger RNAs in the brain. To test how aspirin-like anti-inflammatory drugs might alter the disease process, we fed trypanosome-infected rats with 200mg/kg of sodium salicylate (the first metabolite of aspirin) daily in their drinking water. Sodium salicylate treatment in uninfected rats did not cause any neural damage. However, sodium salicylate treatment greatly exacerbated neurodegeneration in trypanosome-infected rats, resulting in extensive terminal and neuronal cell body degeneration in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, thalamus, and anterior olfactory nucleus. The exaggerated neurodegeneration, which occurred in late stages of infection, was temporally and somewhat spatially associated with a late-appearing enhancement of messenger RNA expression of interleukin-1beta, interleukin-1beta converting enzyme, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and inhibitory factor kappaBalpha in the brain parenchyma. Restricted areas showed elevations in messenger RNA expression of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, interleukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, interferon-gamma, and inducible cyclooxygenase. The association suggests that increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the brain may be an underlying mechanism for neural damage induced by the chronic sodium salicylate treatment. Furthermore, the results reveal a serious complication in using aspirin-like drugs for the treatment of trypanosome infection.
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PMID:Chronic sodium salicylate treatment exacerbates brain neurodegeneration in rats infected with Trypanosoma brucei. 1068 22


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