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

Since HeLa cells possess very little functional p53 activity, they could be originally resistant to genotoxic stress-induced apoptosis. Therefore, it is likely that the drug-resistant cells derived from HeLa cells are more resistant to apoptosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether cisplatin-resistant cells derived from HeLa cells have an apoptosis-resistant phenotype. A cisplatin-resistant cell subline, HeLa/CDDP cells, showed a 19-fold resistance to cisplatin compared with the parent cells. The subline showed a collateral sensitivity to paclitaxel. An equitoxic dose (IC50) of cisplatin produced DNA fragmentation in HeLa cells but not in HeLa/CDDP cells. Transfection of wild-type p53 gene enhanced the cytotoxicity of cisplatin and cisplatin-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells but not in HeLa/CDDP cells, although it caused p53 overexpression in both cell lines. The expression of caspase 1 (interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme, ICE) mRNA and the overexpression of bax protein were observed only in HeLa cells. Paclitaxel-induced DNA fragmentation appeared less in HeLa/CDDP cells than in HeLa cells. p53 gene transfection did not affect the extent of DNA fragmentation in either cell line, suggesting that paclitaxel may induce p53-independent apoptosis. These findings suggest that HeLa/CDDP cells may have an acquired phenotype that is resistant to p53-dependent and -independent apoptosis.
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PMID:Cisplatin-resistant HeLa cells are resistant to apoptosis via p53-dependent and -independent pathways. 1066 56

The multicatalytic protease complex or proteasome is a fundamental nonlysosomal tool that the cell uses to process or degrade proteins at a fast rate through the ubiquitin and ATP-dependent proteolytic pathway. Examples of these important proteins include the tumor suppressor protein p53, various cyclins, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27, NFkappaB, IkappaB, c-fos, and c-jun. The activation of proteolytic enzymes, including certain cystein-proteases of the ced-3/ICE (interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme) family, is a characteristic feature of the apoptotic program. However, the role of the multicatalytic protease complex in apoptosis is not well known. In order to obtain further information regarding the participation of the ubiquitin-mediated pathway in the decision of the cell to execute the cell death program, we have used a specific inhibitor of the multicatalytic protease complex, lactacystin, in cultured cerebellar granule cells. Cells were obtained from the cerebellum of 6- to 8-day-old Wistar rats and cultured in Neurobasal medium supplemented with B-27. Addition of lactacystin to the cultures induced apoptosis of the granule cells in a time-dependent fashion. The morphological changes produced by the proteasome inhibitor included nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation measured by the diphenylamine test, as well as a positive labeling by the TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase mediated-dUTP nick end labeling) assay, all of them typical features of apoptosis. Concomitant with apoptosis, there were changes in the expression of the ubiquitin mRNA, a progressive depletion in the free ubiquitin pool, and an increase in the high molecular weight ubiquitin-protein conjugates. Caspase-3, a member of the ced-3/ICE family of cystein-proteases, showed a marked increase in activity in the lactacystin-treated cells. In flow cytometry studies, the amount of cells in the S phase of the cell cycle was smaller in the lactacystin-treated cells than in controls, suggesting that apoptosis could be due, in part, to an alteration of the cell cycle.
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PMID:Lactacystin, a specific inhibitor of the proteasome, induces apoptosis and activates caspase-3 in cultured cerebellar granule cells. 1068 88

Thymic negative selection is the process in which maturing thymocytes that express T-cell receptors recognizing self are eliminated by apoptotic cell death. The molecular mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. Notably, genes involved in cell death, even thymocyte death, such as Fas, Fas-ligand, p53, caspase-1, caspase-3, and caspase-9, and Bcl-2 have been found to not be required for normal thymic negative selection. We have demonstrated previously that E2F1-deficient mice have a defect in thymocyte apoptosis. Here we show that E2F1 is required for normal thymic negative selection. Furthermore, we observed an E2F1-dependent increase of p53 protein levels during the process of thymic clonal deletion, which suggests that E2F1 regulates activation-induced apoptosis of self-reactive thymocytes by a p53-dependent mechanism. In contrast, other apoptotic pathways operating on developing thymocytes, such as glucocorticoid-induced cell death, are not mediated by E2F1. The T lymphocytes that escape thymic negative selection migrate to the peripheral immune system but do not appear to be autoreactive, indicating that there may exist E2F1-independent mechanisms of peripheral tolerance, which protect mice from developing an autoimmune response. We expect that E2F1-deficient mice will provide a useful tool for understanding the molecular mechanism of and the immunological importance of thymic negative selection.
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PMID:A role for E2F1 in the induction of apoptosis during thymic negative selection. 1071 65

We investigated the proportion of apoptotic cells and the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins after the delivery of the first week of irradiation for stage IIIb uterine cervical cancer. Thirty patients with stage IIIb squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix who received only irradiation therapy were registered in this study. Specimens were obtained before irradiation therapy and at the end of the first week of irradiation. The apoptotic index (AI) of each tissue specimen was calculated by counting the apoptotic cells and expressed as a percentage. Immunohistochemical evaluation for apoptosis-related proteins, p53, Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-1 and caspase-3 was also performed. The AI was 0.8+/-0.9% (mean+/-SD) before irradiation and 1.7+/-1.3% at the end of the first week of irradiation. We observed that the patients who survived more than 5 years had AI levels of 2.1+/-1.3% at the end of their first week of therapy. This rate was significantly higher than the rate of 1.1+/-0.8% (P=0.02) of the patients who died within 5 years. When the cut-off value of the AI was set at 1.7%, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for the prediction of patients' prognosis after irradiation therapy were 73.4%, 72.4%, 82.4%, and 61.5%, respectively. In 17 of the AI-positive cases, expressions of Bax (P=0.006), caspase-1 (P=0.045), and caspase-3 (P=0.013) at the end of the first week were significantly higher than before irradiation. The proportion of apoptotic cells and the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins, Bax, caspase-1, and caspase-3, at the end of the first week of irradiation could be useful predictors of the prognosis in stage IIIb squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix treated by irradiation therapy.
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PMID:Detection of apoptosis and expression of apoptosis-associated proteins as early predictors of prognosis after irradiation therapy in stage IIIb uterine cervical cancer. 1074 54

The role of ceramide in triggering apoptosis is still a matter of debate. While in some experimental systems, ceramide was shown to mediate Fas-induced cell death, in other instances it was claimed to induce the expression of Fas ligand (FasL), killing cells in a caspase-dependent fashion. We found that, in mature A20 B cells, ceramide-induced apoptosis is independent of the caspase pathway, since we observed no ICE-like, CPP32-like and Mch2 activities and no PARP proteolysis. Moreover, we were unable to protect these cells from ceramide-induced apoptosis using caspase inhibitors, while they blocked Fas-induced apoptosis and no FasL induction could be detected following ceramide treatment. These results suggest that ceramide does not induce apoptosis through the Fas/FasL pathway. We also found that overexpression of Nur77, a zinc-finger transcription factor described to upregulate FasL, antagonizes ceramide-induced apoptosis, but not Fas-induced apoptosis. This further supports the hypothesis that Fas and ceramide death pathways are independent in A20 cells. Ceramide-induced cell death was associated with increased c-myc, p53, Bax and p27kip1 levels; in contrast, cells transfected with Nur77 (A20Nur77), resistant to ceramide-induced apoptosis, showed a marked downregulation of p53 after ceramide treatment, with neither Bax nor p27kip1 induction. In conclusion, our results suggest that, in the A20 B cell line, Fas and ceramide trigger two distinct pathways and that Nur77 overexpression confers protection against ceramide-mediated apoptosis which correlates with inhibition of p53, Bax and p27kip1 induction.
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PMID:Ceramide-induced cell death is independent of the Fas/Fas ligand pathway and is prevented by Nur77 overexpression in A20 B cells. 1074 71

Cytotoxic effect of either cisplatin or p53 gene transfection of lung cancer cells may be different depending on the p53 status of cells. We investigated cytotoxic effects on the combined treatment of cisplatin and adenovirus mediated p53 gene transfer (Avp53) in both H460 and H1299 cells in vitro. The results showed the highest numbers of apoptotic cells in both H460 and H1299 cells following the combined treatment regardless of p53 status in comparison with either cisplatin or Avp53 alone. The expression levels of p53, p21, Bax and ICE were examined to understand a possible cellular signal path of the combined treatment. In western analyses, the patterns of phosphorylated p53 protein were different between Avp53 and combined treatment. The expressions of p21 and Bax were increased in combined treatment, whereas the cleaved form of ICE (20 kD) was not detected. These results suggest that cisplatin induced p53 protein phosphorylation and may activate the downstream of p53 gene expression such as p21 and Bax. The enhanced apoptosis of lung cancer cells by the combined treatment may be useful in the development of clinical therapeutic modality of lung tumors.
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PMID:Enhanced induction of Bax gene expression in H460 and H1299 cells with the combined treatment of cisplatin and adenovirus mediated wt-p53 gene transfer. 1076 58

The dietary isothiocyanates and cancer chemopreventive agents phenethyl isothiocyanate and allyl isothiocyanate and their cysteine conjugates inhibited the growth and induced apoptosis of human leukaemia HL60 (p53-) and human myeloblastic leukaemia-1 cells (p53+) in vitro. The median growth inhibitory concentration (GC(50)) values were in the range 1.49-3.22 microM in cultures with 10% serum. Isothiocyanates and cysteine conjugates had increased potency against HL60 cells in serum-free medium, with GC(50) values of 0.8-0. 9 microM. The potency of the compounds decreased with increased serum content of the medium, but that of the cysteine conjugates decreased more markedly. Growth inhibition and toxicity was characterised by either a rapid interaction of the isothiocyanate with the cells in the first hour of culture or exposure to isothiocyanate liberated from the cysteine conjugate in the initial 3 hr of culture, inhibition of macromolecule synthesis, and a commitment to apoptosis which developed in the initial 24 hr. Activities of caspase-3 and caspase-8 were increased during isothiocyanate-induced apoptosis, but caspase-1 activity was not. The general caspase inhibitor N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethylketone and the specific caspase-8 inhibitor N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Ile-Glu(OMe)-Thr-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethylketone inhibited apoptosis, but specific caspase-1 and caspase-3 inhibitors did not. The antiproliferative activities were limited by hydrolysis of the isothiocyanate. This suggests that caspase-8 has a critical role, and caspase-3 a supporting role, in isothiocyanate-induced apoptosis in which p53 is not an obligatory participant. Isothiocyanate-induced apoptosis may suppress the growth of preclinical tumours and contribute to the well-established decreased cancer incidence associated with a vegetable-rich diet.
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PMID:Studies on the mechanism of the inhibition of human leukaemia cell growth by dietary isothiocyanates and their cysteine adducts in vitro. 1082 67

Although clinical studies have demonstrated that EGb 761, a standard extract of Ginkgo biloba, was effective in mild-to-moderate dementia of the Alzheimer's disease patients, the mechanism underlying its neuroprotective effect remains unclear. In this study, effects of bilobalide, the main constituent of the nonflavone fraction of EGb 761, on reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells was studied. Exposure of cells to xanthine (100 microM)/xanthine oxidase (150 mU/ml) (ROS producer) resulted in a characteristic DNA fragmentation and an increase in the apoptosis rate. When p53, c-Myc, Bcl-2, Bcl-x(L), and Bax were measured by flow cytometry and the activities of caspase-1- and caspase-3-like protease determined with Ac-YVAD-AMC or Ac-DEVD-AMC as substrates, the profile of ROS-induced changes in these apoptosis regulatory and effector proteins suggests that elevation of c-Myc, p53, and Bax and activation of caspase-3 play an important role in the apoptosis. When cells were treated with ROS and bilobalide (25-100 microM) simultaneously, a dose-dependent reduction in the apoptotic rate was found. The percentage of cells with positive staining for c-Myc and p53 decreased from 27.8 and 50.1% to 16.7 and 23.2%, respectively, when bilobalide (25 microM) was present. Bilobalide also reduced ROS-induced elevation of Bax and activation of caspase-3 effectively. Our results provide the first direct evidence that bilobalide can protect neurons against oxidative stress. Bilobalide may block the apoptosis in the early stage and then attenuate the elevation of c-Myc, p53, and Bax and activation of caspase-3 in cells.
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PMID:Reactive oxygen species-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells and protective effect of bilobalide. 1086 1

Mycobacterium tuberculosis-induced macrophage apoptosis can be inhibited by mannosylated lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM), although it induces tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and NO production, which participate in apoptosis induction. ManLAM also modulates Ca(+2)-dependent intracellular events, and Ca(+2) participates in apoptosis in different systems. Ca(+2) was assessed for involvement in M. tuberculosis-induced macrophage apoptosis and for modulation by ManLAM. The role of Ca(+2) was supported by the blockade of apoptosis by cAMP inhibitors and the Ca(+2) chelator, BAPTA/AM. These agents also inhibited caspase-1 activation and cAMP-responsive element-binding protein translocation without affecting TNF-alpha production. Infection of macrophages with M. tuberculosis induced an influx of Ca(+2) that was prevented by ManLAM. Similarly, M. tuberculosis infection-altered mitochondrial permeability transition was prevented by ManLAM and BAPTA/AM. Finally, ManLAM and BAPTA/AM reversed the effects of M. tuberculosis on p53 and Bcl-2 expression. ManLAM counteracts the alterations of calcium-dependent intracellular events that occur during M. tuberculosis-induced macrophage apoptosis.
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PMID:Mannosylated lipoarabinomannan antagonizes Mycobacterium tuberculosis-induced macrophage apoptosis by altering Ca+2-dependent cell signaling. 1088 3

We previously showed that NO induces apoptosis in thymocytes via a p53-dependent pathway. In the present study, we investigated the role of caspases in this process. The pan-caspase inhibitor, ZVAD-fmk, and the caspase-1 inhibitor, Ac-YVAD-cho, both inhibited NO-induced thymocyte apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the caspase-3 inhibitor, Ac-DEVD-cho, had little effect even at concentrations up to 500 microM. ZVAD-fmk and Ac-YVAD-cho were able to inhibit apoptosis when added up to 12 h, but not 16 h, after treatment with the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamine (SNAP). Caspase-1 activity was up-regulated at 4 h and 8 h and returned to baseline by 24 h; caspase-3 activity was not detected. Cytosolic fractions from SNAP-treated thymocytes cleaved the inhibitor of caspase-activated deoxyribonuclease. Such cleavage was completely blocked by Ac-YVAD-cho, but not by Ac-DEVD-cho or DEVD-fmk. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was also cleaved in thymocytes 8 h and 12 h after SNAP treatment; addition of Ac-YVAD-cho to the cultures blocked PARP cleavage. Furthermore, SNAP induced apoptosis in 44% of thymocytes from wild-type mice; thymocytes from caspase-1 knockout mice were more resistant to NO-induced apoptosis. These data suggest that NO induces apoptosis in thymocytes via a caspase-1-dependent but not caspase-3-dependent pathway. Caspase-1 alone can cleave inhibitor of caspase-activated deoxyribonuclease and lead to DNA fragmentation, thus providing a novel pathway for NO-induced thymocyte apoptosis.
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PMID:Nitric oxide induces thymocyte apoptosis via a caspase-1-dependent mechanism. 1090 23


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