Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.22.56 (caspase-3)
 35,750 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Antineoplasic agents such as cisplatin and adriamycin execute their pharmacological role by triggering apoptosis. We have studied the mechanism of apoptosis induction by cisplatin and adriamycin. Both drugs activated JNK with slow and persistent kinetics. Adriamycin activated caspase-3 before the rise in JNK activity, while the response to cisplatin occurs hours after JNK activation. The increase in JNK activity was necessary for cisplatin-mediated apoptosis but it was dispensable for adriamycin-induced cell death. Cells derived from c-jun knock out mice were more resistant to cisplatin cell death than normal cells, but no difference was observed in response to adriamycin. Activation of JNK and cell death by cisplatin is mediated by the MEKK1/SEK1 cascade, since expression of dominant negative expression vectors of these kinases blocked both processes. p38 was also activated by cisplatin with similar kinetics as JNK. AP-1 complexes were activated by cisplatin including mainly c-jun/ATF-2 heterodimers suggesting that AP-1-dependent transcription partially mediated cisplatin-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Lack of c-Jun activity increases survival to cisplatin. 1040 93

The proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) prevent apoptosis, but their mechanism of action is unclear. We examined the role of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) in the regulation of cytosolic Ca(2+), nitric oxide production (NO), c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, and apoptosis in Jurkat T cells. Thapsigargin (TG), an inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum-associated Ca(2+) ATPase, was used to disrupt Ca(2+) homeostasis. TG acutely elevated intracellular free Ca(2+) and mitochondrial Ca(2+) levels and induced NO production and apoptosis in Jurkat cells transfected with vector (JT/Neo). Buffering of this Ca(2+) response with 1, 2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetra(acetoxymethyl) ester (BAPTA-AM) or inhibiting NO synthase activity with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) blocked TG-induced NO production and apoptosis in JT/Neo cells. By contrast, while TG produced comparable early changes in the Ca(2+) level (i.e., within 3 h) in Jurkat cells overexpressing Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) (JT/Bcl-2 or JT/Bcl-X(L)), NO production, late (36-h) Ca(2+) accumulation, and apoptosis were dramatically reduced compared to those in JT/Neo cells. Exposure of JT/Bcl-2 and JT/Bcl-X(L) cells to the NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenacillamine (SNAP) resulted in apoptosis comparable to that seen in JT/Neo cells. TG also activated the JNK pathway, which was blocked by L-NAME. Transient expression of a dominant negative mutant SEK1 (Lys-->Arg), an upstream kinase of JNK, prevented both TG-induced JNK activation and apoptosis. A dominant negative c-Jun mutant also reduced TG-induced apoptosis. Overexpression of Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) inhibited TG-induced loss in mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c, and activation of caspase-3 and JNK. Inhibition of caspase-3 activation blocked TG-induced JNK activation, suggesting that JNK activation occurred downstream of caspase-3. Thus, TG-induced Ca(2+) release leads to NO generation followed by mitochondrial changes including cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation. Caspase-3 activation leads to activation of the JNK pathway and apoptosis. In summary, Ca(2+)-dependent activation of NO production mediates apoptosis after TG exposure in JT/Neo cells. JT/Bcl-2 and JT/Bcl-X(L) cells are susceptible to NO-mediated apoptosis, but Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) protect the cells against TG-induced apoptosis by negatively regulating Ca(2+)-sensitive NO synthase activity or expression.
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PMID:Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) block thapsigargin-induced nitric oxide generation, c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase activity, and apoptosis. 1040 55

Determinants of differentiation and apoptosis in myelomonocytic leukemia cells (U937) exposed to the novel hybrid polar compound SAHA (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid) have been examined. In contrast to hexamethylenbisacetamide (HMBA), SAHA-related maturation was limited and accompanied by marked cytoxicity. SAHA-mediated apoptosis occurred within the G0G1 and S phase populations, and was associated with decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, caspase-3 activation, PARP degradation, hypophosphorylation/cleavage of pRB, and down-regulation of c-Myc, c-Myb, and B-Myb. Enforced expression of Bcl-2 or Bcl-XL inhibited SAHA-induced apoptosis, but only modestly potentiated differentiation. While SAHA induced the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21CIP1, antisense ablation of this CDKI increased, rather than decreased, SAHA-related lethality. In contrast, conditional expression of wild-type p53 failed to modify SAHA actions, but markedly potentiated HMBA-induced apoptosis. Finally, SAHA modestly increased expression/activation of the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK/JNK); moreover, SAHA-related lethality was partially attenuated by a dominant-negative c-Jun mutant protein (TAM67). SAHA did not stimulate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), nor was lethality diminished by the specific MEK/MAPK inhibitor PD98059. These findings indicate that SAHA potently induces apoptosis in human leukemia cells via a pathway that is p53-independent but at least partially regulated by Bcl-2/Bcl-XL, p21CIP1, and the c-Jun/AP-1 signaling cascade.
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PMID:Induction of apoptosis in U937 human leukemia cells by suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) proceeds through pathways that are regulated by Bcl-2/Bcl-XL, c-Jun, and p21CIP1, but independent of p53. 1059 2

The s-Myc is similar to c-Myc in its ability to induce apoptosis requiring caspase activation. However, s-Myc is distinct from c-Myc in that it has activity to suppress tumor growth and does not require wild-type p53 to induce apoptosis. These facts suggest differential regulation between s-Myc and c-Myc. Here we showed that s-Myc-mediated apoptosis triggered by UV was not inhibited by the inactive form mutant JNK (APF), though c-Myc-mediated apoptosis was. Moreover, we found that JNK did not affect the transactivation activity of s-Myc, but stimulated that of c-Myc. In contrast, both Myc-mediated apoptosis and caspase-3-like protease activation were suppressed by kinase-negative MKK6 and an inactive form mutant p38(AGF). Our results indicate that s-Myc does not require the JNK signaling unlike c-Myc during UV-triggered apoptosis, but the MKK6/p38MAPK pathway might regulate common apoptotic machinery for both s-Myc and c-Myc upstream of caspase.
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PMID:Differential role of the JNK and p38 MAPK pathway in c-Myc- and s-Myc-mediated apoptosis. 1062 2

Cisplatin has been widely used as a chemotherapeutic agent to treat different types of tumors. However, its use is limited by the ability of the tumor cells to develop cisplatin-resistance. The molecular lesion that produces cisplatin-resistance is poorly understood. In this report, we show that cisplatin activates a robust apoptotic pathway involving the activation of JNK and p38MAPK whereas it fails to elicit such a response in cisplatin-resistant 2008/C13 cells. Analysis of the defective apoptotic pathway in 2008/C13 cells indicates that these cells are deficient in the proteolytic activation of MEKK1 by caspase-3. The blunted activity of caspase-3 appears to be closely related to the increased levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL seen in the resistant cells. These studies, for the first time, demonstrate that inadequate caspase-3 processing and MEKK1 activation can lead to a drug-resistant phenotype.
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PMID:Cisplatin-resistance involves the defective processing of MEKK1 in human ovarian adenocarcinoma 2008/C13 cells. 1063 76

1-beta-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells, which was preceded by the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). 2'-Amino-3'-methoxyflavone (PD098059) and 4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-methylsulfinylphenyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)1H-imidazole (SB203580) were used to inhibit the activity of ERK and p38, respectively. SEK-AL, a dominant-negative mutant of SEK1, was transfected into HL-60 cells (HL-60/SEK-AL) to assess the role of JNK/SAPK activity in apoptosis. PD098059 (25 microM) inhibited ara-C-induced caspase-3-like activity but was ineffective in altering ara-C-mediated apoptotic DNA fragmentation and clonogenicity. On the other hand, SB203580 (20 microM) inhibited ara-C-induced caspase-3-like activity, apoptotic DNA fragmentation, and clonogenicity. The inhibition of JNK1 activation in HL-60/SEK-AL cells did not block ara-C-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation. These results suggest that ara-C-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation and loss of clonogenicity occur through a p38-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase/p38 stress signaling in 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine-induced apoptosis. 1064 49

Here we identify the hematopoietic proto-oncogene Vav1 as a caspase substrate during apoptosis in lymphoid cells. Cleavage of Vav1 is prevented by the caspase inhibitors zDEVD and zVAD as well as by expression of CrmA. Vav1 is cleaved in vivo at the evolutionary conserved caspase consensus cleavage site DLYD161C, generating the carboxy-terminal cleavage product Vav1p76 of intermediate stability. In vitro caspase assays reveal cleavage of Vav1 at position 161 either by apoptotic cell lysates or by recombinant caspase-3. Mutation of Asp 161 to Ala leads to the usage of the adjacent alternative cleavage sequence DQID150D. Mutation of both cleavage sites at position 150 and 161 protects Vav1 from caspase-mediated proteolysis in vitro and in vivo. The cleavage product Vav1p76 is capable of activating JNK in T-cells, but fails to induce the phosphorylation of p38/HOG1. Vav1p76 displays a diminished capacity to activate the transcription factors NF-AT, AP-1 and NF-kappaB, and thus completely fails to activate IL-2 transcription. Since Vav1 is essential for IL-2 production and plays a central role for cytoskeletal reorganization, its proteolytic inactivation during apoptosis affects multiple downstream targets.
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PMID:Caspase-dependent cleavage and inactivation of the Vav1 proto-oncogene product during apoptosis prevents IL-2 transcription. 1071 3

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a physiological metabolite, but it is known to be toxic, inducing stress in cells and causing apoptosis. This study examines molecular mechanisms in the MG-induced signal transduction leading to apoptosis, focusing particularly on the role of JNK activation. We first confirmed that MG caused apoptosis in Jurkat cells and that it was cell type dependent because it failed to induce apoptosis in MOLT-4, HeLa, or COS-7 cells. A caspase inhibitor, Z-DEVD-fmk, completely blocked MG-induced poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) cleavage and apoptosis, showing the critical role of caspase activation. Inhibition of JNK activity by a JNK inhibitor, curcumin, remarkably reduced MG-induced caspase-3 activation, PARP cleavage, and apoptosis. Stable expression of the dominant negative mutant of JNK also protected cells against apoptosis notably, although not completely. Correspondingly, loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential induced by MG was decreased by the dominant negative JNK. These results confirmed a crucial role of JNK working upstream of caspases, as well as an involvement of JNK in affecting the mitochondrial membrane potential.
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PMID:Methylglyoxal induces apoptosis in Jurkat leukemia T cells by activating c-Jun N-terminal kinase. 1072 98

Apoptois is an important determinant in the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in gastric cancer cells. In this study, we examined whether the introduction of the bax gene into MKN45 gastric cancer cells could enhance the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in association with apoptosis. Apoptosis in the bax-transfected gastric cancer cells was enhanced following the treatment of various chemotherapeutic agents including adriamycin (ADM), cisplatin (CDDP), etoposide (VP-16) and taxotere (TXT) as compared to those of neo gene-transfected cells. The enhancement of apoptosis was coincident with the increase of sensitivity in the ratio of IC50 value, that was 1.3-fold in ADM, 4.4-fold in CDDP, 4.6-fold in VP-16 and 2.5-fold in TXT, respectively. Further, the enhancement of apoptosis in the bax-transfected gastric cancer cells was associated with the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK 1) and caspase 3 (CPP32). The increases of sensitivities to these agents in the bax-transfected cells were also demonstrated in in vivo experiments using the tumor cells transplanted into nude mice. The tumor growth in the bax-transfected cells was significantly suppressed following the treatment of CDDP or VP-16 compared to that of neo-transfected cells (p < 0.05). These results indicated that, the bax gene might play a critical role in determination of sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agent in gastric cancer cells in vivo, and that the activation of JNK 1 and CPP32 might be involved in the signal transduction pathways leading to apoptosis.
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PMID:Enhancement of chemotherapeutic agents induced-apoptosis associated with activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 and caspase 3 (CPP32) in bax-transfected gastric cancer cells. 1076 93

Parkinson's disease is characterized by the mesencephalic dopaminergic neuronal loss, possibly by apoptosis, and the prevalence is higher in males than in females. The estrogen receptor (ER) subtype in the mesencephalon is exclusively ER beta, a recently cloned novel subtype. Bound with estradiol, it enhances gene transcription through the estrogen response element (ERE) or inhibits it through the activator protein-1 (AP-1) site. We demonstrated that 17beta-estradiol provided protection against nigral neuronal apoptosis caused by exposure to either bleomycin sulfate (BLM) or buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). BLM and BSO-induced nigral apoptosis was blocked by inhibitors for caspase-3 or c-Jun/AP-1. The antiapoptotic effect by estradiol was blocked by ICI 182,780, an antagonist for ER, but not by a synthesized peptide that inhibits binding of the ER to the ERE. Estradiol had no effects on caspase-3 activation and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK), which were activated by BLM. It also suppressed apoptosis by serum deprivation, which was independent of caspase-3 activation. Therefore, the antiapoptotic neuroprotection by estradiol is mediated by transcription through AP-1 site downstream from JNK and caspase-3 activation. Furthermore, 17alpha-estradiol, a stereoisomer without female hormone activity, also provided an antiapoptotic effect. Therefore, the antiapoptotic effect is independent of female hormone activity.
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PMID:Mechanisms of antiapoptotic effects of estrogens in nigral dopaminergic neurons. 1083 42


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