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)

Biphenolic components in Magnolia obovata including magnolol and honokiol have shown several pharmacological activities such as anti-tumor, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Previously in cultured macrophage Raw264.7 cells and fibroblast, we found that obovatol, an active compound isolated from M. obovata inhibited NF-kappaB activity which has been known to be a significant transcriptional factor to control of cancer cell growth. We investigated here whether obovatol could inhibit NF-kappaB activity, and thereby inhibit cancer cell growth in prostate (LNCaP and PC-3) and colon cancer (SW620 and HCT116) cells. Treatment of obovatol (10, 15, 20, 25 microM) inhibits cancer cell growth in the absence or the presence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha , 10 ng/ml) and tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate (TPA 10 or 50 nM) in a concentration-dependent manner through induction of apoptotic cell death. Cytotoxic activity was not observed in normal cells with up to 50 muM obovatol. It was also found that obovatol inhibited TNF-alpha and TPA-induced transcriptional and DNA binding activities of NF-kappaB. In further study, obovatol decreased translocation p65 and p50 into nucleus via decrease of phosphorylation of IkappaB. Correlated well with the induction of apoptosis, obovatol increased the expression of the apoptotic genes; Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, whereas inhibited expression of anti-apoptotic genes; Bcl-2, inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP-1) and X chromosome IAP (XIAP) as well as the cell proliferation marker genes; Cox-2, c-Fos, c-Jun and cyclin D1. These results suggest that obovatol inhibits prostate and colon cancer cell growth via induction of apoptotic cell death, and that inhibition of NF-kappaB may be a significant as its action mechanism.
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PMID:Growth inhibitory effects of obovatol through induction of apoptotic cell death in prostate and colon cancer by blocking of NF-kappaB. 1824 58

Fibroblast growth factors interact with appropriate endothelial cell (EC) surface receptors and initiate intracellular signal cascades, which participate in modulating blood vessel growth. EC, upon exposure to basic fibroblast growth factors (bFGFs) undergo profound functional alterations, which depend on their actual sensitivity and involve gene expression and de novo protein synthesis. We investigated the effects of bFGF on signaling pathways of EA.hy926 cells in different environments. EC were cultured under normal gravity (1 g) and simulated microgravity (micro g) using a three-dimensional (3D) clinostat. Microgravity induced early and late apoptosis, extracellular matrix proteins, endothelin-1 (ET-1) and TGF-beta(1) expression. Microgravity reduced eNOS mRNA within 24 h. Moreover, a six- to eightfold higher amount of IL-6 and IL-8 was secreted within 24 h micro g. In addition, microgravity induced a duplication of NF-kappaB p50, while p65 was quadrupled. At 1 g, bFGF application (4 h) reduced ET-1, TGF-beta(1) and eNOS gene expression. After 24 h, bFGF enhanced fibronectin, VEGF, Flk-1, Flt-1, the release of IL-6, IL-8, and TGF-beta(1). Furthermore, bFGF promoted apoptosis, reduced NFkB p50, but enhanced NFkB p65. After 4 h micro g, bFGF decreased TGF-beta(1), eNOS, and ET-1 gene expression. After 24 h micro g, bFGF elevated fibronectin, Flk-1 and Flt-1 protein, and reduced IL-6 and IL-8 compared with vehicle treated micro g cultures. In micro g, bFGF enhanced NF-KappaB p50 by 50%, Bax by 25% and attenuated p65, activation of caspase-3 and annexin V-positive cells. bFGF differently changes intracellular signals in ECs depending whether it is applied under microgravity or normal gravity conditions. In microgravity, bFGF contributes to protect the EC from apoptosis.
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PMID:Effects of basic fibroblast growth factor on endothelial cells under conditions of simulated microgravity. 1825 36

Maternal diabetes leads to an adverse in utero environment, but whether maternal diabetes impairs nephrogenesis is unknown. Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin in pregnant Hoxb7-green fluorescence protein mice at embryonic day 13, and the offspring were examined at several time points after birth. Compared with offspring of nondiabetic controls, offspring of diabetic mice had lower body weight, body size, kidney weight, and nephron number. The observed renal dysmorphogenesis may be the result of increased apoptosis, because immunohistochemical analysis revealed significantly more apoptotic podocytes as well as increased active caspase-3 immunostaining in the renal tubules compared with control mice. Regarding potential mediators of these differences, offspring of diabetic mice had increased expression of intrarenal angiotensinogen and renin mRNA, upregulation of NF-kappaB isoforms p50 and p65, and activation of the NF-kappaB pathway. In conclusion, maternal diabetes impairs nephrogenesis, possibly via enhanced intrarenal activation of the renin-angiotensin system and NF-kappaB signaling.
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PMID:Maternal diabetes modulates renal morphogenesis in offspring. 1838 16

Recent studies indicate that gossypol possesses potent antitumor activities in vitro and in vivo. The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) plays an important role in tumor cell growth, proliferation, invasion, and survival. In this study, we investigated the effects and the molecular mechanisms of gossypol on NF-kappaB activation and NF-kappaB-related gene expression in human leukemia U937 cells. Treatment with concentrations of gossypol greater than 10 microM resulted in significant cell cytotoxicity and DNA fragmentation, indicative of apoptosis. Treatment with 10 microM gossypol also induced caspase-3 activation and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and resulted in the induction of apoptosis in approximately 20% of cells as determined by annexin-V staining 24h after treatment. Furthermore, gossypol exposure decreased the DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaB in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment with gossypol also downregulated expression of NF-kappaB-regulated gene products, including inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP)-1, IAP-2, and X-linked IAP. Attenuation of NF-kappaB activity by pretreatment with PDTC, an NF-kappaB nuclear translocation inhibitor, significantly induced apoptosis in the presence of gossypol. Gossypol also suppressed NF-kappaB p65 mRNA accumulation, resulting in suppression of total NF-kappaB activity. This was associated with a downregulation of Sp1-binding activity, a transcription factor controlling p65 transcription. These results suggest that gossypol-induced apoptosis partially involves suppression of NF-kappaB activity.
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PMID:Gossypol suppresses NF-kappaB activity and NF-kappaB-related gene expression in human leukemia U937 cells. 1831 60

Increased population with hepatic diseases and apoptosis were found in patients with SLE and implicated in the pathogenesis of SLE. Since cystamine has been demonstrated to be beneficial to NZB/W F1 mice in our previous report, this study intends to investigate the effects of cystamine in liver from NZB/W F1 mice. Decreased apoptosis was detected in liver from NZB/W F1 mice given cystamine as compared to those given PBS by TUNEL and caspase-3 activity assay. Fas-dependent apoptotic proteins including Fas, cleaved caspase-8 and tBid were reduced in liver from NZB/W F1 mice given cystamine as compared to those given PBS. Additionally, the mitochondria-dependent apoptotic proteins including cytochrome c and Apaf-1 were reduced in liver from NZB/W F1 mice given cystamine as compared to those given PBS. Moreover, increased BCL-2 protein was observed in liver from both mice. Notably, increased NF-kappaB protein was detected in liver from NZB/W F1 mice given cystamine as compared to those given PBS. These experimental results suggest the effect of cystamine in reducing apoptosis in liver from NZB/W F1 mice through Fas-dependent and mitochondrial-dependent pathways. The phosphorylation of NF-kappaB (p65) could be a possible mechanism involving anti-apoptotic effects of cystamine in liver from NZB/W F1 mice.
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PMID:Treatment with cystamine reduces apoptosis in liver from NZB/W F1 mice. 1832 51

The undesired extrapyramidal movement disorders observed with long term treatment with haloperidol have been associated with striatal neurodegeneration. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of prolonged haloperidol treatment on striatal levels of inflammatory mediators and caspase-3 and to correlate it with orofacial dyskinesia, a movement disorder observed with long term haloperidol treatment. Prolonged administration of haloperidol (1, 2, 5 mg/kg) to rats produced dose-dependent increase in the orofacial dyskinetic movements and induced a marked oxidative stress in the striatum. Lower dose of haloperidol (1 mg/kg) decreased NO levels but did not induce TNF-alpha or NF-kappaB expression. At higher doses (2 and 5 mg/kg), increased levels of total nitric oxide and TNF-alpha in cytoplasmic lysate and active p65 subunit of NF-kappaB in nuclear lysates of rat brain were observed. These doses (2 and 5 mg/kg) also induced an increased expression of caspase-3 protein in striatal cytoplasmic fraction as shown by western blot analysis. Collectively, we conclude that oxidative stress mediated increase in inflammatory mediators may initiate the apoptotic pathway (caspase-3) after chronic haloperidol treatment. All this is well correlated with behavioural development of orofacial dyskinesia.
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PMID:Activation of striatal inflammatory mediators and caspase-3 is central to haloperidol-induced orofacial dyskinesia. 1859 Jul 23

Although pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) is known to modify the actin cytoskeleton, very little is known about its apoptosis mechanism. In this study, we investigated whether PTX-2 induces apoptotic effects through suppression of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway in several leukemia cell types. PTX-2 significantly induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with PTX-2 also significantly increased caspase-3 activity and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, however caspase-3 inhibitor z-DEVD-fmk significantly inhibited PTX-2-induced cell death. These data suggest that the activation of caspase-3 is associated with PTX-2-induced apoptosis. NF-kappaB has also been shown to inhibit apoptosis in response to chemotherapeutic agents. As examined by the DNA-binding of NF-kappaB activation, we found that PTX-2 suppressed constitutive NF-kappaB activation and determined by p65 and p50 nuclear translocation, and IkappaBalpha degradation through dephosphorylation of Akt. Attenuation of constitutive NF-kappaB activity by pretreatment with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an NF-kappaB nuclear translocation inhibitor, induced significantly apoptosis in the presence of PTX-2. In addition, treatment of PTX-2 down-regulated NF-kappaB-dependent gene expression, Cox-2, IAP-1, IAP-2 and XIAP, at the transcriptional and translational level. Taken together, these results suggest that anti-cancer activities induced by PTX-2 may be mediated in part through suppression of constitutive NF-kappaB activity.
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PMID:Pectenotoxin-2 abolishes constitutively activated NF-kappaB, leading to suppression of NF-kappaB related gene products and potentiation of apoptosis. 1860 10

Because the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-AKT pathway is emerging as an important regulator of tumor cell survival, inhibitors of this pathway have enormous potential in cancer treatment. A specific inhibitor of AKT, [d-3-deoxy-2-O-methyl-myo-inositol-1-[(R)-2-methoxy-3-(octadecyloxy)propyl hydrogen phosphate]] (SH-5) has been recently synthesized, but little is known about its effects on cytokine signaling. We found that SH-5 potentiated the apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor (TNF), as indicated by intracellular esterase staining, annexin V staining, and caspase-3 activation. This effect of SH-5 correlated with downregulation of various gene products that mediate cell survival, proliferation, metastasis, and invasion, all known to be regulated by NF-kappaB. SH-5 also blocked NF-kappaB activation induced by TNF-alpha, lipopolysaccharide, phorbol ester, and cigarette smoke but not that activated by hydrogen peroxide and RANK ligand, indicating differential requirement of AKT. Inhibition of NF-kappaB correlated with abrogation of phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaBalpha through the inhibition of activation of IkappaBalpha kinase (IKK). This led to suppression of the phosphorylation and translocation of p65 and also of NF-kappaB reporter activity induced by TNFR1, TRADD, TRAF2, NIK, and IKKbeta but not that induced by p65 transfection. Thus, our results clearly demonstrate that inhibition of AKT leads to potentiation of apoptosis through modulation of NF-kappaB signaling.
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PMID:SH-5, an AKT inhibitor potentiates apoptosis and inhibits invasion through the suppression of anti-apoptotic, proliferative and metastatic gene products regulated by IkappaBalpha kinase activation. 1860 97

Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory disease of load-bearing synovial joints that is currently treated with drugs that exhibit numerous side effects and are only temporarily effective on pain, the main symptom of the disease. Consequently, there is an acute need for novel, safe and more effective chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of osteoarthritis and related arthritic diseases. Resveratrol is a phytoalexin stilbene produced naturally by plants including red grapes, peanuts and various berries. Recent research in various cell models has demonstrated that resveratrol is safe and has potent anti-inflammatory properties. However, its potential for treating arthritic conditions has not been explored. In this study we provide experimental evidence that resveratrol inhibits the expression of VEGF, MMP-3, MMP-9 and COX-2 in human articular chondrocytes stimulated with the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta. Since these gene products are regulated by the transcription factor NF-kappaB, we investigated the effects of resveratrol on IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB signaling pathway. Resveratrol, like N-Ac-Leu-Leu-norleucinal (ALLN) suppressed IL-1beta-induced proteasome function and the degradation of IkappaBalpha (an inhibitor of NF-kappaB) without affecting IkappaBalpha kinase activation, IkappaBalpha-phosphorylation or IkappaBalpha-ubiquitination which suppressed nuclear translocation of the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB and its phosphorylation. Furthermore, we observed that resveratrol as well as ALLN inhibited IL-1beta-induced apoptosis, caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage in human articular chondrocytes. In summary, our results suggest that resveratrol suppresses apoptosis and inflammatory signaling through its actions on the NF-kappaB pathway in human chondrocytes. We propose that resveratrol should be explored further for the prophylactic treatment of osteoarthritis in humans and companion animals.
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PMID:Resveratrol suppresses interleukin-1beta-induced inflammatory signaling and apoptosis in human articular chondrocytes: potential for use as a novel nutraceutical for the treatment of osteoarthritis. 1860 98

The involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) or neuropsychosis has been reported in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and considered a major cause of long-standing functional impairment and mortality. However, little is known in the improvement of the brain abnormality in SLE. To investigate the effect and mechanism of cystamine on brain in SLE, NZB/W F1 mice were used as the animal model. Gel zymography, caspase-3 activity assay and Western blots were performed to elucidate the effect of cystamine. Significant reduction of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-9/MMP-2 ratio and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) expression was detected in brain of NZB/W F1 mice treated with cystamine as compared to control group. Significant increase of heat-shock protein (HSP)-70 and HSP27 was detected in brain of NZB/W F1 mice treated with cystamine as compared to control group. Additionally, significant reduction of mitochondrial dependent apoptosis was observed in brain of NZB/W F1 mice treated with cystamine as compared to control group by increasing BCL-2 and reducing caspase-9, Bad, and Apaf-1 expression. Moreover, increased phosphorylated p65 (NF-kappaB) protein was observed in brain of NZB/W F1 mice treated with cystamine as compared to control group. These experimental results firstly demonstrated the beneficial effects of cystamine on brain in NZB/W F1 mice and suggested the therapeutic potential in patients with neuropsychiatric SLE (NP-SLE).
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PMID:Beneficial effects of treatment with cystamine on brain in NZB/W F1 mice. 1862 Oct 44


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