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

We show, in this study, that type I IFN induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor p21WAF1 in the human Burkitt lymphoma B cell-line Daudi and ensuing cell cycle arrest correlate with the terminal differentiation of these cells, and is ultimately followed by apoptosis and cell death. The expression of p21WAF1 paralleled the onset of G1 arrest and the reduction of surface IgM expression which was used as a marker of the differentiation response, and the IFN treated cells acquired a typical plasma cell-like morphology. The type II IFN IFNgamma, which does not inhibit the growth of Daudi cells, did not induce the expression of p21WAF1, nor affect the expression of surface IgM. The induction of p21WAF1 which paralleled the inhibition of the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein, pRB, was preceded by the strong reduction in c-myc levels. We propose that the coupled down-regulation of c-myc and induction of p21WAF1 may be crucial to the induction of differentiation and G1 arrest in Daudi cells by type I IFN. Growth arrest and differentiation was followed by apoptosis and cell death, and was accompanied by the induction of the activity of the apoptotic ICE-family protease CPP32. G1 arrest and differentiation followed by apoptotic cell death are characteristics of terminal differentiation. Thus, our data suggest that the induction of p21WAF1 and G1 arrest mediated by type I IFN in Daudi cells is part of terminal differentiation response in these cells, highlighting a role for type I IFN as B cell terminal differentiation factors.
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PMID:Type I interferon induction of the Cdk-inhibitor p21WAF1 is accompanied by ordered G1 arrest, differentiation and apoptosis of the Daudi B-cell line. 958 86

The mode of cell death induced by 1 microM 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) changed in a wild-type F28-7 clone of mouse mammary tumor FM3A cells after a six-month culture. In the original stocked F28-7 clone, FdUrd-induced cell death was accompanied by necrosis-like cell swelling and DNA fragmentation to 100-200 kbp. In subclone F28-7-A isolated from F28-7 cells, which had been cultured for six months, apoptotic bodies and nucleosomal DNA-ladder fragments were observed with the treatment. Furthermore, we investigated the differences in FdUrd-induced intracellular signals between these clones. In F28-7 cells, FdUrd induced increases in caspase-3-like activity, and the mRNA levels of the c-jun, c-fos and c-myc genes, which were greater and earlier than those in F28-7-A cells. Moreover, intracellular acidification occurred in F28-7-A cells treated with FdUrd, though it was not observed in F28-7 cells. These findings suggest that FdUrd-induced cell death occurred through the death program to cell lysis (necrosis) without apoptosis when the induction of these intracellular signals was very high and when intracellular acidification was deficient. Investigation of the differences in the mode of FdUrd-induced cell death between these clones would be important for elucidating the molecular mechanism of pivotal events guiding cells toward either apoptosis or necrosis.
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PMID:Different modes of cell death induced by 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine in two clones of the mouse mammary tumor FM3A cell line. 964 69

Burkitt's lymphoma cells that vary in their phenotypic characteristics show significantly different degrees of susceptibility to radiation-induced apoptosis. Propensity to undergo apoptosis is reflected in the degradation of substrates such as DNA-dependent protein kinase but the status of bcl-2, c-myc and p53 has been uninformative. In this study, we have focused on 2 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated Burkitt's cell lines, one (WW2) susceptible and the other (BL29) resistant to etoposide-induced apoptosis. Differences in expression of BHRF1, an EBV gene that is homologous to the Bcl-2 proto-oncogene and known to inhibit apoptosis, or changes in apoptosis inhibitory proteins (IAPs), did not appear to account for the difference in susceptibility in the 2 cell lines. Cytoplasmic extracts from etoposide-treated WW2 cells caused apoptotic changes in nuclei isolated from either BL29 or WW2 cells, whereas extracts from BL29 cells failed to do so. In addition, extracts from etoposide-treated WW2 cells degraded the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs), an important indicator of apoptosis, but this protein was resistant to degradation by BL29 extracts. It appears likely that caspase 3 (CPP32) is involved in this degradation since it was activated only in the apoptosis susceptible cells and the pattern of cleavage of DNA-PKcs was similar to that reported previously with recombinant caspase 3. As observed previously, addition of caspase 3 to nuclei failed to induce morphological changes indicative of apoptosis, but addition of caspase 3 to nuclei in the presence of extract from the resistant cells led to apoptotic changes. We conclude that resistance to apoptosis in BL29 cells is due to a failure of etoposide to activate upstream effectors of caspase activity.
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PMID:Resistance to etoposide-induced apoptosis in a Burkitt's lymphoma cell line. 968 10

Intracellular signaling pathways that are involved in protection of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from apoptosis remain poorly understood. This study examines the effect of activators of cAMP/cGMP signaling on apoptosis in non-transfected VSMC and in VSMC transfected with c-myc (VSMC-MYC) or with its functional analogue, E1A-adenoviral protein (VSMC-E1A). Serum-deprived VSMC-E1A exhibited the highest apoptosis measured as the content of chromatin and low molecular weight DNA fragments, phosphatidylserine content in the outer surface of plasma membrane and caspase-3 activity (ten-, five-, four- and tenfold increase after 6 h of serum withdrawal, respectively). In VSMC-E1A, the addition of an activator of adenylate cyclase, forskolin, abolished chromatin cleavage, DNA laddering, caspase-3 activation and the appearance of morphologically-defined apoptotic cells triggered by 6 h of serum deprivation. In non-transfected VSMC and in VSMC-MYC, 6 h serum deprivation led to approximately six- and threefold activation of chromatin cleavage, respectively, that was also blocked by forskolin. In VSMC-E1A, inhibition of apoptosis was observed with other activators of cAMP signaling (cholera toxin, isoproterenol, adenosine, 8-Br-cAMP), whereas 6 h incubation with modulators of cGMP signaling (8-Br-cGMP, nitroprusside, atrial natriuretic peptide, L-NAME) did not affect the development of apoptotic machinery. The antiapoptotic effect of forskolin was abolished in 24 h of serum deprivation that was accompanied by normalization of intracellular cAMP content and protein kinase A (PKA) activity. Protection of VSMC-E1A from apoptosis by forskolin was blunted by PKA inhibitors (H-89 and KT5720), whereas transfection of cells with PKA catalytic subunit attenuated apoptosis triggered by serum withdrawal. The protection of VSMC-E1A by forskolin from apoptosis was insensitive to modulators of cytoskeleton assembly (cytochalasin B, colchicine). Neither acute (30 min) nor chronic (24 h) exposure of VSMC to forskolin modified basal and serum-induced phosphorylation of the MAP kinase ERK1/2. Thus, our results show that activation of cAMP signaling delays the development of apoptosis in serum-deprived VSMC at a site upstream of caspase-3 via activation of PKA and independently of cAMP-induced reorganization of the cytoskeleton network and the ERK1/2-terminated MAPK signaling cascade.
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PMID:Activation of cAMP signaling transiently inhibits apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells in a site upstream of caspase-3. 1045 77

The sensitivity of normal diploid Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells to apoptosis was tested after treatment with the topoisomerase inhibitors camptothecin and etoposide and after serum withdrawal. Programmed cell death (PCD) was identified through morphological, biochemical, and molecular changes and compared with that of HL60 cell line. The results showed that topoisomerase inhibitors, which were shown to be potent PCD inducers in the HL60 cell line, induced a weaker apoptotic response in SHE cells than after growth factor deprivation. In addition, serum-free medium, which rapidly induced apoptosis in SHE cells, did not affect the HL60 cell line. In both cell types, PCD was expressed by condensed chromatin, fragmented nuclei, and DNA laddering on electrophoretic gels, an indisputable sign of apoptosis. In apoptotic HL60 cells, the cleavage of 113-kDa poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) resulted in the so-called apoptotic 89-kDa fragment and was associated with increased caspase-3 activity. In apoptotic SHE cells, PARP degraded early but the degradation profile was not characterized by the appearance of an 89-kDa fragment. Moreover, no activation of caspase-3 was noted. ZnCl(2), which is known to prevent protease activity responsible for apoptosis features, inhibited PARP cleavage and nuclear modifications induced by apoptotic stimuli in both cell types, but with a higher sensitivity in SHE cells. Apoptosis induced by serum deprivation was linked with c-myc negative regulation in SHE cells, but not with p53 protein accumulation, while topoisomerase inhibitors led to p53 stabilization without any change in c-myc expression. Serum-free medium and topoisomerase inhibitors did not modify c-myc expression in the HL60 cell line. The overall results demonstrated that apoptosis, which is a carefully regulated process of cell death, may proceed through mechanisms varying according to cell type or apoptosis inducer. In addition, markers which are generally considered hallmarks of apoptosis may fail to appear in some cell types.
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PMID:Detection of apoptosis induced by topoisomerase inhibitors and serum deprivation in syrian hamster embryo cells. 1066 31

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

The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is responsible for selective degradation of short-lived cellular proteins and is critical for the regulation of many cellular processes. We previously showed that ubiquitin (Ub) secreted from hairy cell leukemia cells had inhibitory effects on clonogenic growth of normal hematopoietic progenitor cells. In this study, we examined the effects of exogenous Ub on the growth and survival of a series of human hematopoietic cells, including myeloid cell lines (HL-60 and U937), a B-cell line (Daudi), and T-cell lines (KT-3, MT-4, YTC-3, and MOLT-4). Exogenous Ub inhibited the growth of various hematopoietic cell lines tested, especially of KT-3 and HL-60 cells. The growth-suppressive effects of Ub on KT-3 and HL-60 cells were almost completely abrogated by the proteasome inhibitor PSI or MG132, suggesting the involvement of the proteasome pathway in this process. Furthermore, exogenous Ub evoked severe apoptosis of KT-3 and HL-60 cells through the activation of caspase-3. In interleukin-6 (IL-6)-dependent KT-3 cells, STAT3 was found to be conjugated by exogenous biotinylated Ub and to be degraded in a proteasome-dependent manner, whereas expression levels of STAT1, STAT5, or mitogen-activated protein kinase were not affected. Moreover, IL-6-induced the up-regulation of Bcl-2 and c-myc, and JunB was impaired in Ub-treated KT-3 cells, suggesting that the anti-apoptotic and mitogenic effects of IL-6 were disrupted by Ub. These results suggest that extracellular Ub was incorporated into hematopoietic cells and mediated their growth suppression and apoptosis through proteasome-dependent degradation of selective cellular proteins such as STAT3. (Blood. 2000;95:2577-2585)
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PMID:Induction of apoptosis by extracellular ubiquitin in human hematopoietic cells: possible involvement of STAT3 degradation by proteasome pathway in interleukin 6-dependent hematopoietic cells. 1075 37

Tyrosine kinase oncoproteins cause simultaneous activation of multiple intracellular signaling pathways. However, the precise mechanisms by which individual pathways induce oncogenesis are not well understood. We have investigated the roles of individual signaling pathways in v-Src-dependent cell growth and survival by inhibiting one particular pathway. v-Src induced constitutive activation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and Ras in murine Ba/F3 cells and led to factor-independent proliferation. Dominant-negative mutants of STAT3 (STAT3D) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (Deltap85) inhibited v-Src-dependent growth by approximately 60 and approximately 40%, respectively. Moreover, dominant-negative Ras (N17) induced severe apoptosis, which was accompanied by down-regulation of Bcl-2 and activation of caspase-3. Although cells overexpressing Bcl-2 or caspase-3 inhibitors remained viable even when N17 was expressed, the growth was reduced by approximately 85%. During N17- and STAT3D-induced growth suppression, expression of cyclin D2, cyclin D3, c-myc, and c-fos was suppressed by N17, whereas that of cyclin D2, cyclin E, and c-myc was suppressed by STAT3D. Thus, v-Src-activated Ras and STAT3 are involved in distinct but partly overlapping transcriptional regulation of cell cycle regulatory molecules. These results suggest that the full oncogenic activity of v-Src requires simultaneous activation of multiple signalings, in which Ras is particularly required for survival.
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PMID:Full oncogenic activities of v-Src are mediated by multiple signaling pathways. Ras as an essential mediator for cell survival. 1091 73

The typical proliferative response of hepatocytes to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) can be converted to a cytotoxic one by transcriptional arrest. Although NF-kappaB activation is critical for hepatocyte resistance to TNF toxicity, the contribution of other TNF-inducible transcription factors remains unknown. To determine the function of c-Myc in hepatocyte sensitivity to TNF, stable transfectants of the rat hepatocyte cell line RALA255-10G containing sense and antisense c-myc expression vectors were isolated with increased (S-Myc cells) and decreased (AN-Myc cells) c-Myc transcriptional activity. While S-Myc cells proliferated in response to TNF treatment, AN-Myc cells underwent 32% cell death within 6 h. Fluorescent microscopic studies indicated that TNF induced apoptosis and necrosis in AN-Myc cells. Cell death was associated with DNA hypoploidy and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage but occurred in the absence of detectable caspase-3, -7, or -8 activation. TNF-induced, AN-Myc cell death was dependent on Fas-associated protein with death domain and partially blocked by caspase inhibitors. AN-Myc cells had decreased levels of NF-kappaB transcriptional activity, but S-Myc cells maintained resistance to TNF despite NF-kappaB inactivation, suggesting that c-Myc and NF-kappaB independently mediate TNF resistance. Thus, in the absence of sufficient c-Myc expression, hepatocytes are sensitized to TNF-induced apoptosis and necrosis. These findings demonstrate that hepatocyte resistance to TNF is regulated by multiple transcriptional activators.
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PMID:Inhibition of c-Myc expression sensitizes hepatocytes to tumor necrosis factor-induced apoptosis and necrosis. 1101 20

The deoxyadenosine-resistant mouse leukemia L1210 cell line (Y8) has previously been shown to have phenotypic differences that appear to be unrelated to the altered properties observed at the level of ribonucleotide reductase (RR). One of these changes is that the Y8 cells do not express p53. In response to DNA damaging agents, x-irradiation and doxorubicin, both the parental wild-type L1210 (WT) and Y8 cells undergo G2/M arrest, which is consistent with cells lacking wild-type p53 function. However, Y8 cells are much more sensitive to apoptosis induced by these agents than WT cells. Previous studies have also shown that expression of certain genes involved in cell cycle regulation is different between WT and Y8 cells. Recent evidence suggests that a serine/threonine kinase is involved in the divergent cellular responses of these cells. In the present study, the effects of roscovitine, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, were examined on the WT and Y8 cells. The WT cells blocked in G2/M, whereas Y8 cells became apoptotic. Apoptosis induced by roscovitine in the Y8 cells was mediated by a caspase-3-like activity. NF kappa B was activated to a much greater extent by roscovitine in the WT cells than in Y8 cells. The data also indicate that cyclin B1/cdc2 plays a role in the divergent p53-independent G2/M block and apoptotic responses of the WT and Y8 cells, respectively. Several key factors such as cathepsin B, caspase-1, release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, TNF-alpha signaling, FasL/Fas signaling, c-myc overexpression, and E2F-1 overexpression and induction were shown not to be involved in the apoptotic pathway(s) in the Y8 cells.
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PMID:Enhanced roscovitine-induced apoptosis is mediated by a caspase-3-like activity in deoxyadenosine-resistant mouse leukemia L1210 cells. 1113 34


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