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)

Swainsonine (1, 2, 8-trihyroxyindolizidine, SW), a natural alkaloid, has been reported to exhibit anti-cancer activity on several mouse models of human cancer and human cancers in vivo. However, the mechanisms of SW-mediated tumor regression are not clear. In this study, we investigated the effects of SW on several human lung cancer cell lines in vitro. The results showed that SW significantly inhibited these cells growth through induction of apoptosis in different extent in vitro. Further studies showed that SW treatment up-regulated Bax, down-regulated Bcl-2 expression, promoted Bax translocation to mitochondria, activated mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway, which in turn caused the release of cytochrome c, the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and the cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), resulting in A549 cell apoptosis. However, the expression of Fas, Fas ligand (FasL) or caspase-8 activity did not appear significant changes in the process of SW-induced apoptosis. Moreover, SW treatment inhibited Bcl-2 expression, promoted Bax translocation, cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activity in xenograft tumor cells, resulting in a significant decrease of tumor volume and tumor weight in the SW-treated xenograft mice groups in comparison to the control group. Taken together, this study demonstrated for the first time that SW inhibited A549 cancer cells growth through a mitochondria-mediated, caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway in vitro and in vivo.
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PMID:Swainsonine activates mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway in human lung cancer A549 cells and retards the growth of lung cancer xenografts. 2239 11

Swainsonine, a natural indolizidine alkaloid, has been reported to have antitumour effects, and can induce apoptosis in human gastric and lung cancer cells. In the present study, we evaluated the antitumour effects of swainsonine on several oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells and investigated relative molecular mechanisms. Swainsonine treatment inhibited the growth of Eca-109, TE-1 and TE-10 cells in a concentration-dependent manner as measured by MTT assay. Morphological observation, DNA laddering detection and flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that swainsonine treatment induced Eca-109 cell apoptosis in vitro. Further results showed that swainsonine treatment up-regulated Bax, downregulated Bcl-2 expression, triggered Bax translocation to mitochondria, destructed mitochondria integrity and activated mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway, followed by the release of cytochrome c, which in turn activated caspase-9 and caspase-3, promoted the cleavage of PARP, resulting in Eca-109 cell apoptosis. Moreover, swainsonine treatment inhibited Bcl-2 expression, promoted Bax translocation, cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation in xenograft tumour cells, resulting in a significant decrease of tumour volume and tumour weight in the swainsoninetreated xenograft mice groups compared with that in the control group. Taken together, this study demonstrated that swainsonine inhibited Eca-109 cells growth through activation of mitochondria-mediated caspase-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Swainsonine promotes apoptosis in human oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo through activation of mitochondrial pathway. 2315 91

Swainsonine (SW) is an indolizidine alkaloid isolated from a number of poisonous plants. We have previously reported that SW inhibited luteal cell progesterone production by inducing caprine luteal cell apoptosis in vitro; however, the molecular mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. In this study, SW-treated luteal cells showed apoptosis characteristics, including nuclear fragmentation, DNA ladder formation, and phosphatidylserine externalization. Further studies showed that SW activated caspase-9 and caspase-3, which subsequently cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. SW also increased in Bax/BcL-2 ratios, promoted Bax translocation from the cytosol to mitochondria, and triggered the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytoplasm. However, Fas and Fas ligand induction or caspase-8 activity did not appear any significant changes. Additional analysis also showed that pan-caspase inhibitor, caspase-9 inhibitor, or caspase-3 inhibitor almost completely protected the cells from SW-induced apoptosis, but not caspase-8 inhibitor. Overall, these data demonstrated that SW induced luteal cells apoptosis through a mitochondrial-mediated caspase-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Swainsonine induces caprine luteal cells apoptosis via mitochondrial-mediated caspase-dependent pathway. 2497 89

Swainsonine (SW), an extract from Astragalus membranaceus, represents a new class of compounds that inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in a cancer model. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of Fyn on SW-induced apoptosis in 293T cells. Western blotting was used to measure the expression of the apoptosis-related factors caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bax, and the key factor Akt (also known as protein kinase B). Apoptosis increased dramatically after treatment with SW. Unlike the control group, after transfection with Fyn, the expression of Bcl-2, in contrast to Bax, was markedly upregulated. The results also showed that the protein expression levels of Akt and phosphorylated Akt were markedly increased. Our results establish that Fyn can arrest SW-induced apoptosis via the activity of Akt and its effective phosphorylation in 293T cells.
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PMID:Fyn arrests swainsonine-induced apoptosis in 293T cells via Akt and its phosphorylation. 2612 26

Swainsonine (SW) is an indolizidine alkaloid, and the principal toxic component of the poisonous legume plants Astragalus and Oxytropis sp. Animals that consume the toxic plants show neurologic symptoms. In this study, the cerebral cortical neurons of primary culture were treated for 12h with various concentrations of SW. The [Ca(2+)]i and the protein expression of caspase-3, -8, -9 and -12 were assessed in all experimental groups. In comparison with the control group, [Ca(2+)]i increased significantly in SW-treated groups (P<0.05). SW significantly increased the expression of activated protein caspase-3, -8 and -12 (P<0.05), while caspase-9 did not change (P>0.05). The results suggest that SW induced the apoptosis of neurons through a death receptor pathway and endoplasmic reticulum stress.
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PMID:Swainsonine-induced apoptosis pathway in cerebral cortical neurons. 2641 16