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)

The human monoclonal antibody SC-1 induces apoptosis of stomach carcinoma cells and is currently used in a clinical Phase II trial. The antibody binds to a target molecule that is preferentially expressed on diffuse- and intestinal-type stomach cancer cells and shows a very restricted expression on other normal and malignant tissues. In this paper, we show that the SC-1 receptor is a stomach carcinoma-associated isoform of CD55 [membrane-bound decay-accelerating factor (DAF)-B] with a relative molecular mass of approximately 82 kDa. The antigenic site of SC-1 is an N-linked carbohydrate residue. Cross-linking of the DAF receptor increases apoptotic activity. SC-1 binding induces tyrosine phosphorylation of three proteins of approximately 60, 75, and 110 kDa, whereas a serine residue of an approximately 35-kDa protein is dephosphorylated. Expression of caspase-3 (CPP32) and caspase-8 (FLICE) is elevated, and activation of these caspases occurs. These data show that a tumor-specific variant form DAF is involved in apoptosis and can be used for adjuvant therapeutical purposes on gastric carcinoma.
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PMID:Characterization of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked molecule CD55/decay-accelerating factor as the receptor for antibody SC-1-induced apoptosis. 1053 13

Hereditary tyrosinemia type I is the most severe metabolic disease of the tyrosine catabolic pathway mainly affecting the liver. It is caused by deficiency of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase, which prevents degradation of the toxic metabolite fumarylacetoacetate (FAA). We report here that FAA induces common effects (i.e., cell cycle arrest and apoptosis) in both human (HepG2) and rodent (Chinese hamster V79) cells, effects that seem to be temporally related. Both the antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing activities of FAA are dose dependent and enhanced by glutathione (GSH) depletion with L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO). Short treatment (2 h) with 35 microM FAA/+BSO or 100 microM FAA/-BSO induced a transient cell cycle arrest at the G2/M transition (20% and 37%, respectively) 24 h post-treatment. In cells treated with 100 microM FAA/-BSO, an inactivation, followed by a rapid over-induction of cyclin B-dependent kinase occurred, which peaked 24 h post-treatment. Maximum levels of caspase-1 and caspase-3 activation were detected at 3 h and 32 h, respectively, whereas release of mitochondrial cytochrome c was maximal at 24-32 h post-treatment. The G2/M peak declined 24 h later, concomitantly with the appearance of a sub-G1, apoptotic population showing typical nucleosomal-sized DNA fragmentation and reduced mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Deltapsi(m)). These events were prevented by the general caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk, whereas G2/M arrest and subsequent apoptosis were abolished by GSH-monoethylester or N-acetylcysteine. Other tyrosine metabolites, maleylacetoacetate and succinylacetone, had no antiproliferative effects and induced only very low levels of apoptosis. These results suggest a modulator role of GSH in FAA-induced cell cycle disturbance and apoptosis where activation of cyclin B-dependent kinase and caspase-1 are early events preceding mitochondrial cytochrome c release, caspase-3 activation, and Deltapsi(m) loss. -Jorquera, R., Tanguay, R. M. Cyclin B-dependent kinase and caspase-1 activation precedes mitochondrial dysfunction in fumarylacetoacetate-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Cyclin B-dependent kinase and caspase-1 activation precedes mitochondrial dysfunction in fumarylacetoacetate-induced apoptosis. 1059 76

Cultured embryonic (E7) chick neurons, derived from cerebral hemispheres, underwent apoptosis in response to inhibitors of protein kinase C (staurosporine) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (wortmannin and LY294002), in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This was monitored by loss of cell viability, increased DNA fragmentation, and activation of caspase-3-like activity, all of which were partially reversed by elevating the level of cAMP in the cells with Bt(2)cAMP or (Sp)cAMPS. Further studies revealed that an early step in apoptosis was the formation of ceramide from sphingomyelin, resulting from the activation of a neutral pH sphingomyelinase activity. Thus inhibitors of protein kinase C and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase increased ceramide levels in the same time-frame as caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation. Neurons could also be killed by the addition of either water-soluble C2-ceramide (30 microM) or natural C22/24 ceramide (0.5 microM). In contrast to the apparent protective effect of ser/thr protein phosphorylation, a pro-apoptotic role for tyrosine phosphate phosphorylation was suggested by the ability of protein tyrosine phosphate phosphatase inhibitor, Bis(maltolato)oxovanadium (IV) (BMOV), to induce apoptosis in E7CH neurons. Thus BMOV (25 microM) killed 50% of E7CH neurons and B lymphocytes but not glial cells, or T-lymphocytes, suggesting the existence of a common apoptotic pathway in neurons and B-cells. We conclude that the major pathway for programmed cell death in embryonic chick neurons has many elements in common with that described for other cells but that there may be some unique aspects which can be used to protect embryonic neurons from opioid and other drug-enhanced apoptosis.
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PMID:Mechanisms of apoptosis in embryonic cortical neurons (E6 and E7) in culture involve lipid signalling, protein phosphorylation and caspase activation. 1071 79

Apoptosis is a process of active cell death and is characterized by activation of caspases, DNA fragmentation, and biochemical and morphological changes. To better understand apoptosis, we have characterized the dose- and time-dependent toxic effects of cadmium in Rat-1 fibroblasts. Staining of cells with phosphatidylserine (PS)-annexin V, Hoechst 33258 or Rhodamine 123 and Tunel assays showed that incubating cells with 10 microM cadmium induced a form of cell death exhibiting typical characteristics of apoptosis, including cell shrinkage, externalization of PS, loss of mitochondria membrane potential, nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation. Expression of Bcl-2 or CrmA each suppressed cadmium-induced cell death although Bcl-2 was somewhat more effective than CrmA. In vitro assay of caspase activity carried out using poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) as a substrate as well as intracellular caspase assays using a fluorigenic caspase-3 substrate confirmed that caspase-3 is activated in Rat-1 cells undergoing cadmium-induced apoptosis. Both Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-aldehyde (DEVD-cho) and Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-chloromethylketone (YVAD-cmk), selective inhibitors of caspase-3 and caspase-1, respectively, suppressed significantly cadmium-induced cell death. However, the nonselective caspase inhibitor, z-Val-Ala-Asp-floromethylketone (zVAD-fmk), was the most efficacious agent, almost completely blocking cadmium-induced cell death. Taken together, these results demonstrate that as in other forms of apoptosis, caspases play a central role in cadmium-induced cell death.
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PMID:Cadmium induces caspase-mediated cell death: suppression by Bcl-2. 1077 Nov 29

Ultraviolet (UV) light is a strong apoptotic trigger that can induce a caspase-dependent biochemical change in cells. We previously showed that UV irradiation can elicit caspase-3 activation and the subsequent cleavage and activation of p21-activated kinase 2 (PAK2) in human epidermal carcinoma A431 cells. We report that genistein, an isoflavone compound with known inhibitory activities to protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and topoisomerase-II (topo-II), can prevent UV irradiation-induced apoptotic biochemical changes (DNA fragmentation, caspase-3 activation, and cleavage/activation of PAK2) in A431 cells. Surprisingly, two typical PTK inhibitors (tyrphostin A47 and herbimycin A) and three known topo-II inhibitors (etoposide, daunorubicin, and novomycin) had no effect on UV irradiation-induced apoptotic biochemical changes, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of genistein is not dependent on its property as a PTK/topo-II inhibitor. In contrast, azide, a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, could effectively block the UV irradiation-induced apoptotic cell responses. Flow cytometric analysis using the cell-permeable dye 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate as an indicator of the generation of ROS showed that UV irradiation caused increase of the intracellular oxidative stress and that this increase could be abolished by azide, suggesting that oxidative stress plays an important role in mediating the apoptotic effect of UV irradiation. Importantly, the UV irradiation-induced oxidative stress in cells could be significantly attenuated by genistein, suggesting that impairment of ROS formation during UV irradiation is responsible for the antiapoptotic effect of genistein. Collectively, our results demonstrate the involvement of oxidative stress in the UV irradiation-induced caspase activation and the subsequent apoptotic biochemical changes and show that genistein is a potent inhibitor for this process.
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PMID:Inhibition of UV irradiation-induced oxidative stress and apoptotic biochemical changes in human epidermal carcinoma A431 cells by genistein. 1079 67

Caspase-1 (interleukin-1beta converting enzyme) is produced in the form of a latent precursor, which is cleaved to yield a prodomain in addition to the p20 and p10 subunits. It has been established that the (p20/p10)(2) heterotetramer processes the latent precursor of interleukin-1beta into an active form during apoptosis, but the function of the residual prodomain of caspase-1 (Pro-C1) has not been established. To evaluate the involvement of Pro-C1 in apoptosis, a Pro-C1 expression vector was transfected into the HeLa cell line, which is susceptible to Fas-mediated apoptosis. Expression of recombinant Pro-C1 in HeLa cells enhanced apoptosis mediated by Fas, but not etoposide-induced apoptosis. This enhancement of Fas-mediated apoptosis was abolished by inhibitors of caspase-8 (Ile-Glu-Thr-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone) and caspase-3 (Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-aldehyde) but was only slightly diminished by an inhibitor of caspase-1 (acetyl-Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-chloromethyl ketone). During apoptosis induced by an agonistic anti-Fas antibody, the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3 was more pronounced and occurred more rapidly in HeLa/Pro-C1 cells than in the empty vector transfectant (HeLa/vec) cells; in contrast, caspase-1 was not activated in either HeLa/Pro-C1 or HeLa/vec cells. These results demonstrate an additional and novel function for caspase-1 in which Pro-C1 acts to enhance Fas-mediated apoptosis, most probably through facilitation of the activation of caspase-8.
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PMID:The prodomain of caspase-1 enhances Fas-mediated apoptosis through facilitation of caspase-8 activation. 1079 3

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) has an anti-apoptotic role in anchorage-dependent cells via an unknown mechanism. To elucidate the role of FAK in anti-apoptosis, we have established several FAK cDNA-transfected HL-60 cell lines and examined whether FAK-transfected cells have resistance to apoptotic stimuli. FAK-transfected HL-60 (HL-60/FAK) cells were highly resistant to apoptosis induced with hydrogen peroxide (1 mm) and etoposide (50 microg/ml) compared with the parental HL-60 cells or the vector-transfected cells, when determined using viability assay, DNA fragmentation, and flow cytometry analysis. Because no proteolytic cleavage of pro-caspase 3 to mature caspase 3 fragment was observed in HL-60/FAK cells, FAK was presumed to inhibit an upstream signal pathway leading to the activation of caspase 3. HL-60/FAK activated the phosphatidylinositide 3'-OH-kinase-Akt survival pathway and exhibited significant activation of NF-kappaB with marked induction of inhibitor-of-apoptosis proteins (IAPs: cIAP-1, cIAP-2, XIAP), regardless of the hydrogen peroxide-treated or untreated conditions, whereas no significant IAPs were detected in the parental or vector-transfected HL-60 cells. Apoptotic agents induced higher NF-kappaB activation in HL-60/FAK cells than in HL-60/Vect cells, and it appeared that sustained NF-kappaB activation is critical to the anti-apoptotic states in HL-60/FAK cells. Mutagenesis of FAK cDNA revealed that Y397 and Y925, which are involved in the tyrosine-phosphorylation sites, were prerequisite for the anti-apoptotic activity as well as induction of IAPs, and that K454, which is involved in the kinase activity, was also required for the full anti-apoptotic activity of FAK. Taken together, we have demonstrated definitively that FAK-transfected HL-60 cells, otherwise sensitive to apoptosis, become resistant to the apoptotic stimuli. We conclude that FAK activates the phosphatidylinositide 3'-OH-kinase-Akt survival pathway with the concomitant activation of NF-kB and induction of IAPs, which ultimately inhibit apoptosis by inhibiting caspase-3 cascade.
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PMID:Anti-apoptotic role of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Induction of inhibitor-of-apoptosis proteins and apoptosis suppression by the overexpression of FAK in a human leukemic cell line, HL-60. 1082 72

Apoptosis is a cell suicide mechanism that requires the activation of cellular death proteases for its induction. We examined whether the progress of apoptosis involves cleavage of phospholipase C-gamma1 (PLC-gamma1), which plays a pivotal role in mitogenic signaling pathway. Pretreatment of T leukemic Molt-4 cells with PLC inhibitors such as U-73122 or ET-18-OCH(3) potentiated etoposide-induced apoptosis in these cells. PLC-gamma1 was fragmented when Molt-4 cells were treated with several apoptotic stimuli such as etoposide, ceramides, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Cleavage of PLC-gamma1 was blocked by overexpression of Bcl-2 and by specific inhibitors of caspases such as Z-DEVD-CH(2)F and YVAD-cmk. Purified caspase-3 and caspase-7, group II caspases, cleaved PLC-gamma1 in vitro and generated a cleavage product of the same size as that observed in vivo, suggesting that PLC-gamma1 is cleaved by group II caspases in vivo. From point mutagenesis studies, Ala-Glu-Pro-Asp(770) was identified to be a cleavage site within PLC-gamma1. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) -induced tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC-gamma1 resulted in resistance to cleavage by caspase-3 in vitro. Furthermore, cleaved PLC-gamma1 could not be tyrosine-phosphorylated by EGFR in vitro. In addition, tyrosine-phosphorylated PLC-gamma1 was not significantly cleaved during etoposide-induced apoptosis in Molt-4 cells. This suggests that the growth factor-induced tyrosine phosphorylation may suppress apoptosis-induced fragmentation of PLC-gamma1. We provide evidence for the biochemical relationship between PLC-gamma1-mediated signal pathway and apoptotic signal pathway, indicating that the defect of PLC-gamma1-mediated signaling pathway can facilitate an apoptotic progression.
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PMID:Proteolytic cleavage of phospholipase C-gamma1 during apoptosis in Molt-4 cells. 1083 29

In human and rodent macrophages, activation of the P2X7 nucleotide receptor stimulates interleukin-1beta processing and release, apoptosis, and killing of intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Signaling pathways downstream of this ionotropic ATP receptor are poorly understood. Here we describe the rapid activation of the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/JNK pathway in BAC1 murine macrophages stimulated by extracellular ATP. Brief exposure of the cells to ATP (10-30 min) was sufficient to trigger a rapid accumulation of activated SAPK that was then sustained for >120 min. Several observations indicated that the P2X7 receptor mediated this effect. 1) ATP and 3'-O-(4-benzoyl)benzoyl-ATP were the only agonistic nucleotides. 2) The effect was inhibited by oxidized ATP and the isoquinoline KN-62, two known P2X7 receptor antagonists. 3) ATP-induced SAPK activation could be recapitulated in P2X7 receptor-transfected HEK293 cells, but not in wild-type HEK293 cells. Because P2X7 receptor stimulation can rapidly activate caspase family proteases that have been implicated in the induction of the SAPK pathway, we investigated whether ATP-dependent SAPK activation involved such proteases. Brief exposure of BAC1 macrophages to extracellular ATP induced DNA fragmentation, alpha-fodrin breakdown, and elevated levels of caspase-3-type activity. Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-cho, a caspase-3 inhibitor, inhibited ATP-induced DNA fragmentation and alpha-fodrin proteolysis, but had no effect on ATP-induced SAPK activation. Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-chloromethyl ketone, a caspase-1 inhibitor, prevented ATP-induced release of processed interleukin-1beta, but not ATP-dependent SAPK activity. We conclude that activation of ionotropic P2X7 nucleotide receptors triggers a strong activation of SAPK via a pathway independent of caspase-1- or caspase-3-like proteases.
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PMID:Stress-activated protein kinase/JNK activation and apoptotic induction by the macrophage P2X7 nucleotide receptor. 1085 31

Nuclear morphological changes during apoptosis are very distinct and effector caspases have been implicated to play a central role in these processes. To investigate this in greater detail we examined the effect of blocking caspase activity and its activation on the nuclear morphological change in Jurkat T cells undergoing apoptosis after staurosporine treatment. In the presence of caspase inhibitors, like benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp fluoro-methylketone (z-VAD-FMK), N-acetyl Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp chloromethylketone (Ac-YVAD-CMK) and benzyloxy-carbonyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp (OMe) fluoromethylketone (z-DEVD-FMK), staurosporine-treated Jurkat cells displayed a nuclear morphological change distinct from that of normal and apoptotic cells. This nuclear morphological change is an early event, characterised by convoluted nuclei with cavitations, and clumps of chromatin abutting to inner regions of the nuclear envelope between the nuclear pores. Both the nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum were grossly dilated. This pre-apoptotic nuclear change precedes the externalisation of phosphatidylserine, chromatin condensation and DNA laddering, and can be dissociated from the formation of high molecular weight DNA fragments and cell shrinkage. Although cytochrome c efflux from the mitochondria and the processing of caspase-3 were observed in Jurkat cells with pre-apoptotic nuclear morphology, caspase-2, -6, -7 and -8 were not activated. In the presence of z-DEVD-FMK or Ac-YVAD-CMK, caspase-3 was processed to both the p17 and p20 fragments in staurosporine-treated cells, but only to p20 fragment in the presence of z-VAD-FMK. However, the caspase-3 substrate, poly(ADP ribose) polymerase was not cleaved in the presence of z-VAD-FMK, despite >70% of the cells have pre-apoptotic nuclei. In addition, caspase-3 null MCF-7 cells also undergo pre-apoptotic nuclear change when treated with staurosporine in the presence of caspase inhibitors, indicating that caspase-3 is not required for the early nuclear morphological change in cells undergoing apoptosis. Although cell death in staurosporine-treated Jurkat cells was markedly delayed, they eventually die without discernible downstream apoptotic features. Other apoptotic stimuli like etoposide and the heavy metal chelator, N,N,N',N'-tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine also induced this nuclear morphological change in Jurkat cells in the presence of z-VAD-FMK. In summary, the effector caspases are not involved in early nuclear morphological change, which precedes the conventional hallmark morphological changes associated with chemical-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Effector caspases are dispensable for the early nuclear morphological changes during chemical-induced apoptosis. 1093 34


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