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 second most prevalent urological malignancy in middle aged and elderly men is bladder cancer, with 90% of the cases being transitional cell carcinomas. The success of current systemic and intravesical therapeutic agents, such as cisplatin, thiotepa, Adriamycin, mitomycin C, and bacillus Calmette-Guerin, is limited with recurrence rates reduced to 17-44%. In addition, most of these agents require instrumentation of the urinary tract and are delivered at a significant cost and potential morbidity to the patient. Fluroquinolone antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, which can be administered p.o., may have a profound effect in bladder cancer management. This is primarily based on limited in vitro studies on tumor cells derived from transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder that revealed a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of cell growth by ciprofloxacin at concentrations that are easily attainable in the urine of patients. However, the mechanism(s) by which ciprofloxacin elicits its biological effects on bladder cancer cells is not well documented. Our experimental data confirm previous studies showing the in vitro cell growth inhibition of the transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder cell line HTB9 and further showed the induction of cell cycle arrest at the S/G2-M checkpoints. In addition, we found down-regulation of cyclin B, cyclin E, and dephosphorylation of cdk2 in ciprofloxacin-treated bladder tumor cells. There was also an up-regulation of Bax, which altered the Bax:Bcl-2 ratio, which may be responsible for mitochondrial depolarization reported to be involved prior to the induction of apoptosis. The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1 level was found to be decreased within 12 h of ciprofloxacin treatment and disappeared completely when HTB9 cells were treated with 200 microg/ml ciprofloxacin for 24 h. The down-regulation of p21WAF1 closely correlated with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage and CPP32 activation. Recent studies revealed that p21WAF1 protects cells from apoptosis by arresting them in G1 and further binds to pro-caspase-3, preventing its activation and thus, inhibiting the apoptotic cascade. Hence, the down-regulation of p21WAF1, together with the alterations in Bax and cdk2 as observed in our studies, may define a novel mechanism by which ciprofloxacin inhibits tumor cell growth and induces apoptotic cell death. The results of our current studies provide strong experimental evidence for the use of ciprofloxacin as a potential preventive and/or therapeutic agent for the management of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.
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PMID:Ciprofloxacin mediated cell growth inhibition, S/G2-M cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis in a human transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder cell line. 1074 13

E2F -1 is a transcription factor that regulates cell cycle progression into S-phase. Deregulation of E2F-1 activity has been associated with cellular commitment to apoptosis. Also critical in the regulation of S-phase are the actions of the cyclin dependent kinases, Cdk2 and cdc2. Inhibition of these cyclin dependent kinases has been similarly associated with disrupting orderly S-phase progression and causing subsequent apoptosis in certain cancer cells. In this study, we examine the ability of adenovirus-mediated E2F-1 overexpression to induce apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma cells. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors, olomoucine and roscovitine, on E2F-1-mediated apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma cells. AGS and SNU-1 gastric adenocarcinoma cells were infected with adenoviral vectors expressing E2F-1 (Ad5CMVE2F-1) or control viruses expressing beta-galactosidase (Ad5CMVLacZ) or lacking a transgene (Ad5). Gastric adenocarcinoma cells were then independently treated with roscovitine or olomoucine. Finally, gastric adenocarcinoma cells were infected with the various adenoviral vectors in combination with roscovitine or olomoucine. E2F-1 overexpression resulted in an 85% reduction in cell viability at 72 h compared to controls. Combining E2F-1 overexpression with roscovitine resulted in >99% reduction in cell viability by 72 h. Overexpression of E2F-1 resulted in premature S-phase entry and G2/M arrest at 24 h, followed by apoptosis by 72 h. Combining E2F-1 overexpression with roscovitine resulted in an earlier G2/M arrest, followed by a more complete, widespread apoptotic response by 24 h. Caspase 3/CPP32 activation and PARP cleavage in response to E2F-1 overexpression, alone and in combination with roscovitine, implicate the caspase cascade in E2F-1-mediated apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Bax levels also increased in response to E2F-1 gene transfer, alone and in combination with roscovitine. E2F-1 overexpression induces widespread apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma cells. Combining E2F-1 overexpression with cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors results in an enhanced apoptotic response, causing nearly complete gastric tumor cell death within 72 h. E2F-1 gene therapy in combination with cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors is a potentially active chemogene therapy strategy for the treatment of human gastric cancer.
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PMID:Adenovirus-mediated E2F-1 gene transfer induces an apoptotic response in human gastric carcinoma cells that is enhanced by cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors. 1085 Dec 67

Ligation of cell surface matrix adhesion receptors such as integrins can increase expression of specific cell cycle regulatory proteins such as cyclin A, thereby regulating cell cycle progression. Disruption of cell surface matrix receptor interaction with the extracellular matrix can trigger apoptosis. Induction of apoptosis has been linked to unscheduled up-regulation of cyclin A and activation of cyclin-A-associated dependent kinase 2 activity due to cleavage of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors by caspases. We have found that ligation of the cell surface matrix adhesion receptor CD44 by anti-CD44 antibody induces cell detachment and triggers apoptosis. In this report we show that ligation of CD44 by anti-CD44 antibody increases the expression of cyclin A protein prior to activation of caspase-3-like activity and morphological changes of apoptosis. Down-regulation of cyclin A protein levels by cyclin A antisense oligonucleotides dramatically decreased fibroblast apoptosis in response to anti-CD44 antibody. These data identify an important functional role of cyclin A in the induction of fibroblast apoptosis due to the ligation of the cell surface adhesion receptor CD44 by anti-CD44 antibody.
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PMID:Functional role of cyclin A on induction of fibroblast apoptosis due to ligation of CD44 matrix receptor by anti-CD44 antibody. 1085 61

Ginseng is a medicinal herb widely used in Asian countries, and many of its pharmacological actions are attributed to the ginsenosides. In a study of the anti-proliferative activity of ginsenosides using human prostate carcinoma LNCaP cell line, ginsenoside Rg3 displayed growth inhibitory activity. The cells lost its adherent property after incubation in the presence of 250 microM of ginsenoside for 48h. The expression of biomarker genes, including prostate specific antigen (PSA), androgen receptor (AR) and 5alpha-reductase (5alphaR), and that of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), were suppressed. Ginsenoside Rg3 induced classic apoptotic morphology and interfered with the expression of apoptosis-related genes, bcl-2 and caspase-3, in LNCaP cells, as demonstrated by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Taken our results together, we suggested that ginsenoside Rg3 activated the expression of cyclin-kinase inhibitors, p21 and p27, arrested LNCaP cells at G1 phase, and subsequently inhibited cell growth through a caspase3-mediated apoptosis mechanism.
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PMID:Anti-proliferative effect of ginseng saponins on human prostate cancer cell line. 1097 98

Activation of PKC with 5 nM 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) for 72 h in human U937 myeloid leukemia cells is associated with induction of adherence, followed by monocytic differentiation and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. In this study, we demonstrate that in addition to these effects about 25% of U937 cells accumulated in an apoptotic subG1 phase after TPA treatment. The appearance of these apoptotic suspension cells was detectable throughout the time course of the culture and was independent of TPA concentrations between 0.5 and 500 nM. Experiments with cells synchronized by centrifugal elutriation revealed dominant susceptibility of G1-phase cells to TPA-mediated apoptosis. While adherent cells expressed differentiation markers including the integrin CD11c, this effect was less pronounced in the TPA-treated suspension fraction. Moreover, previous work has demonstrated cell cycle arrest in differentiating U937 cells. Accordingly, PKC activation by TPA treatment was associated with a significant expression of the cdk/cyclin inhibitor p21WAF/CIP/sdi-1 in the adherent population and subsequent G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. In contrast, suspension cells failed to induce significant levels of p21WAF/CIP/sdi-1 after TPA stimulation. Immunoblotting experiments demonstrated no difference in the expression of the pro-apoptotic factors Bax, Bad, and Bak in either control U937 and TPA-treated adherent or suspension cells, respectively. However, anti-apoptotic factors including Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1 were significantly induced in the adherent population whereas no induction was detectable in the suspension cells. In this context, incubation with the caspase-3/caspase-7 specific tetrapeptide inhibitor DEVD prior to TPA treatment prevented an accumulation of cells in subG1, respectively, demonstrating an involvement of these caspases. Taken together, these data suggest that PKC activation can relay distinct signaling pathways such as induction of adherence coupled with monocytic differentiation and growth arrest, or induction of caspase-mediated apoptosis coupled with the failure to adhere and to differentiate.
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PMID:Activation of protein kinase C relays distinct signaling pathways in the same cell type: differentiation and caspase-mediated apoptosis. 1104 74

Peripheral negative selection of cycling T cells after TCR engagement and deletion of activated T cells after an immune response occur by an apoptotic process termed activation-induced cell death (AICD). The cross-linking of TCR-CD3 complex with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody led to significant apoptotic cell death in peripheral blood T cells. To further define cell cycle restriction points for triggering AICD in T cells, we evaluated the association between cell cycle progression and death signal transduction. Simultaneous DNA / RNA quantification analysis revealed that T cells entering G1A phase of the cell cycle may acquire sensitivity to AICD. The activation of caspase-3 was induced when T cells entered G1A phase. Up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk4 and Cdk6) and cyclin D3 was initiated in TCR-stimulated T cells entering G1A phase and expression of these markers steadily increased as T cells progressed from G1A into G1B phase. Interestingly, caspase-3 inhibitors could inhibit the up-regulation of these G1 cell cycle regulators and induce G0 / G1A arrest as well as the inhibition of AICD. On the basis of these results, AICD signals are most likely transduced into TCR-stimulated T cells entering G1A phase. T cells that fail to progress from G1A into G1B phase undergo AICD.
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PMID:Activation-induced T cell death occurs at G1A phase of the cell cycle. 1109 49

Peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) promptly engraft allogeneic recipients after myeloablative chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies. Surprisingly, no exacerbation of acute graft-vs-host disease has been observed despite a 10-fold higher T-cell content in PBPC compared with bone marrow allografts. Because G-CSF can suppress T-cell proliferation in response to mitogens and enhance their activation-induced apoptosis, we examined the molecular mechanisms underlying G-CSF-induced immune dysfunction. Normal allogeneic lymphocytes were challenged with phytohemagglutinin in the presence of serum collected after G-CSF administration (postG) to healthy PBPC donors, and the expression of key components of the cell cycle and apoptotic machineries was investigated by flow cytometry and Western blotting. Lymphocyte stimulation was associated with collapse of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, hypergeneration of reactive oxygen intermediates, and activation of caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation. Lymphocytes were arrested in a G(1)-like phase of the cell cycle, as measured by G(1)-phase cyclin expression and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) incorporation. Cell tracking experiments confirmed the occurrence of a lower number of population doublings in postG compared with preG cultures. Unexpectedly, the phosphorylation state of the protein encoded by the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (pRB) was unaltered in postG cultures, and the inhibition of cell cycle progression occurred without the recruitment of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p15(INK4B), p16(INK4A), and p27(Kip1). We eventually evaluated the ability of antioxidant/cytoprotectant agents to prevent the G-CSF-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibition of cell cycle progression. Of interest, both N-acetylcysteine and amifostine reduced apoptotic cell death by 45% on average, inhibited the activation/processing of caspase-3, and increased BrdUrd incorporation in postG cultures. Based on these experimental findings, a model is proposed in which T-cell activation in the presence of serum immunoregulatory factor(s) induced by G-CSF is associated with a molecular phenotype mimicking the G(1)-S transition and consisting of pRB phosphorylation, lack of CDKI recruitment, and reduced cyclin-E expression. The putative relationship between lymphocyte mitogenic unresponsiveness and apoptosis induction would occur at the level of key molecules shared by the cell cycle and apoptotic machineries. Whether the G-CSF-mediated modulation of lymphocyte functions in vitro is beneficial in transplantation medicine remains to be determined.
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PMID:T-cell apoptosis induced by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor is associated with retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation and reduced expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. 1130 Nov 80

We have investigated the chemopreventive role of curcumin in gastrointestinal cancers by studying the regulation of proliferation and apoptosis in gastric (KATO-III) and colon (HCT-116) cancer cells. Curcumin inhibited cell proliferation and induced G2/M arrest in HCT-116 cells. Investigation of the levels of cyclins E, D and B by immunoblot analysis showed cyclin B level was unaffected, whereas cyclin D and E levels declined with curcumin in both cell lines. Investigation of cyclin-dependent kinases, Cdk2 and Cdc2, showed activity of Cdc2, but not Cdk2, increased markedly in response to curcumin. In both cell lines, immunoblot analysis indicated that curcumin caused induction of apoptosis as evidenced by cleavage of PARP, caspase-3, and reduction in Bcl-XL levels. Curcumin also stimulated the activity of caspase-8, which initiates Fas signalling pathway of apoptosis. Curcumin therefore appears to exert its anticarcinogenic properties by inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis in certain gastric and colon cancer cells.
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PMID:Curcumin induced modulation of cell cycle and apoptosis in gastric and colon cancer cells. 1139 78

Arsenic trioxide has recently been shown to inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), but little is known about the molecular mechanisms mediating these effects. Here we demonstrate that treatment of promonocytic U937 cells with arsenic trioxide leads to G2/M arrest which was associated with a dramatic increase in the levels of cyclin B and cyclin B-dependent kinase and apoptosis. We further show that apoptosis occurs after bcl-2 phosphorylation and caspase-3 activation followed by cleavage of PARP and PLC-gamma1 degradation and DNA fragmentation. The arsenic trioxide-induced apoptosis could be blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. In addition, pretreatment of U937 cells with the DNA polymerase inhibitor aphidicolin also blocked apoptosis, but did not cause the arrest of cells in the G2/M phase. The findings suggest that arsenic trioxide exerts its growth-inhibitory effects by modulating expression and/or activity of several key G2/M regulatory proteins. Furthermore, arsenic trioxide-mediated G2/M arrest correlates with the onset of apoptosis.
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PMID:Arsenic trioxide induces G2/M growth arrest and apoptosis after caspase-3 activation and bcl-2 phosphorylation in promonocytic U937 cells. 1152 58

In Alzheimer's Disease brain, the microtubule-associated protein tau is hyperphosphorylated at specific epitopes and abnormally aggregates into filamentous structures. In addition, there is significant neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease brain, and there is data to suggest that apoptotic-like processes may contribute to the neurodegeneration. It has been demonstrated that in PC12 cells undergoing apoptosis due trophic factor removal, tau is hyperphosphorylated prior to chromatin condensation. To establish that increased tau phosphorylation is a generalized outcome of the apoptotic process, and to examine the involvement of the protein kinase in these events, apoptosis was induced in retinoic-acid differentiated human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells using the topoisomerase-1 inhibitor camptothecin. Treatment of the differentiated SH-SY5Y cells with camptothecin resulted in a time and concentration dependent activation of caspase-3 with a concomitant increase in the presence of apoptotic nuclei. Immunoblotting revealed that camptothecin treatment resulted in a significant increase in tau phosphorylation. Addition of a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor reduced camptothecin-induced cell death in the differentiated SH-SY5Y cells and decreased the effects of camptothecin on tau phosphorylation. In contrast, a general caspase inhibitor decreased camptothecin-induced cell death, but did not significantly decrease the increases in tau phosphorylation. These results suggest that increased tau phosphorylation is likely a generalized outcome of apoptotic processes in neuron-related cells, and that cyclin-dependent kinases probably play a role in this process.
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PMID:Tau phosphorylation during apoptosis of human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. 1172 Jul 9


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