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)

Taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA), but not glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA), activates a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)-mediated survival pathway in vitro. Here, the effects of PI3-K inhibition on TCDCA- and GCDCA-induced hepatocellular injury, apoptosis, and bile secretion were examined in the intact liver. In isolated perfused rat livers, bile flow was determined gravimetrically. Hepatovenous lactate dehydrogenase and alanine aminotransferase efflux as markers of liver integrity and biliary secretion of 2,4-dinitrophenyl-S-glutathione (DNP-GS) were determined photometrically. Apoptosis was assessed by immunohistochemistry of active caspase-3 and cytokeratin 18 in liver tissue. Phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) as a readout of PI3-K activity was determined by immunoblot analysis. Bile acid concentrations were determined by gas chromatography. TCDCA (25 muM) induced moderate liver injury by hepatocellular apoptosis and distinctly reduced bile flow and DNP-GS secretion. In contrast, GCDCA (25 muM) induced severe liver injury by extensive hepatocyte apoptosis. TCDCA strongly activated PI3-K, whereas GCDCA did not markedly affect PI3-K activity. Inhibition of PI3-K by 100 nM wortmannin enhanced TCDCA-induced liver injury and apoptosis and tended to aggravate the cholestatic effect of TCDCA. In contrast, wortmannin reduced GCDCA-induced liver injury and apoptosis. Bile acid uptake tended to be reduced by wortmannin. The cholestatic effect of GCDCA was aggravated by wortmannin. Inhibition of PI3-K markedly aggravated TCDCA-induced but not GCDCA-induced liver damage and hepatocyte apoptosis. Thus TCDCA appears to block its inherent toxicity by a PI3-K-dependent survival pathway in the intact liver.
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PMID:Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent signaling modulates taurochenodeoxycholic acid-induced liver injury and cholestasis in perfused rat livers. 1574 12

To understand the role of Ras-MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) in trophic factor withdrawal- and oxidative stress-induced apoptotic cell death processes, undifferentiated rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells and a PC12 variant cell line stably expressing the Ras dominant-negative mutant (M-M17-26) were subjected to serum withdrawal in the absence or presence of H2O2 treatment. The extent of cell death was analyzed by lactate dehydrogenase release, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and caspase-3 assays. Both serum withdrawal and H2O2 treatment induced apoptotic cell death in PC12 cells, and the extent of cell death was greatly enhanced in M-M17-26 cells. DNA fragmentation induced by serum withdrawal or H2O2 treatment was blocked completely by a general caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK. A selective MAPK kinase inhibitor, U0126, blocked the H2O2-induced phosphorylation of Erk1/2 (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) in PC12 cells and increased the levels of active caspase-3 in M-M17-26 under serum withdrawal or H2O2 treatment. In addition, the short-term H2O2 treatment (5-30 min) was sufficient to cause DNA fragmentation in M-M17-26 cells even though H2O2 was removed and cells were incubated in regular growth medium with complete serum for 24 h. However, similar, short-term H2O2 treatment of PC12 cells did not induce DNA fragmentation 24 h later. These results suggest that the Ras-Erk pathway is critical in mediating protection against apoptotic cell death induced by either trophic factor withdrawal or increased oxidative stress.
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PMID:Roles of Ras-Erk in apoptosis of PC12 cells induced by trophic factor withdrawal or oxidative stress. 1578 61

A variety of explanations have been provided to elucidate the requirement of the large islet mass that is essential for a successful treatment of patients with type I diabetes by intrahepatic transplantation. The purpose of this study was to investigate islet cell survival under the effect of prolonged hypoxia and/or nutrient withdrawal, which mimics posttransplantation environment of transplanted islets in the liver. We studied the influence of 24 h of hypoxia (1% O2) in intact isolated human and rat islets as well as the effect of combined oxygen/nutrient deprivation in a mouse insulinoma cell line (MIN6). In intact human islets, 24 h of hypoxia led to central necrosis combined with apoptotic features such as nuclear pyknosis and DNA fragmentation. In the course of hypoxic treatment, ultrastructural analysis demonstrated a gradual transition from an apoptotic to a necrotic morphology particularly pronounced in central areas of large islets. In MIN6 cells, on the other hand, hypoxia led to a twofold (p < 0.01) increase in caspase-3 activity, an indicator of apoptosis, but not to necrosis, as determined by release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Only in combination with nutrient/serum deprivation was a marked increase in LDH release observed (sixfold vs. control, p < 0.01). We therefore conclude that, similar to MIN6 cells, central necrosis in isolated hypoxic islets is the result of the combined effects of hypoxia and nutrient/serum deprivation, most likely due to limited diffusion. Provided that transplanted islets undergo a similar fate as shown in our in vitro study, future emphasis will require the development of strategies that protect the islet graft from early cell death and accelerate the revascularization process.
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PMID:Central necrosis in isolated hypoxic human pancreatic islets: evidence for postisolation ischemia. 1578 64

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is responsible for the morbidity associated with liver surgery under total vascular exclusion or after liver transplantation. Recently, it has been reported that mitochondrial K(ATP) channel openers have an effect on myocardial protection via a pharmacological preconditioning action. However, it remains unclear as to whether K(ATP) channel openers can reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury in the liver. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of the mitochondrial K(ATP) channel opener, nicorandil, on ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat liver. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 73% ischemia for 45 minutes followed by 120 minutes of reperfusion. Nicorandil (3 mg/kg) was orally administered 60 minutes before hepatic ischemia. Nicorandil significantly decreased plasma levels of alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase by about 50% and inhibited the remarkably increased TUNEL-positive hepatocytes after reperfusion. Some mediators associated with apoptosis were analyzed by Western blotting. Cytochrome-c and caspase-3 levels in the cytosol increased after reperfusion; nicorandil inhibited the release of cytochrome-c and activation of caspase-3. The expression of Bax and Bcl-2 was significantly increased after reperfusion, being slightly inhibited by the administration of nicorandil. These results suggest that the protective effects of nicorandil against hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury correlate with the inhibition of mitochondrial cytochrome-c release and caspase-3 activation. These findings demonstrate that nicorandil may become a therapeutic drug for ischemia reperfusion-related liver injury.
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PMID:Mitochondrial K(ATP) channel opener prevents ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat liver. 1580 66

Resveratrol (trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound highly enriched in grapes, peanuts, red wine, and a variety of food sources. Resveratrol has antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties, and also has potent anticancer properties. Human glioma U251 cells were used to understand the molecular mechanisms by which resveratrol acts as an anticancer agent, since glioma is a particularly difficult cancer to treat and eradicate. Our data show that resveratrol induces dose- and time-dependent death of U251 cells, as measured by lactate dehydrogenase release and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation assays. Resveratrol induces activation of caspase-3 and increases the cleavage of the downstream caspase substrate, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Resveratrol-induced DNA fragmentation can be completely blocked by either a general caspase inhibitor (Z-VAD-FMK) or a selective caspase-3 inhibitor (Z-DEVD-FMK), but not by a selective caspase-1 inhibitor. Resveratrol induces cytochrome c release from mitochondria to the cytoplasm and activation of caspase-9. Resveratrol also increases expression of proapoptotic Bax and its translocation to the mitochondria. Resveratrol inhibits U251 proliferation, as measured by MTS assay [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt], and induces G0/G1 growth arrest, as determined by flow cytometry. The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, olomoucine, prevents cell cycle progression and resveratrol-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that multiple signaling pathways may underlie the apoptotic death of U251 glioma induced by resveratrol, which warrants further exploration as an anticancer agent in human glioma.
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PMID:Resveratrol-induced apoptotic death in human U251 glioma cells. 1582 28

Lactoferrin, a member of the transferrin family, is iron-binding and a strongly cationic 76 kDa glycoprotein. In breast milk it is secreted in high concentrations from glandular epithelia and is also present in other exocrine fluids including saliva. In the present study, we examined the biological mechanisms of apoptosis induced by pepsin-digested-lactoferrin peptide (Lfn-p) in the human oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line SAS. We found that treatment with Lfn-p induced cell death with apoptotic nuclear changes, preceded by the cleavage of caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in the apoptotic cells. Treatment with Lfn-p induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), a member of the MAP kinase family, at early stages of apoptosis. Another MAP kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK), was also phosphorylated by treatment with Lfn-p. Pretreatment of SAS cells with SP600125, a JNK/SAPK inhibitor, diminished Lfn-induced apoptosis, as assessed by determining released lactate dehydrogenase activity. On the other hand, the MEK1 inhibitors PD98059 or U0126 showed no effect on repression of cell death, but rather an increase. These results suggest that JNK/SAPK activation may play an important role in Lfn-p-induced apoptotic cell death of human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.
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PMID:Pepsin-digested bovine lactoferrin induces apoptotic cell death with JNK/SAPK activation in oral cancer cells. 1587 78

The mechanisms involved in the apoptotic effect of LCY-2-CHO [9-(2-chlorobenzyl)-9H-carbazole-3-carbaldehyde], a synthetic carbazole derivative identified as an anti-inflammatory compound, were studied. Cell cycle analysis by propidium iodide staining in human THP-1 monocytic leukemia cells showed the ability of LCY-2-CHO to increase cell population in sub-G1 stage with time- and concentration-dependent manners. LCY-2-CHO-mediated cell death was also demonstrated by DNA laddering and was not related to the release of lactate dehydrogenase. Apoptosis in THP-1 cells induced by LCY-2-CHO was accompanied by the Bid cleavage, collapse of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, the release of cytochrome c and the activation of caspase-3. The apoptotic effect of LCY-2-CHO was diminished by the presence of zVEID-fmk (caspase-6 inhibitor), zIETD-fmk (caspase-8 inhibitor), and zVAD-fmk (non-selective caspase inhibitor), but was not altered by several antioxidants, and cathepsin inhibitor. The Bid cleavage and loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, but not the cytochrome c release, were reversed by zIETD-fmk. Comparing the cell selectivity of LCY-2-CHO, we found T-cell acute lymphoblastic CEM leukemia cells were sensitive to 1 microM LCY-2-CHO, acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells underwent apoptosis at 10 microM, while adherent cancer cells, such as PC3, HT29 and MCF-7, were resistant to 30 microM LCY-2-CHO within 24-h incubation. Taken together in the present study, we demonstrated LCY-2-CHO might be apoptotic for malignant hematopoietic cells but not anchorage-dependent cells. This action is mediated by an intrinsic caspase-dependent apoptotic event involving mitochondria.
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PMID:Cell apoptosis induced by a synthetic carbazole compound LCY-2-CHO is mediated through activation of caspase and mitochondrial pathways. 1589 95

The ability of zinc to mobilize defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and H2O2-induced apoptosis was studied using a primary culture of rainbow trout gill cells. Gill cells were pretreated for 24 h with 100 microM ZnSO4 followed by 24-h exposure to 100 or 200 microM H2O2, or were subjected to 100 microM ZnSO4 together with 100 or 200 microM H2O2. Metallothionein-A (MTA) and metallothionein-B (MTB) mRNA levels were increased after treatment with zinc or H2O2, separately or in combination. Similarly, mRNA for glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) were increased in response to either zinc or H2O2, or after sequential treatments with zinc followed by H2O2. The stimulatory effects of zinc or H2O2 on MTA, MTB, GST, and G6PD mRNA levels could be blocked by addition of the membrane permeable zinc chelator, N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN), suggesting that H2O2-induced upregulation of these genes is zinc-dependent. Pretreatment with zinc protected the cells from subsequent cell damage and apoptosis, as assessed by lactate dehydrogenase leakage, mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity (MTT assay), caspase-3 activity, and DNA fragmentation. In contrast, when gill cells were coincubated with zinc and H2O2 at the same time, H2O2 toxicity was higher than after treatment with H2O2 alone. It is concluded that zinc had a direct pro-oxidant effect when administered together with H2O2, but that pretreatment of zinc inhibited cytotoxicity and apoptosis through an indirect antioxidant action. We propose that the antioxidant action is manifested through zinc-dependent expression of several genes encoding antioxidant proteins (e.g., MTA, MTB, G6PD, and GST). Furthermore, the apparent zinc-dependency of H2O2-induced expression of antioxidant genes suggests that zinc might act as a physiological signal to mediate the response to oxidative stress.
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PMID:ZINC-mediated gene expression offers protection against H2O2-induced cytotoxicity. 1592 8

The proapoptotic effect of cisplatin bile acid derivatives Bamet-R2 [cis-diamminechloro-cholylglycinate-platinum(II)] and Bamet-UD2 [cis-diammine-bisursodeoxycholate-platinum(II)], developed to treat liver and intestinal tumors, was investigated in vitro using human enterohepatic cells HepG2 (hepatoblastoma), LS 174T (colon adenocarcinoma), and its cisplatin-resistant subline LS 174T/R. Uptake by wild-type tumor cells was higher for Bamets than for cisplatin. In LS 174T/R cells, copper transporter-1 was down-regulated and multidrug resistance-associated protein-2 was up-regulated. Consequently, uptake and efflux of cisplatin, but not those of Bamets, were reduced and increased, respectively. The degree of necrosis (lactate dehydrogenase release) induced by these three drugs was small and similar in all cell types. In contrast, proapoptotic effect (caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation) was Bamet-UD2 > cisplatin > Bamet-R2 in HepG2 and LS 174T cells, but Bamet-UD2 > Bamet-R2 >> cisplatin in LS 174T/R cells. This effect was consistent with the ability of these compounds to form DNA-adducts (DNA-platination, changes in the DNA melting temperature, and MspI-induced restriction sequence cleavage). Oral administration of Bamet-UD2 to mice induced mild apoptosis in the small intestine (ileum > duodenum), which was not severe enough to modify its structure or function as determined by water absorption and glycocholic acid uptake by in situ perfused ileum. These results indicate that Bamet-UD2 overcomes the resistance to cisplatin when this is due in part to enhanced ability of intestinal tumors to reduce intracellular cisplatin contents. Moreover, its strong proapoptotic versus its weak pronecrotic effect together with its mild effect on normal tissues, including intestinal mucosa, may account for the high antitumor activity of Bamet-UD2 together with its very low toxicity.
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PMID:Proapoptotic effect on normal and tumor intestinal cells of cytostatic drugs with enterohepatic organotropism. 1598 17

The purpose of this study is to determine if calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase-II (CaMKII) plays a role in neuronal cell death and if inhibition of this kinase affords some neuroprotection in the RGC-5 retinal ganglion cell line. The RGC-5 cells were treated with glutamate at various concentrations for increasing increments of time. Cytotoxicity was assayed by measuring the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage from non-viable cells and TUNEL assays. The involvement of caspase-3, Bcl-2 and caspase-8 in glutamate-induced cytotoxicity was determined by immunoblots and/or real time RT-PCR. In addition, the autocamtide-2-related inhibitory peptide (AIP), a specific inhibitor of CaMKII, was used to determine the involvement of CaMKII in glutamate-induced RGC-5 cell death. Application of increasing concentrations of glutamate to RGC-5 cells caused a dose-dependent increase in the level of cell death after 24 h. There was a glutamate-stimulated increase in the expression of caspase-8 and caspase-3 and a corresponding decrease in Bcl-2. The active fragment of caspase-3 increased in glutamate-treated cells. An early transient increase in the expression of CaMKIIalpha(B) gene and a corresponding CaMKIIalpha nuclear translocation was found in glutamate-treated cells. Treatment with AIP blocked the activation of caspase-3 and protected RGC from glutamate-mediated cell death but did not alter the glutamate-enhanced expression levels of caspase-8 or caspase-3. This report shows the likely involvement of a transcript of the CaMKIIalpha gene in the cytotoxicity response of RGC-5 cells similar to previous reports in the neural retina. AIP is shown to be a neuroprotectant for RGC-5 cells as was reported for the neural retina.
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PMID:Retinal ganglion cell death and neuroprotection: Involvement of the CaMKIIalpha gene. 1602 57


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