Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.22.61 (caspase-8)
6,833 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Apoptosis mediated by anticancer drugs may involve activation of death-inducing ligand/receptor systems such as CD95 (APO-1/Fas), cleavage of caspases, and perturbance of mitochondrial functions. We investigated the sequence of these events in SHEP neuroblastoma cells transfected with Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) using two different drugs, namely, doxorubicin (Doxo), which activates the CD95/CD95 ligand (CD95-L) system, and betulinic acid (Bet A), which does not enhance the expression of CD95 or CD95-L and which, as shown here, directly targets mitochondria. Apoptosis induced by both drugs was inhibited by Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) overexpression or by bongkrekic acid, an agent that stabilizes mitochondrial membrane barrier function, suggesting a critical role for mitochondria. After Doxo treatment, enhanced CD95/CD95-L expression and caspase-8 activation were not blocked by Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) and were found in cells with a mitochondrial transmembrane potential (delta psi(m)) that was still normal (delta psi(m)high cells). In marked contrast, after Bet A treatment, caspase-8 activation occurred in a Bcl-2- or Bcl-X(L)-inhibitable fashion and was confined to cells that had lost their delta psi(m) (delta psi(m)low cells). Mitochondria from cells treated with either Doxo or Bet A induced cleavage of both caspase-8 and caspase-3 in cytosolic extracts. Thus, caspase-8 activation may occur upstream or downstream of mitochondria, depending on the apoptosis-initiating stimulus. In contrast to caspase-8, cleavage of caspase-3 or poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase was always restricted to delta psi(m)low cells, downstream of the Bcl-2- or Bcl-X(L)-controlled checkpoint of apoptosis. Cytochrome c, released from mitochondria undergoing permeability transition, activated caspase-3 but not caspase-8 in a cell-free system. However, both caspases were activated by apoptosis-inducing factor, indicating that the mechanism of caspase-8 activation differed from that of caspase-3 activation. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that perturbance of mitochondrial function constitutes a central coordinating event in drug-induced cell death.
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PMID:Molecular ordering of apoptosis induced by anticancer drugs in neuroblastoma cells. 976 78

Different classes of anticancer drugs may trigger apoptosis by acting on different subcellular targets and by activating distinct signaling pathways. Here, we report that betulinic acid (BetA) is a prototype cytotoxic agent that triggers apoptosis by a direct effect on mitochondria. In isolated mitochondria, BetA directly induces loss of transmembrane potential independent of a benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone-inhibitable caspase. This is inhibited by bongkrekic acid, an agent that stabilizes the permeability transition pore complex. Mitochondria undergoing BetA-induced permeability transition mediate cleavage of caspase-8 (FLICE/MACH/Mch5) and caspase-3 (CPP32/Yama) in a cell-free system. Soluble factors such as cytochrome c or apoptosis-inducing factor released from BetA-treated mitochondria are sufficient for cleavage of caspases and nuclear fragmentation. Addition of cytochrome c to cytosolic extracts results in cleavage of caspase-3, but not of caspase-8. However, supernatants of mitochondria, which have undergone permeability transition, and partially purified apoptosis-inducing factor activate both caspase-8 and caspase-3 in cytosolic extracts and suffice to activate recombinant caspase-8. These findings show that induction of mitochondrial permeability transition alone is sufficient to trigger the full apoptosis program and that some cytotoxic drugs such as BetA may induce apoptosis via a direct effect on mitochondria.
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PMID:Activation of mitochondria and release of mitochondrial apoptogenic factors by betulinic acid. 985 46

Dolichyl monophosphate (Dol-P) has been found to induce apoptosis in human leukemia U937 cells. During this apoptotic execution, the increase of plasma membrane fluidity (5-20 min), caspase-3-like protease activation (2-4 h), chromatin condensation and DNA ladder formation (3-4 h) were observed successively. Here, we report that reduction in mitochondrial transmembrane potential and translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) are early events (1-3 h) in the apoptotic process induced by Dol-P in U937 cells. The AIF was concentrated around nuclei and partly translocated to the nuclei, which was confirmed by immunocytochemistry using specific anti-AIF antibody. Both caspase-8 and caspase-3 inhibitors blocked only DNA fragmentation but not mitochondrial processes, AIF migration and chromatin condensation. These results indicate that mitochondrial changes are an early step in the apoptosis induced by Dol-P and AIF is one of the important factors which induce chromatin condensation in nuclei.
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PMID:Involvement of apoptosis-inducing factor during dolichyl monophosphate-induced apoptosis in U937 cells. 1103 28

Jurkat leukemic T cells are highly sensitive to the extrinsic pathways of apoptosis induced via the death receptor Fas or tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand as well as to the intrinsic/mitochondrial pathways of death induced by VP-16 or staurosporin. We report here that clonal Jurkat cell lines selected for resistance to Fas-induced apoptosis were cross-resistant to VP-16 or staurosporin. Each of the apoptotic pathways was blocked at an apical phase, where common regulators of apoptosis have not yet been defined. The Fas pathway was blocked at the level of caspase-8, whereas the intrinsic pathway was blocked at the mitochondria. No processing or activity of caspases was detected in resistant cells in response to either Fas-cross-linking or VP-16 treatment. Also, no apoptosis-associated alterations in the mitochondrial inner membrane, outer membrane, or matrix were detected in resistant Jurkat cells treated with VP-16. Thus, no changes in permeability transition, loss in inner membrane cardiolipin, generation of reactive oxygen species, or release of cytochrome c were observed in resistant cells treated with VP-16. Further, unlike purified mitochondria from wild type cells, those obtained from resistant cells did not release cytochrome c or apoptosis-inducing factor in response to recombinant Bax or truncated Bid. These results identify a defect in mitochondria ability to release intermembrane proteins in response to Bid or Bax as a mechanism of resistance to chemotherapeuetic drugs. Further, the selection of VP-16-resistant mitochondria via elimination of Fas-susceptible cells may suggest the existence of a shared regulatory component between the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of apoptosis.
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PMID:Apoptosis-resistant mitochondria in T cells selected for resistance to Fas signaling. 1106 43

Skin-stage schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni were found to secrete molecules that are pro-apoptotic for skin T lymphocytes as measured by annexin V staining, caspase-3 activity, caspase-8 activities, and DNA fragmentation. Caspase-8 activities in lymphocytes peaked approximately 8 h and caspase-3 activity peaked approximately 16 h after exposure to the parasite secretions. Subset analysis showed that mainly CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells (but not B cells) were susceptible to the parasite-induced pro-apoptotic effect. In situ staining confirmed the presence of apoptotic T cells around challenge parasites in the skin of naive or immunized animals. Analysis of T cells to identify the potential molecular pathway of the parasite-induced apoptosis showed increases in the expression of Fas, FasL, and the Fas-associated death domain. Blocking of FasL with a fusion protein reversed the parasite-induced apoptosis, suggesting a role for the Fas/FasL-mediated pathway in the parasite-induced T cell apoptosis. Subsequent analyses of the secretions of skin-stage schistosomula identified the pro-apoptotic activity as being associated with a protein of approximately 23 kDa. This protein was termed S. mansoni-derived apoptosis-inducing factor.
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PMID:Skin-stage schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni produce an apoptosis-inducing factor that can cause apoptosis of T cells. 1210 58

The protein kinase C (PKC) signal transduction pathway negatively regulates receptor-initiated cell death. In HeLa cells, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF)-mediated cell death involved mitochondria and was blocked by the overexpression of Bcl-2. The PKC-specific inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide and the PKCdelta inhibitor rottlerin enhanced TNF-induced cell death. We have investigated if potentiation of TNF-induced cell death by rottlerin involved amplification of the mitochondrial pathway. TNF induced cleavage of the proapoptotic protein Bid and release of mitochondrial cytochrome c. Rottlerin enhanced activation of caspase-8 and cleavage of Bid. It also enhanced activation of caspase-9 but it did not increase cytochrome c in the cytosol. It, however, increased release of mitochondrial apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) to the cytosol. Overexpression of Bcl-2 prevented release of both cytochrome c and AIF to the cytosol. Prolonged exposure (> or =6 h) of HeLa cells to rottlerin and TNF decreased the level of cytochrome c but not of AIF in the cytosol. These results suggest that rottlerin activates a cytochrome-c-independent cell death pathway to potentiate cell death by TNF.
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PMID:Potentiation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced cell death by rottlerin through a cytochrome-C-independent pathway. 1216 76

Chlorophyllin (CHL), an antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic water-soluble derivative of chlorophyll, was recently found to be highly effective as a chemopreventive agent in a high-risk population exposed unavoidably to aflatoxin B(1) in the diet (P. A. Egner et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 98: 14601-14606, 2001). The current study examined the response of HCT116 human colon cancer cells to CHL treatment. Cells exposed to concentrations in the range 0.0625-0.5 mM CHL underwent growth arrest and apoptosis after 24 h, with the formation of a sub-G(1) peak in the attached cell population and nuclear condensation in the floating cell population. There was a concentration-dependent attenuation of mitochondrial membrane potential (deltapsi(m)) without the release of cytochrome c or activation of the caspase-9/caspase-3/poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase pathway. However, apoptosis-inducing factor was released from mitochondria into the cytosol and translocated to the nucleus, leading to concentration-dependent cleavage of nuclear lamins. The upstream mediators of this CHL-induced apoptosis pathway were identified as caspase-8/caspase-6 and truncated Bid, acting in conjunction with other proapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family, such as Bak. These findings suggest that CHL might trigger apoptosis via interaction with putative "death receptors" in the plasma membrane of cancer cells, leading to initial cleavage of procaspase-8 and activation of subsequent downstream events, resulting in the destruction of nuclear lamins. Importantly, E-cadherin and alkaline phosphatase, which are indicators of cell differentiation, were strongly induced at all concentrations of CHL. Thus, in addition to being an effective blocking agent during the initiation phase, these findings support a role for CHL as a suppressing agent and as a possible novel therapeutic strategy directed toward aberrant cell proliferation in the colon.
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PMID:Caspase-8 and apoptosis-inducing factor mediate a cytochrome c-independent pathway of apoptosis in human colon cancer cells induced by the dietary phytochemical chlorophyllin. 1264 85

Focal ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) results in necrosis at the infarct core and activation of complex signal pathways for cell death and cell survival in the penumbra. Recent studies have shown activation of the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of caspase-mediated cell death, as well as activation of the caspase-independent signaling pathway of apoptosis in several paradigms of focal cerebral ischemia by transient MCAO to adult rats and mice. The extrinsic pathway (cell-death receptor pathway) is initiated by activation of the Fas receptor after binding to the Fas ligand (Fas-L); increased Fas and Fas-L expression has been shown following focal ischemia. Moreover, focal ischemia is greatly reduced in mice expressing mutated (nonfunctional) Fas. Increased expression of caspase-1, -3, -8, and -9, and of cleaved caspase-8, has been observed in the penumbra. Activation of the intrinsic (mitochondrial) pathway following focal ischemia is triggered by Bax translocation to and competition with Bcl-2 and other members of the Bcl-2 family in the mitochondria membrane that is followed by cytochrome c release to the cytosol. Bcl-2 over-expression reduces infarct size. Cytochrome c binds to Apaf-1 and dATP and recruits and cleaves pro-caspase-9 in the apoptosome. Both caspase-8 and caspase-9 activate caspase-3, among other caspases, which in turn cleave several crucial substrates, including the DNA-repairing enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), into fragments of 89 and 28 kDa. Inhibition of caspase-3 reduces the infarct size, further supporting caspase-3 activation following transient MCAO. In addition, caspase-8 cleaves Bid, the truncated form of which has the capacity to translocate to the mitochondria and induce cytochrome c release. The volume of brain infarct is greatly reduced in Bid-deficient mice, thus indicating activation of the mitochondrial pathway by cell-death receptors following focal ischemia. Recent studies have shown the mitochondrial release of other factors; Smac/DIABLO (Smac: second mitochondrial activator of caspases: DIABLO: direct IAP binding protein with low pI) binds to and neutralizes the effects of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP). Finally, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) translocates to the mitochondria and the nucleus following focal ischemia and produces peripheral chromatin condensation and large-scale DNA strands, thus leading to the caspase-independent cell death pathway of apoptosis. Delineation of the pro-apoptotic and pro-survival signals in the penumbra may not only increase understanding of the process but also help to rationalize strategies geared to reducing brain damage targeted at the periphery of the infarct core.
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PMID:Signaling of cell death and cell survival following focal cerebral ischemia: life and death struggle in the penumbra. 1272 25

(1) Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) antagonist, which is able to induce apoptosis in tumor cells independently of PPAR-gamma in caspase-dependent and -independent manners. Additionally, BADGE promotes TRAIL-induced apoptosis. (2) We report that BADGE activates via Bax and caspases-2 and -8 both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways using Bid as a shunt. (3) BADGE stimulates the mitochondrial release of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), cytochrome c and second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase/direct IAP-binding protein with low pl (Smac/DIABLO). The release of cytochrome c could not be blocked by inhibitors of caspases-3, -8 and -9 indicating that BADGE acts upstream of caspases-3 and -9 and does not involve caspase-8 to release cytochrome c. (4) While the caspase-independent apoptotic effect might be mediated by AIF, the sensitizing effect of BADGE against other apoptotic substances is most likely mediated by the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis inhibitor Smac/DIABLO. (5) Our data suggest that BADGE or BADGE derivatives could represent promising substances for the treatment of neoplasms improving the antitumoral activity of TRAIL.
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PMID:Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether-induced apoptosis involves Bax/Bid-dependent mitochondrial release of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO. 1278 9

Cephalostatin 1 is a bis-steroidal marine natural product with a unique cytotoxicity profile in the in vitro screen system of the National Cancer Institute, suggesting that it may affect novel molecular target(s). Here we show that cephalostatin 1 induces a novel pathway of receptor-independent apoptosis that selectively uses Smac/DIABLO (second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases/direct inhibitor of apoptosis-binding protein with a low isoelectric point) as a mitochondrial signaling molecule. At nanomolar concentrations, cephalostatin 1 triggers dose- and time-dependent DNA fragmentation in leukemia Jurkat T cells. Apoptosis was found to be dependent on caspase activity because the pan-caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethylketone blocks cephalostatin 1-mediated DNA fragmentation. The CD95 death receptor as well as other caspase-8-requiring death receptors were not involved because Jurkat T cells lacking the CD95 receptor or caspase-8 and control cells responded equally to cephalostatin 1. Although cephalostatin 1 affects mitochondria by dissipating the mitochondrial membrane potential, neither cytochrome c nor apoptosis-inducing factor is released, as shown by Western blot analysis. Interestingly, cephalostatin 1 selectively triggers the mitochondrial release of the inhibitor of apoptosis antagonist Smac/DIABLO. Overexpression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-x(L) delayed both Smac/DIABLO release and onset of apoptosis, suggesting that Smac/DIABLO is required for cephalostatin 1-induced apoptosis. This new mitochondrial pathway is accompanied by marked structural changes of mitochondria as shown by transmission electron microscopy.
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PMID:Cephalostatin 1 selectively triggers the release of Smac/DIABLO and subsequent apoptosis that is characterized by an increased density of the mitochondrial matrix. 1469 4


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