Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.22.62 (caspase-9)
 7,507 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The tyrphostin AG957 (NSC 654705) inhibits p210bcr/abl, the transforming kinase responsible for most cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The present studies were performed to determine the fate of AG957-treated cells and assess the selectivity of AG957 for CML myeloid progenitors. When K562 cells (derived from a patient with blast crisis CML) were treated with AG957, dose- and time-dependent p210bc/abl down-regulation was followed by mitochondrial release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and apoptotic morphological changes. These apoptotic changes were inhibited by transfection with cDNA encoding dominant negative caspase-9 but not dominant-negative FADD or blocking anti-Fas antibodies. In additional experiments, a 24-h AG957 exposure caused dose-dependent inhibition of K562 colony formation in soft agar. To extend these studies to clinical samples of CML, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 10 chronic phase CML patients and normal controls were assayed for the growth of hematopoietic colonies in vitro in the presence of increasing concentrations of AG957. These assays demonstrated selectivity of AG957 for CML progenitors, with median IC50s (CML versus normal) of 7.3 versus >20 microM AG957 in granulocyte colony-forming cells (P < 0.001), 5.3 versus >20 microM in granulocyte/macrophage colony-forming cells (P < 0.05), and 15.5 versus > 20 microM in erythroid colony-forming cells (P > 0.05). The adamantyl ester of AG957 (NSC 680410) down-regulated p210bcr/abl in K562 cells and inhibited granulocyte colony formation in CML specimens at lower concentrations without enhanced toxicity in normal progenitors. These observations not only demonstrate that AG957-induced p210bcr/abl down-regulation is followed by activation of the cytochrome c/Apaf-1/caspase-9 pathway but also indicate that this class of kinase inhibitor exhibits selectivity worthy of further evaluation.
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PMID:Effects of the bcr/abl kinase inhibitors AG957 and NSC 680410 on chronic myelogenous leukemia cells in vitro. 1065 55

Bcr-Abl-expressing primary or cultured leukemia cells display high levels of the antiapoptotic heat shock protein (hsp) 70 and are resistant to cytarabine (Ara-C), etoposide, or Apo-2L/TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand)-induced apoptosis. Conversely, a stable expression of the cDNA of hsp70 in the reverse orientation attenuated not only hsp70 but also signal transducers and activators of transcription 5 (STAT5) and Bcl-x(L) levels. This increased apoptosis induced by cytarabine, etoposide, or Apo-2L/TRAIL. Ectopic expression of hsp70 in HL-60 cells (HL-60/hsp70) inhibited Ara-C and etoposide-induced Bax conformation change and translocation to the mitochondria; attenuated the accumulation of cytochrome c, Smac, and Omi/HtrA2 in the cytosol; and inhibited the processing and activity of caspase-9 and caspase-3. Hsp70 was bound to death receptors 4 and 5 (DR4 and DR5) and inhibited Apo-2L/TRAIL-induced assembly and activity of the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC). HL-60/hsp70 cells exhibited increased levels and DNA binding activity of STAT5, which was associated with high levels of Pim-2 and Bcl-x(L) and resistance to apoptosis. Expression of the dominant negative (DN) STAT5 resensitized HL-60/hsp70 cells to cytarabine, etoposide, and Apo-2L/TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Collectively, these findings suggest that hsp70 inhibits apoptosis upstream and downstream of the mitochondria and is a promising therapeutic target for reversing drug-resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia-blast crisis and acute myeloid leukemia cells.
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PMID:Mechanistic role of heat shock protein 70 in Bcr-Abl-mediated resistance to apoptosis in human acute leukemia cells. 1538 81

Resistance to imatinib can occur in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). In this study, we report mechanisms of action of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, depsipeptide (FK228) in BCR/ABL-expressing cell lines and its effectiveness in imatinib-resistant cells from patients with blast crisis of CML. FK228 potently induced apoptosis of TF-1 BCR/ABL, K562, and H7 BCR/ABL cells. We found that histone H4, BCR/ABL, heat shock protein 90 (HSP-90), p53, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), paxillin, and retinoblastoma protein (Rb) were acetylated in the treated cells. Cells were also blocked in G(2)/M phase of the cell cycle and activity of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) was blocked, but p38MAPK (p38) was activated. Inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) were suppressed, and common results of apoptotic induction were observed, such as caspase-3, caspase-9, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation. Although p38 was phosphorylated after FK228 treatment, histone H4 acetylation, caspase-3 activation, and apoptosis were not inhibited by treatment with the p38 inhibitor SB203580. We also found that human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) ShRNA-transfected cells demonstrated decreased FK228-induced apoptosis. Of clinical relevance, FK228-induced apoptosis of imatinib-resistant primary cells from patients with CML, who had progressed to blast crisis (BC) while receiving therapy with imatinib. In conclusion, FK228 potently induces apoptosis of CML cells by acetylation and degradation of BCR/ABL protein. Our study suggests how FK228 may mediate its effects on imatinib-resistant CML cells.
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PMID:Depsipeptide (FK228) preferentially induces apoptosis in BCR/ABL-expressing cell lines and cells from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in blast crisis. 1761 Mar 80