Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0017638 (glioma)
30,880 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Apoptosis is not only essential for homeostasis in normal cells but also in cancer cells, in which it is associated with cell death mechanisms caused by novel therapeutics. We have previously reported that interleukin-13 receptors (IL-13R) are constitutively overexpressed on a majority of human malignant glioma cell lines and primary cell cultures. In addition, we have reported that IL-13 cytotoxin, comprised of human IL-13 and a mutated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin, is highly and specifically cytotoxic to these cells and can lead to pronounced antitumor activity in malignant glioma tumors in animal models. However, the molecular mechanisms of tumor cytotoxicity induced by IL-13 cytotoxin are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that glioma tumors undergo apoptotic cell death on intratumoral administration of IL-13 cytotoxin. This conclusion was made based on (a) time-dependent induction of several proapoptotic molecules, such as caspases (caspase-3, -8, and -9) in tumors; (b) cleavage of procaspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP); and (c) the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to the cytosol on injection of IL-13 cytotoxin in U251 glioblastoma tumors established in immunodeficient animals. These indicators of two major pathways of apoptosis were detected in tumors even though IL-13 cytotoxin was no longer present in tumors. In addition, we found that inducible nitric oxide was expressed in tumors in a time-dependent manner with primary localization in infiltrating phagocytes after treatment with IL-13 cytotoxin. These studies demonstrate that IL-13 cytotoxin mediates apoptotic death of glioma cells, resulting in regression of established tumors. Our studies will help unravel the molecular pathways of cell death associated with tumor regression and provide additional insight and define apoptosis as possible surrogate marker of tumor response.
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PMID:Intratumor administration of interleukin 13 receptor-targeted cytotoxin induces apoptotic cell death in human malignant glioma tumor xenografts. 1248 22

Flavopiridol is a synthetic flavone, which inhibits growth in vitro and in vivo of several solid malignancies such as renal, prostate, and colon cancers. It is a potent cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor presently in clinical trials. In this study, we examined the effect of flavopiridol on a panel of glioma cell lines having different genetic profiles: five of six have codeletion of p16(INK4a) and p14(ARF); three of six have p53 mutations; and one of six shows overexpression of mouse double minute-2 (MDM2) protein. Independent of retinoblastoma and p53 tumor suppressor pathway alterations, flavopiridol induced apoptosis in all cell lines but through a caspase-independent mechanism. No cleavage products for caspase 3 or its substrate poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase or caspase 8 were detected. The pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk did not inhibit flavopiridol-induced apoptosis. Mitochondrial damage measured by cytochrome c release and transmission electron microscopy was not observed in drug-treated glioma cells. In contrast, flavopiridol treatment induced translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor from the mitochondria to the nucleus. The proteins cyclin D(1) and MDM2 involved in the regulation of retinoblastoma and p53 activity, respectively, were down-regulated early after flavopiridol treatment. Given that MDM2 protein can confer oncogenic properties under certain circumstances, loss of MDM2 expression in tumor cells could promote increased chemosensitivity. After drug treatment, a low Bcl-2/Bax ratio was observed, a condition that may favor apoptosis. Taken together, the data indicate that flavopiridol has activity against glioma cell lines in vitro and should be considered for clinical development in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.
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PMID:Flavopiridol induces apoptosis in glioma cell lines independent of retinoblastoma and p53 tumor suppressor pathway alterations by a caspase-independent pathway. 1258 31

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most challenging solid cancers to treat due to its highly proliferative, angiogenic and invasive nature. The small molecule CDK inhibitor, flavopiridol, has demonstrated antitumor activity in human xenograft models and is currently in clinical trials showing efficacy in patients with advanced disease. We have developed an experimental animal model using the murine glioma GL261 cells as a novel in vivo system to screen potential therapeutic agents for GBM. Results of in vitro testing demonstrate that flavopiridol has several relevant clinical characteristics such as its ability to: 1. inhibit cell growth; 2. inhibit cell migration; 3. decrease expression of cyclin D1, CDK4 and p21; 4. induce apoptosis in cells with high levels of p27 expression; and 5. decrease the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. The mechanism by which flavopiridol induces apoptosis is mitochondrial-mediated. We demonstrate by electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry that drug treatment induces mitochondrial damage that was accompanied by the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol together with the translocation of apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) into the nucleus. This finding in murine glioma cells differs from the mechanism of flavopiridolinduced cell death reported by us for human glioma cells (Alonso et al., Mol Cancer Ther 2003; 2:139) where drug treatment induced a caspase- and cytochrome c-independent pathway in the absence of detectable damage to mitochondria. In apoptotic human glioma cells only translocation of AIF into the nucleus occurred. Thus, the same drug kills different types of glioma cells by different mitochondrial-dependent pathways.
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PMID:Flavopiridol induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in murine glioma GL261 cells via release of cytochrome c and apoptosis inducing factor. 1273 34

Hypoxia induces apoptosis in primary and transformed cells and in various tumor cell lines in vitro. In contrast, there is little apoptosis and predominant necrosis despite extensive hypoxia in human glioblastomas in vivo. We here characterize ultrastructural and biochemical features of cell death in LN-229, LN-18 and U87MG malignant glioma cells in a paradigm of hypoxia with partial glucose deprivation in vitro. Electron microscopic analysis of hypoxia-challenged glioma cells demonstrated early stages of apoptosis but predominant necrosis. ATP levels declined during hypoxia, but recovered with re-exposure to normoxic conditions unless hypoxia exceeded 8 h. Longer hypoxic exposure resulted in irreversible ATP depletion and delayed cell death. Hypoxia induced mitochondrial release of cytochrome c, but there was no cleavage of caspases 3, 7, 8 or 9, and no DNA fragmentation. Ectopic expression of BCL-XL conferred protection from hypoxia-induced cell death, whereas the overexpression of the antiapoptotic proteins X-linked-inhibitor-of-apoptosis-protein and cytokine response modifier-A had no effect. These findings suggest that glioma cells resist adverse effects of hypoxia until energy stores are depleted and then undergo necrosis rather than apoptosis because of energy deprivation.
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PMID:Hypoxia-induced cell death in human malignant glioma cells: energy deprivation promotes decoupling of mitochondrial cytochrome c release from caspase processing and necrotic cell death. 1281 65

Death receptor-mediated apoptosis of human malignant glioma cells triggered by CD95 ligand (CD95L) or Apo2 ligand/tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (Apo2L/TRAIL) share several features, including processing of multiple caspases and mitochondrial cytochrome c release. We here report that CD95L-induced cell death is inhibited by sulfasalazine (SS) in all of four human glioma cell lines, both in the absence and presence of cycloheximide (CHX). Coexposure to CD95L and SS prevents the CD95L-evoked processing of caspases 2, 3, 8 and 9, the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and the loss of BCL-x(L) protein. This places the protective effect of SS proximal to most known events triggered by the CD95-dependent signaling pathway in glioma cells. CD95L promotes the accumulation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) in the nucleus and induces the DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaB assessed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The total levels of p50, p65 and IkappaBalpha remain unchanged, but the levels of phosphorylated IkappaBalpha and of nuclear p65 increase, in response to CD95L. IkappaBalpha phosphorylation as well as nuclear NF-kappaB translocation and DNA binding are blocked by SS. However, unlike SS, dominant-negative IkappaBalpha (IkappaBdn) does not block apoptosis, suggesting that SS inhibits CD95L-mediated apoptosis in an NF-kappaB-independent manner. In contrast to CD95L, the cytotoxic effects of Apo2L/TRAIL are enhanced by SS, and SS facilitates Apo2L/TRAIL-evoked caspase processing, cytochrome c release, and nuclear translocation of p65. These effects of SS are nullified in the presence of CHX, suggesting that the effects of SS and CHX are redundant or that enhanced apoptosis mediated by SS requires protein synthesis. IkappaBdn fails to modulate Apo2L/TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Similar effects of SS on CD95L- and Apo2L/TRAIL-induced apoptosis are observed in MCF-7 breast and HCT116 colon carcinoma cells. Interestingly, HCT cells lacking p21 (80S14(p21-/-)) are only slightly protected by SS from CD95L-induced apoptosis, but sensitized to Apo2L/TRAIL-induced apoptosis, indicating a link between the actions of SS and p21. Thus, SS modulates the death cascades triggered by CD95L and Apo2L/TRAIL in opposite directions in an NF-kappaB-independent manner, and SS may be a promising agent for the augmentation of Apo2L/TRAIL-based cancer therapies.
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PMID:NF-kappaB-independent actions of sulfasalazine dissociate the CD95L- and Apo2L/TRAIL-dependent death signaling pathways in human malignant glioma cells. 1293 82

Glioblastoma is a lethal neoplasm resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Natural born killer (NBK), also known as Bcl-2-interacting killer (BIK), is a death-promoting Bcl-2 family protein sharing with Bcl-2 only the Bcl homology 3 (BH3) domain. We here report that an adenoviral vector encoding NBK (Ad-NBK) uniformly induces cell death in 12 human malignant glioma cell lines. Ad-NBK-induced cell death involves neither quantitative mitochondrial cytochrome c release nor caspase 8, 9, 7, or 3 processing and is unaffected by the viral caspase inhibitor, cytokine response modifier A (CRM-A), or selective caspase 8 or 9 inhibitors. In contrast, Ad-NBK-induced cell death is inhibited by the broad-range caspase inhibitor, zVAD-fmk, or by adenoviral gene transfer of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP). Further, Ad-NBK-induced cell death is inhibited by Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL gene transfer. Interestingly, Bcl-2- and Bcl-xL-transfected glioma cells, which are partially protected from Ad-NBK-induced cell death, accumulate much higher levels of NBK than are ever observed in control-infected cells. This indicates that complex formation with Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL sequesters NBK in an inactive form and that free NBK, rather than an NBK-mediated depletion of free antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, is the proximate mediator of Ad-NBK-induced cell death. Conversely, proteasome inhibition-mediated accumulation of NBK strongly enhances Ad-NBK-induced cell death. Finally, Ad-NBK-infected LN-229 glioma cells are not tumorigenic in nude mice. Thus Ad-NBK triggers an XIAP- and zVAD-fmk-sensitive cell death pathway in glioma cells with potential therapeutic value, provided that NBK expression can be selectively targeted to cancer cells.
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PMID:Adenoviral natural born killer gene therapy for malignant glioma. 1295 95

We had earlier shown that higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) induced p53-dependent apoptosis in glioma cell line with wild type p53 but had minimal effect on cells with mutated p53. Here we show a potentiating effect of hydroxylamine (HA), an inhibitor of catalase, on a nontoxic dose of H(2)O(2) in glioma cells. HA sensitized both p53 wild type and mutated glioma cells to 0.25 mM H(2)O(2). Potentiating effect of HA was independent of p53. Higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were observed in cells treated with HA+H(2)O(2) as compared to cells treated with each component alone in both the cell lines. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) protected cells. Cytosolic cytochrome c and activated caspase 3 were detected at 4h. The results suggest that higher levels of intracellular ROS, generated by HA+H(2)O(2) act as a molecular switch in activating a rapidly acting p53-independent mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.
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PMID:Hydroxylamine potentiates the effect of low dose hydrogen peroxide in glioma cells independent of p53. 1296 3

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), an active component of propolis, has many biological and pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammation, antiviral action, and anticancer effect. Our previous studies showed that CAPE exhibited significant cytotoxicity in oral cancer cells. Herein we further investigated the cytotoxicity potential of CAPE and the mechanism of its action in C6 glioma cells. The data exhibited that C6 glioma cells underwent internucleosomal DNA fragmentation 24 hr after the treatment of CAPE (50 microM). The proportion of C6 glioma cells with hypodiploid nuclei was increased to 24% at 36 hr after the exposure. Further results showed that CAPE induced the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into cytosol, and the activation of CPP32. CAPE application also enhanced the expression of p53, Bax, and Bak. Finally, the potential signaling components underlying CAPE induction of apoptosis were elucidated. We found that CAPE activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERKs) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in C6 glioma cells. More importantly, p38 kinase formed a complex with p53 after the treatment of CAPE for 0.5 hr. The expression of p53, phospho-serine 15 of p53, and Bax, and inactivate form of CPP32 was suppressed by a pretreatment of a specific p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580. The resultant data suggest that p38 MAPK mediated the CAPE-induced p53-dependent apoptosis in C6 glioma cells.
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PMID:Involvement of tumor suppressor protein p53 and p38 MAPK in caffeic acid phenethyl ester-induced apoptosis of C6 glioma cells. 1463 86

The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, facilitates apoptosis during development and after injury to the CNS. The signaling cascades activated by p75NTR that result in apoptosis remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that overexpression of p75NTR in primary cortical neurons, in pheochromocytoma cell line (PC12) cells, and in glioma cells results in activation of Jun kinase (JNK), accumulation of cytochrome c within the cytosol, and activation of caspases 9, 6, and 3. To link p75NTR-dependent JNK activation to mitochondrial cytochrome c release, regulation of BH3-domain-only family members was examined. Transcription of BH3-domain-only family members was not induced by p75NTR, but p75NTR-dependent JNK activation resulted in phosphorylation and oligomerization of the BH3-domain-only family member Bad. Loss of function experiments using Bad dominant negatives or RNA interference demonstrated a requirement for Bad in p75NTR-induced apoptosis. Together, these studies provide the first data linking apoptosis induced by p75NTR to the phosphorylation of BH3-domain-only family members.
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PMID:Apoptosis induced by p75NTR overexpression requires Jun kinase-dependent phosphorylation of Bad. 1467 1

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and neurodegenerative diseases affecting both neuronal and glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS). The tumor suppressor protein p53 plays a pivotal function in neuronal apoptosis triggered by oxidative stress. We investigated the role of p53 and related molecular mechanisms that support oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in glia. For this purpose, we exposed C6 glioma cells and primary cultures of rat cortical astrocytes to an H(2)O(2)-induced oxidative stress protocol followed by a recovery period. We evaluated the effects of pifithrin-alpha (PF-alpha), which has been reported to protect neurons from ischemic insult by specifically inhibiting p53 DNA-binding activity. Strikingly, PF-alpha was unable to prevent oxidative stress-induced astrocyte apoptosis. We demonstrate that p53 is able to mediate an apoptotic response by direct signaling at mitochondria, despite its transcriptional activity. The z-VAD-fmk-sensitive apoptotic response requires a caspase-dependent MDM-2 degradation, leading to p53 mitochondrial targeting accompanied by cytochrome c release and nucleosomal fragmentation.
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PMID:Oxidative stress induces p53-mediated apoptosis in glia: p53 transcription-independent way to die. 1468 51


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