Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019158 (hepatitis)
 30,205 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Caspase-3 is essential for Fas-mediated apoptosis in vitro. We investigated the role of caspase-3 in Fas-mediated cell death in vivo by injecting caspase-3-deficient mice with agonistic anti-Fas Ab. Wild-type controls died rapidly of fulminant hepatitis, whereas the survival of caspase-3-/- mice was increased due to a delay in hepatocyte cell death. Bcl-2 expression in the liver was dramatically decreased in wild-type mice following anti-Fas injection, but was unchanged in caspase-3-/- mice. Hepatocytes from anti-Fas-injected wild-type, but not caspase-3-/-, mice released cytochrome c into the cytoplasm. Western blotting confirmed the lack of caspase-3-mediated cleavage of Bcl-2. Presumably the presence of intact Bcl-2 in caspase-3-/- hepatocytes prevents the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria, a required step for the mitochondrial death pathway. We also show by Western blot that Bcl-xL, caspase-9, caspase-8, and Bid are processed by caspase-3 in injected wild-type mice but that this processing does not occur in caspase-3-/- mice. This study thus provides novel in vivo evidence that caspase-3, conventionally known for its downstream effector function in apoptosis, also modifies Bcl-2 and other upstream proteins involved in the regulation of Fas-mediated apoptosis.
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PMID:In vivo evidence that caspase-3 is required for Fas-mediated apoptosis of hepatocytes. 1052 93

Thioredoxin (Trx) is a small redox-active protein with antioxidant and antiapoptotic effects. Trx transgenic (Tg) mice are more resistant to cerebral infarction and survive longer than wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective role of Trx in acute hepatitis models. The expression of endogenous Trx was decreased in thioacetamide (TAA)-induced acute hepatitis. TAA (100 microg/g) was injected intraperitoneally in WT and Tg mice. Survival rate after TAA injection was higher in Tg mice than in WT mice. The level of oxidative stress was significantly less in Tg mice than in WT mice, as shown by the protein carbonylation assay and lipid peroxidation assay. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells were less in Tg mice than in WT mice, which was consistent with DNA laddering assay. Caspase-3 and caspase-9 activities and cytochrome c release were significantly inhibited in Tg mice compared with those in WT mice. In addition, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plus d-galactosamine (GalN), or anti-Fas antibody (Jo2) were injected. Survival rate after LPS plus GalN injection was much higher in Tg mice than in WT mice. In contrast, there was no difference in survival rate after Jo2 injection between WT and Tg mice. In conclusion, transgene of Trx attenuated TAA- or LPS-induced acute lethal hepatitis. In addition to an antioxidant effect, Trx has the potential to protect acute liver injury via an antiapoptotic effect, which mainly inhibits mitochondria-mediated apoptosis signaling.
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PMID:Overexpression of thioredoxin prevents acute hepatitis caused by thioacetamide or lipopolysaccharide in mice. 1271 82

Apoptosis occurs during the isolation and even short-term storage and culture of hepatocytes, and in the pathogenesis of liver diseases, such as hepatic failure and hepatitis. Therapeutic hypothermia has beneficial effects in experimental models of fulminant hepatic failure. The mechanisms underlying the potential benefits of mild hypothermia on the liver have not been well investigated. We examined the effects of temperature on soluble Fas ligand-induced apoptosis in freshly isolated mouse hepatocytes. Decreasing the culture temperature from 37 degrees C to 32 degrees C produced significant suppression of Fas-mediated apoptosis in cultured hepatocytes over a 12-h period. This observation was supported by cell morphology, flow cytometry analysis of cellular DNA content, and Annexin V-FITC staining of membrane phosphatidylserine translocation. In hypothermic conditions, Fas-mediated cytochrome c release from mitochondria of hepatocytes and the proximate downstream activation of caspase-9 were suppressed under mild hypothermic conditions. Effector caspase-7 activity was also inhibited at 32 degrees C. In contrast, the activation of initiator caspase-8 and cleavage of Bid were not affected after Fas-ligand stimulation. These findings suggest that mild hypothermia suppresses Fas-mediated apoptosis of liver cells by the partial inhibition of signaling events including mitochondrial damage, cytochrome c release, and subsequent apoptosome formation and effector caspase activation.
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PMID:Hypothermia inhibits Fas-mediated apoptosis of primary mouse hepatocytes in culture. 1564 37

A previous study demonstrated that infection of rat oligodendrocytes by mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) resulted in apoptosis, which is caspase dependent (Y. Liu, Y. Cai, and X. Zhang, J. Virol. 77:11952-11963, 2003). Here we determined the involvement of the mitochondrial pathway in MHV-induced oligodendrocyte apoptosis. We found that caspase-9 activity was 12-fold higher in virus-infected cells than in mock-infected cells at 24 h postinfection (p.i.). Pretreatment of cells with a caspase-9 inhibitor completely blocked caspase-9 activation and partially inhibited the apoptosis mediated by MHV infection. Analyses of cytochrome c release further revealed an activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Stable overexpression of the two antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL significantly, though only partially, blocked apoptosis, suggesting that activation of the mitochondrial pathway is partially responsible for the apoptosis. To identify upstream signals, we determined caspase-8 activity, cleavage of Bid, and expression of Bax and Bad by Western blotting. We found a drastic increase in caspase-8 activity and cleavage of Bid at 24 h p.i. in virus-infected cells, suggesting that Bid may serve as a messenger to relay the signals from caspase-8 to mitochondria. However, treatment with a caspase-8 inhibitor only slightly blocked cytochrome c release from the mitochondria. Furthermore, we found that Bax but not Bad was significantly increased at 12 h p.i. in cells infected with both live and UV-inactivated viruses and that Bax activation was partially blocked by treatment with the caspase-8 inhibitor. These results thus establish the involvement of the mitochondrial pathway in MHV-induced oligodendrocyte apoptosis.
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PMID:Role of the mitochondrial signaling pathway in murine coronavirus-induced oligodendrocyte apoptosis. 1635 64

We previously showed that infection of rat oligodendrocytes by ultraviolet light-inactivated mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) resulted in apoptosis, suggesting that the apoptosis is triggered during cell entry. To further characterize the earliest apoptotic signaling events, here we treated cells with an antibody specific to the MHV receptor prior to and during virus infection or with an antibody specific to MHV spike protein following virus binding. Both treatments blocked virus infection and apoptosis, indicating that virus-receptor binding is necessary but not sufficient for the apoptosis induction. Furthermore, virus infection significantly increased the formation of the "death-receptor complexes" consisting of Fas, Fas-associated death domain and procaspase-8, but did not induce the complexes involving the tumor necrosis factor receptor and its associated death domain, demonstrating the specific activation of the Fas signaling pathway. Moreover, virus infection did not alter the abundance of the individual proteins of the complexes, suggesting that the activation of the Fas signaling pathway was at the post-translational level. Treatment with a Fas/Fc chimera, which blocks Fas-Fas ligand-mediated apoptosis, inhibited the formation of the complexes and blocked the activation of caspase-8 and apoptosis in MHV-infected cells. It also inhibited the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and the activation of caspase-9. These results demonstrate that oligodendrocyte apoptosis is triggered by MHV infection during cell entry through the activation of the Fas signaling pathway.
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PMID:Murine coronavirus-induced oligodendrocyte apoptosis is mediated through the activation of the Fas signaling pathway. 1715 12

Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino is known in Asia for its effect on the treatment of hepatitis and cardiovascular diseases. Gypenosides (Gyp) are the major components extracted from Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the Gyp-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptotic process is unclear. In this study, the chemopreventive role of Gyp in human lung cancer (A549) cells in vitro was evaluated by studying the regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis. Gyp induced GO/G1 arrest and apoptosis in the human lung cancer A549 cells. Investigation of the cyclin-dependent protein kinase inhibitors by Western blotting showed that p16, p21, p27 and p53 proteins were increased with the increasing time of incubation with Gyp in the A549 cells. This increase may be the major factor by which Gyp caused GO/G1 arrest in the examined cells. Flow cytometric assay and gel electrophoresis of DNA fragmentation also confirmed that Gyp induced apoptosis in the A549 cells. Our data demonstrated that Gyp-induced apoptotic cell death was accompanied by up-regulation of Bax, caspase-3 and caspase-9, but down-regulation of the Bcl-2 levels. Taken together, Gyp appears to exert its anticancer properties by inducing GO/GI-phase arrest and apoptosis via activation of caspase-3 in human lung A549 cancer cells.
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PMID:Gypenosides induced G0/G1 arrest via inhibition of cyclin E and induction of apoptosis via activation of caspases-3 and -9 in human lung cancer A-549 cells. 1846 6

Apoptosis of infected cells represents a key host defense mechanism against viral infections. The impact of apoptosis on the elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected cells is poorly understood. The TRAIL has been implicated in the death of liver cells in hepatitis-infected but not in normal liver cells. To determine the impact of TRAIL on apoptosis of virus-infected host cells, we studied TRAIL-induced apoptosis in a tissue culture model system for HCV infection. We demonstrated that HCV infection sensitizes primary human hepatocytes and Huh7.5 hepatoma cells to TRAIL induced apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Mapping studies identified the HCV nonstructural proteins as key mediators of sensitization to TRAIL. Using a panel of inhibitors targeting different apoptosis pathways, we demonstrate that sensitization to TRAIL is caspase-9 dependent and mediated in part via the mitochondrial pathway. Sensitization of hepatocytes to TRAIL-induced apoptosis by HCV infection represents a novel antiviral host defense mechanism that may have important implications for the pathogenesis of HCV infection and may contribute to the elimination of virus-infected hepatocytes.
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PMID:Hepatitis C virus infection sensitizes human hepatocytes to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in a caspase 9-dependent manner. 1880 96

Background. Liver fibrosis is a significant liver disease in Asian countries. Sedum mexicanum Britt. (SM) has been claimed to have antihepatitis efficacy. In traditional folk medicine, a solution of boiling water-extracted SM (SME) is consumed to prevent and treat hepatitis. However, its efficacy has not yet been verified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro effect of SME on hepatoprotection. Methods. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and hepatocytes (HCs) were isolated from the livers of the rats by enzymatic digestion and density gradient centrifugation. Results. Treating the HCs and aHSCs with SME caused a dose-dependent decrease in the viability of aHSCs but not that of HCs. In addition, treatment with SME resulted in apoptosis of aHSCs, as determined by DAPI analysis and flow cytometry. SME also increased the amount of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) in aHSCs. Furthermore, SME treatment induced a dose-dependent reduction in Bcl-2 expression and increased the expression of Bax in aHSCs. Conclusions. SME did not cause cytotoxicity in HCs, but it induced apoptosis in aHSCs through the mitochondria-dependent caspase-3 pathway. Therefore, SME may possess therapeutic potential for liver fibrosis.
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PMID:Sedum mexicanum Britt. Induces Apoptosis of Primary Rat Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells. 2607 67

Galbanic acid (GBA) is known a sesquiterpene coumarin to have apoptotic, anti-hypoxic, anti-proliferative, anti-hepatitis, anti-angiogenic, anti-bacteria and anti-thrombotic effects. Also, antitumor effect of GBA was reported in prostate, ovary, breast and lung cancers. Nevertheless, the underlying molecular mechanism of GBA was not fully understood to overcome chemoresistance in resistant lung cancer so far. Thus, synergistic antitumor mechanism of GBA and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) was elucidated in H460 and resistant H460/R non-small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLCs). Combination of GBA and TRAIL significantly exerted cytotoxicity in a dose dependent manner compared to GBA or TRAIL alone in H460/R cells. Also, GBA and TRAIL significantly increased the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) positive cells and sub-G1 population in a dose dependent manner in H460/R cells. Consistently, GBA and TRAIL induced cleavages of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), caspase-9 and caspase-8 along with upregulation of death receptor 5 (DR5) and also attenuated the expression of B-cell lymphoma-extra-large (Bcl-xL), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) in H460/R cells. Furthermore, combination of GBA and TRAIL remarkably inhibited the expression of decoy receptor 1 (DcR1) and multidrug resistance 1(MDR1) in H460/R cells. Consistently, GBA and TRAIL effectively maintained Rhodamine 123 accumulation in H460/R cells compared to GBA or TRAIL alone by blocking multidrug efflux pump from the cells. Overall, our findings suggest that galbanic acid enhances TRAIL induced apoptosis via inhibition of MDR1 and activation of caspases and DR5 in H460/R cells as a potent TRAIL sensitizer.
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PMID:Galbanic acid potentiates TRAIL induced apoptosis in resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells via inhibition of MDR1 and activation of caspases and DR5. 3068 98