Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P04179 (MnSOD)
 2,777 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease caused by progressive destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells. Both viral infections and the cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) have been suggested as potential mediators of beta-cell death in early T1DM. We presently investigated whether the viral replicative intermediate double stranded RNA [here used as synthetic polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (PIC)] modifies the effects of IL-1beta and IFN-gamma on gene expression and viability of rat pancreatic beta-cells. For this purpose, fluorescence-activated cell sorting-purified rat beta-cells were exposed for 6-16 h (study of gene expression by RT-PCR) or 6-9 days (study of viability by nuclear dyes) to PIC and/or IL-1beta and IFN-gamma. PIC increased the expression of Fas and Mn superoxide dismutase messenger RNAs by 5- to 10-fold. IL-1beta and a combination of PIC and IFN-gamma (but not PIC or IFN-gamma alone) induced expression of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) and consequent NO production. Induction of iNOS expression by PIC and IFN-gamma requires nuclear factor-kappaB activation, as suggested by transfection experiments with iNOS promoter-luciferase reporter constructs into primary beta-cells. Combinations of IL-1beta plus IFN-gamma, PIC plus IFN-gamma, or PIC plus IL-1beta induced a 2- to 3-fold increase in the number of apoptotic beta-cells. Blocking of iNOS activity significantly decreased PIC- plus IL-1beta-induced, but not PIC- plus IFN-gamma-induced, apoptosis. In conclusion, PIC alone or in combination with cytokines modifies the expression of several genes in pancreatic beta-cells. Two of these genes, Fas and iNOS, may contribute to beta-cell death. The transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB is required for PIC-induced iNOS expression. PIC has an additive effect on cytokine-induced beta-cell death by both NO-dependent (in the case of IL-1beta) and NO-independent (in the case of IFN-gamma) mechanisms. These findings suggest that viral intermediates in synergism with local cytokine production may play an important role in beta-cell apoptosis in early T1DM.
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PMID:Double-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) induces beta-cell Fas messenger RNA expression and increases cytokine-induced beta-cell apoptosis. 1135 9

The effects of acute ammonia intoxication on reactive oxygen species production by different sources in rat brain were studied. Ammonia intoxication in vivo leads to reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase in brain nonsynaptic mitochondria and increased formation of O(2)(-) by submitochondrial particles. It also results in increased xanthine oxidase (XO) activity and decreased xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH)/XO activity ratio indicating conversion of XDH to XO and also increases monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) activity but not of MAO-B. Blocking NMDA receptors with MK-801 prevents ammonia-induced oxidative stress, XDH to XO conversion and MAO-A activation. Ammonia intoxication did not lead to H(2)O(2) formation by mitochondria, in spite of increased O(2)(-) generation. The main source of H(2)O(2) in the mitochondrial matrix was Mn-SOD. Ammonia intoxication in vivo leads to increased superoxide and decreased hydrogen peroxide in nonsynaptic brain mitochondria. Increased superoxide is due to increased formation by the respiratory chain and by xanthine and aldehyde oxidases and decreased elimination by antioxidant enzymes. The reduced formation of hydrogen peroxide is due to the reduced activity of Mn-SOD. Prevention of ammonia-induced production of reactive oxygen species by MK-801 supports the idea that it is mediated by activation of NMDA receptors.
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PMID:Sources of oxygen radicals in brain in acute ammonia intoxication in vivo. 1288 41

Most cancer therapeutics fails to eradicate cancer because cancer cells rapidly develop resistance to its proapoptotic effects. The underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here we show that three representative apoptotic stimuli, that is, serum starvation, a mitochondrial toxin, and a DNA-damaging agent (etoposide), rapidly induce several distinct classes of prosurvival molecules, in particular, Bcl-2/Bcl-X(L) and superoxide dismutase (SOD; including both MnSOD and Cu/ZnSOD). At the population level, the induction of these prosurvival molecules occurs prior to or concomitant with the induction of proapoptotic molecules such as Bim and Bak. Blocking the induction using siRNAs of the prosurvival or proapoptotic molecules facilitates or inhibits apoptosis, respectively. One master transcription factor, FOXO3a, is involved in the transcriptional activation of some of these prosurvival (e.g., MnSOD) and proapoptotic (e.g., Bim) molecules. Interestingly, in all three apoptotic systems, FOXO3a itself is also upregulated at the transcriptional level. Mechanistic studies indicate that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are rapidly induced upon apoptotic stimulation and that ROS inhibitors/scavengers block the induction of FOXO3a, MnSOD, and Bim. Finally, we show that apoptotic stimuli also upregulate prosurvival molecules in normal diploid human fibroblasts and at subapoptotic concentrations. Taken together, these results suggest that various apoptotic inducers may rapidly mobilize prosurvival mechanisms through ROS-activated master transcription factors such as FOXO3a. The results imply that effective anticancer therapeutics may need to combine both apoptosis-inducing and survival-suppressing strategies.
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PMID:Induction of prosurvival molecules by apoptotic stimuli: involvement of FOXO3a and ROS. 1567 33

HIV-associated dementia, like several other neurodegenerative diseases, is characterized by selective degeneration of neurons amidst survival of glial cells like astroglia. The molecular basis of such selective susceptibility within the same milieu remains largely unknown. Neurons are rarely infected by the virus. However, they are vulnerable to viral products, like HIV-1 coat protein gp120. Interestingly, gp120 induced oxidative stress in neurons, but not in astroglia. This led us to postulate that astroglia were armed with a more efficient antioxidant system than neurons. Here, we report that the constitutive level of MnSOD (SOD2), the major cellular antioxidant enzyme, is significantly higher in astroglia than in neurons. Furthermore, gp120 treatment enhanced MnSOD levels in astroglia but decreased the same in neurons. This increase in astroglial MnSOD was dependent on NF-kappaB, the crucial transcription factor required for sod2 gene transcription. Blocking NF-kappaB with p65-antisense, p65-si-RNA, or a specific inhibitor, NBD peptide, led to reduced MnSOD levels and enhanced vulnerability of astroglia to gp120. Additionally, neurons were found to have a lower constitutive level of NF-kappaB p65 than astrocytes. Overexpression of p65 increased the level of MnSOD in neurons. This, in turn, elicited greater neuronal resistance to gp120. Taken together, our study suggests that astroglia manifest a higher threshold for gp120-induced lethality than neurons due to greater MnSOD availability, which is demonstrated due to greater level of NF-kappaB p65.
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PMID:Differential regulation of Mn-superoxide dismutase in neurons and astroglia by HIV-1 gp120: Implications for HIV-associated dementia. 1751 66