Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P05412 (c-Jun)
 11,453 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Although the DNA topoisomerases are critical intracellular targets of a number of clinically important anticancer drugs, the mechanism(s) by which inhibition of these enzymes causes cell death are poorly understood. We found that treatment of human leukemic lymphoblasts (CCRF-CEM) with teniposide (VM-26), under conditions that stabilize DNA-topoisomerase II complexes, caused the formation of internucleosomal DNA ladders. However, it appeared unlikely that the VM-26-stabilized DNA-topoisomerase II-cleavable complexes directly produce these internucleosomal DNA ladders, since similar nucleosomal DNA ladders were observed following either continuous or a short (1 h) exposure of cells to VM-26. Under continuous exposure to VM-26, the internucleosomal DNA ladders were associated with the transient induction of c-jun mRNA in a dose-dependent fashion, reaching maximum expression at 6 h after treatment with VM-26 and being down-regulated to basal levels by 12 h. The induction of c-jun mRNA by VM-26 apparently preceded DNA ladder formation. However, in CEM sublines selected for resistance to VM-26 (CEM/VM-1 and CEM/VM-1-5; approximately 50- and 140-fold resistant, respectively) and which display the phenotype of multidrug resistance associated with altered DNA topoisomerase II (at-MDR), we found that the induction of c-jun mRNA by VM-26 and subsequent DNA ladder formation were progressively attenuated in proportion to the resistance of the cells, apparently due in part to decreased stabilization of DNA-topoisomerase II-cleavable complexes. Further, the attenuated induction of c-jun in the at-MDR cells was found to be associated with a decreased rate of c-jun transcription and an increase in the instability of its mRNA following VM-26 treatment. The attenuation of c-jun mRNA induction was also reflected in decreased production of c-Jun protein in the at-MDR cells. Of interest was the fact that no significant induction of c-fos mRNA by VM-26 was observed in either CEM or at-MDR cells. Furthermore, the induction of c-jun was related to the activation of AP-1 DNA-binding activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner in CEM cells, whereas the activation of AP-1 binding was attenuated in at-MDR cells in proportion to their resistance to VM-26. Using Jun and Fos family member antibody inhibition experiments in gel-mobility shift assays, we found that AP-1-binding activity appeared to be preferentially mediated by c-Jun/Fra-1 heterodimers in both CEM and at-MDR cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Differences between drug-sensitive and -resistant human leukemic CEM cells in c-jun expression, AP-1 DNA-binding activity, and formation of Jun/Fos family dimers, and their association with internucleosomal DNA ladders after treatment with VM-26. 806 63

DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) is an essential nuclear enzyme which catalyzes the interconversions of various forms of DNA. As predicted from the human topo II cDNA, the enzyme contains a potential leucine zipper protein dimerization motif. We therefore tested whether topo II could enter protein-protein interactions with other better characterized leucine zipper-containing proteins and determined if these interactions could modify topo II enzymatic activity in vitro. By far Western analyses, a large C-terminal fragment of human topo II was shown to interact with the DNA binding and dimerization regions of either cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) or the activating transcription factor-2. The C-terminal topo II fragment also interacted with full-length c-Jun, but not with full-length c-Fos. Using CREB as a prototype, the effect of this interaction on various topo II catalytic activities was assessed in vitro. CREB, at a 1- to 10-fold molar excess relative to topo II, inhibited site-specific DNA cleavage activity on a 242-base pair fragment of the human alpha-glycoprotein hormone subunit gene promoter. Very high CREB concentrations (400-fold excess) apparently inhibited topo II DNA relaxation activity, but this result was likely a direct effect of CREB on the topology of the DNA substrate. More interestingly, a 10-fold molar excess of CREB stimulated topo II decatenation activity, the essential function of this enzyme in cell division. This stimulatory effect could also be elicited by c-Jun, which interacts with topo II, but not by c-Fos, which does not bind topo II in our in vitro assay. Since similar amounts of CREB reduced the abundance of topo II DNA cleavage products from the human alpha-CG promoter yet also stimulated decatenation activity, it can be concluded that either: 1) CREB stimulated the religation rate of topo II; or 2) CREB directed topo II to a new cleavage site present on the decatenation substrate but not present on the limited alpha-CG promoter. The structural requirements for topo II protein-protein interactions were also investigated. Site-directed mutations which destroyed the putative topo II leucine zipper did not disrupt topo II protein-protein interactions. Since the putative leucine zipper in topo II does not appear to mediate protein-protein interactions, we propose that an alternate as yet uncharacterized structure is involved in the association of topo II with itself and other regulatory proteins.
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PMID:Modification of DNA topoisomerase II activity via direct interactions with the cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate response element-binding protein and related transcription factors. 838 55

Merbarone (5-[N-phenyl carboxamido]-2-thiobarbituric acid) is an anticancer drug that inhibits the catalytic activity of DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) without damaging DNA or stabilizing DNA-topo II cleavable complexes. Although the cytotoxicity of the complex-stabilizing DNA-topo II inhibitors such as VP-16 (etoposide) has been partially elucidated, the cytotoxicity of merbarone is poorly understood. Here, we report that merbarone induces programmed cell death or apoptosis in human leukemic CEM cells, characterized by internucleosomal DNA cleavage and nuclear condensation. Treatment of CEM cells with apoptosis-inducing concentrations of merbarone caused activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase, c-jun gene induction, activation of caspase-3/CPP32-like protease but not caspase-1, and the proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Treatment of CEM cells with a potent inhibitor of caspases, Z-Asp-2. 6-dichlorobenzoyloxymethyl-ketone, inhibited merbarone-induced caspase-3/CPP32-like activity and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that the catalytic inhibition of topo II by merbarone leads to apoptotic cell death through a caspase-3-like protease-dependent mechanism. These results further suggest that c-Jun and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase signaling may be involved in the cytotoxicity of merbarone.
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PMID:Merbarone, a catalytic inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase II, induces apoptosis in CEM cells through activation of ICE/CED-3-like protease. 1005 40

We recently demonstrated that physiological induction of apoptosis by cytotoxic sphingolipid messengers proceeds via activating protein-1 (AP1)-dependent and AP1-independent mechanisms in U937 human monoblastic leukemia cells. Here we examine involvement of the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) cascade and AP1 in the initiation of apoptosis in U937 cells by podophyllotoxin-derived inhibitors of topoisomerase II. Induction of apoptotic cell death and DNA damage by treatment of U937 cells with etoposide (100 microM) was associated with phosphorylation and activation of the c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK1) SAPK enzymes p46 and p54-JNK2 and transient increases in expression of the transcription factor c-Jun, a primary JNK substrate. These responses were accompanied by a modest, but sustained, recruitment of the mitogen-activated protein kinases p42-extracellular signal receptor-activated kinase (ERK)1 and p44-extracellular signal receptor-activated kinase 2. The capacity of etoposide to promote double-stranded DNA degradation and cell death was unaffected by manipulations that interfere with SAPK signaling outflow through c-Jun/AP1, including: 1) pharmacological inhibition of AP1 activity by diferuloylmethane and 2) molecular ablation of normal c-Jun function by the Jun dominant-negative mutant TAM-67. Cytotoxicity of the structurally related compound teniposide was similarly unaffected. In parallel trials, the lethal actions of ceramide (but not of sphingosine) were markedly diminished by pretreatment with diferuloylmethane or expression of TAM-67, confirming the effectiveness of these interventions in suppression of SAPK/AP1-dependent apoptosis. The involvement of AP1 in the proapoptotic actions of other inhibitors of topoisomerase II activity was also evaluated. Induction of cell death by the anthracyclines daunorubicin, daunorubicin, and idarubicin was found to be insensitive to pretreatment with diferuloylmethane or expression of TAM-67. Collectively, the present data indicate that induction of apoptosis by etoposide and related inhibitors of topoisomerase II is mediated through a cell death pathway that does not require SAPK-dependent recruitment of AP1. These findings additionally suggest that activation of the SAPK represents a consequence, rather than an underlying cause, of etoposide-induced apoptosis in myeloid leukemia cells.
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PMID:Evidence that the apoptotic actions of etoposide are independent of c-Jun/activating protein-1-mediated transregulation. 1045 18

Dexrazoxane (ICRF-187) is an inhibitor of the catalytic activity of DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) that does not stabilize DNA-topo II covalent complexes. Here, we examined cytotoxic signaling by ICRF-187 in human leukemic CEM cells and a teniposide (VM-26)-resistant subline, CEM/VM-1. Treatment of CEM and CEM/VM-1 cells with ICRF-187 induced apoptotic cell death characterized by internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, nuclear condensation, and induction of at least caspase-3- and -7-like protease activities (but not caspase 1). Treatment of these cells with Z-Asp-2,6-dichlorobenzoyloxymethyl-ketone, a potent inhibitor of apoptosis, inhibited ICRF-187-induced DEVD-specific caspase activity and apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. ICRF-187-induced apoptosis in CEM cells was associated with transient induction of c-jun and activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1). However, CEM/VM-1 cells, which were 3-fold more sensitive than CEM cells to ICRF-187 due to a decrease in topo II activity, exhibited ICRF-187-induced apoptosis in the absence of c-jun induction and JNK1 activation. These results indicate that catalytic inhibition of topo II by ICRF-187 leads to apoptosis through at least a caspase-3- and -7-like protease-dependent mechanism and suggest that c-jun and JNK1 are not required in ICRF-187-induced apoptosis in CEM cells.
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PMID:Induction of apoptosis by dexrazoxane (ICRF-187) through caspases in the absence of c-jun expression and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) activation in VM-26-resistant CEM cells. 1048 26

KAI1 is a metastasis suppressor gene which is capable of inhibiting the processes of tumor metastasis without affecting tumorigenicity per se. We found that etoposide, a topoisomerase II inhibitor, is able to activate the expression of the KAI1 gene in a dose-dependent manner in human prostate cancer cell lines, ALVA, DU145, and PC-3 as well as in human lung carcinoma cell A549. The activation of the KAI1 gene was mainly mediated by the c-Jun gene in the PC-3 and DU145 cell lines, while it was mediated by both p53 and c-Jun genes in the A549 cell line. These results suggest that the augmentation of the KAI1 gene expression is independently controlled by p53 and c-Jun at the transcriptional level in the human cancer cell lines. Furthermore, treatment of these cell lines with etoposide resulted in significant reduction of cellular invasion measured by the Matrigel invasion chamber. Because etoposide has been shown to be effective on advanced prostate cancer when used in combination with other regimens, our results provide further rationale to use this drug as an antimetastatic agent.
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PMID:Activation of the tumor metastasis suppressor gene, KAI1, by etoposide is mediated by p53 and c-Jun genes. 1091 45

Several studies have shown that hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] induces apoptosis in a variety of in vitro test systems. We instilled intra-tracheally either saline or sodium dichromate (0.25 mg/kg body weight), for three consecutive days, to Sprague-Dawley rats. TUNEL analyses showed a marked increase of the apoptotic index in both bronchial epithelium and lung parenchyma of Cr(VI)-treated rats, but no effect was detected in their liver. In parallel, the expression of 13 out of 18 apoptosis-related genes, evaluated by cDNA array analysis, was significantly enhanced in rat lung. The overexpressed genes included c-Jun N-terminal kinases 1, 2 and 3, bcl-x, bcl-2-associated death promoter and bcl-2-related ovarian killer protein, caspases 1, 3 and 6, DNase I precursor, DNA topoisomerases I and II alpha, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. The enhancement of p53 expression in the lung was borderline to statistical significance. Expressions of bcl-2, bax-alpha, mdm2 and DNA topoisomerase IIB were not enhanced to a significant extent in lung. No induction of gene expression was observed in rat liver. RT-PCR analyses confirmed that Cr(VI) enhances the expression of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1, caspase 6, and DNase I precursor but not that of bcl-2 in lung, while none of these genes was overexpressed in the liver of Cr(VI)-treated rats. The lack of stimulation of apoptosis in the liver parallels the failure of Cr(VI) to produce genotoxic damage, as we previously observed under identical experimental conditions. These negative findings may be ascribed to reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) when traveling from the respiratory tract to the liver. On the other hand, induction of apoptosis in the respiratory tract parallels the occurrence of genotoxic effects and oxidative DNA damage produced by Cr(VI) in the same tissue. As previously shown in another laboratory, Cr(VI) did not induce lung tumors after 30 months of administration of the same daily dose. Therefore, apoptosis is likely to provide a protective mechanism at a post-genotoxic stage of Cr(VI) carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Induction of apoptosis in the lung but not in the liver of rats receiving intra-tracheal instillations of chromium(VI). 1196 Sep 10

Expression of mdr-1 is complex and highly regulated. Several lines of evidence indirectly suggest that transcription factor c-Jun may negatively regulate human mdr-1 gene expression. We recently found that salvicine, a novel topoisomerase II inhibitor, is cytotoxic for multidrug resistance (MDR) tumor cells and down-regulates mdr-1 expression in MDR K562/A02 cells. Salvicine also stimulates a significant increase in the level of c-jun mRNA in HL60 cells. This study investigated the relationship between c-Jun activation and down-regulation of mdr-1 expression by salvicine in K562/A02 cells. Reverse-transcription PCR and Western blotting analyses revealed that salvicine suppressed mdr-1 expression in MDR cells and promoted c-jun expression in both MDR and parental K562 cells. Moreover, levels of c-jun expression were enhanced by salvicine before reduction of mdr-1 expression in K562/A02 cells. Furthermore, c-jun antisense oligodeoxynucleotides prevented salvicine-stimulated enhancement of c-Jun protein and reduction of mdr-1 gene expression, but did not affect the increase in c-jun mRNA levels. Salvicine promoted phosphorylation of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase and c-Jun protein in MDR K562/A02 and parental K562 cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay analysis showed that salvicine enhanced DNA binding activity of transcription factor activator protein 1. Additionally, c-jun antisense oligodeoxynucleotides also inhibited salvicine-induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity in MDR and parental K562 cells. A possible pathway emerges from these results: salvicine stimulates c-Jun-N-terminal kinase phosphorylation and activation, resulting in c-Jun phosphorylation and activation. Activated c-Jun promotes expression of c-jun itself, represses mdr-1 transcription, and triggers pro-apoptotic signals, resulting in low mdr-1 expression and cell death. The present results demonstrate that transcription factor c-Jun plays a principal role in down-regulation of mdr-1 expression and induction of apoptosis in salvicine-treated human MDR K562/A02 cells, providing new insights into the complicated mechanisms regulating mdr-1 expression. The findings also suggest that c-Jun might be a potential drug target for circumventing tumor MDR.
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PMID:Transcription factor c-Jun activation represses mdr-1 gene expression. 1290 27

Ubc9 is an E2-conjugating enzyme required for sumoylation and has been implicated in regulating several critical cellular pathways. We have shown previously that Ubc9 is important for sumoylation and nucleolar delocalization of topoisomerase (topo) I in response to topo I inhibitors such as topotecan. However, the role for Ubc9 in tumor drug responsiveness is not clear. In this study, we found that although MCF7 cells expressing a Ubc9 dominant-negative mutant (Ubc9-DN) display decreased activity of topo I, these cells are more sensitive to the topo I inhibitor topotecan and other anticancer agents such as VM-26 and cisplatin. In addition, we found that alteration of Ubc9 expression correlates with drug responsiveness in tumor cell lines. To understand possible mechanisms of Ubc9-associated drug responsiveness, we examined several proteins that have been shown to interact with Ubc9 and that may be involved in drug responsiveness. One such protein is Daxx, which is a Fas-associated protein that plays a role in Fas-mediated apoptosis by participating in a caspase-independent pathway through activation of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase. We found that cells expressing Ubc9-DN accumulate more cytoplasmic Daxx than the control cells. Because cytoplasmic Daxx is believed to participate in cellular apoptosis, we suggest that the interaction of Ubc9 with Daxx and subsequent alteration in the subcellular localization of Daxx may contribute to the increased sensitivity to anticancer drugs in the cells expressing Ubc9-DN. Finally, we found that overexpression of Daxx sensitizes cells to anticancer drugs possibly in part through alterations of the ratio of cytoplasmic and nuclear Daxx. Together, our results suggest a role for Ubc9 in tumor drug responsiveness.
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PMID:Overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant Ubc9 is associated with increased sensitivity to anticancer drugs. 1508 95

The hereditary prostate cancer 1 (HPC1) allele maps to the RNASEL gene encoding a protein (RNase L) implicated in the antiviral activity of interferons. To investigate the possible role of RNase L in apoptosis of prostate cancer cells, we decreased levels of RNase L by severalfold in the DU145 human prostate cancer cell line through the stable expression of a small interfering RNA (siRNA). Control cells expressed siRNA with three mismatched nucleotides to the RNase L sequence. Cells deficient in RNase L, but not the control cells, were highly resistant to apoptosis by the RNase L activator, 2',5'-oligoadenylate (2-5A). Surprisingly, the RNase L-deficient cells were also highly resistant to apoptosis by combination treatments with a topoisomerase (Topo) I inhibitor (camptothecin, topotecan, or SN-38) and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand [TRAIL (Apo2L)]. In contrast, cells expressing siRNA to the RNase L inhibitor RLI (HP68) showed enhanced apoptosis in response to Topo I inhibitor alone or in combination with TRAIL. An inhibitor of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinases reduced apoptosis induced by treatment with either 2-5A or the combination of camptothecin and TRAIL, thus implicating c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase in the apoptotic signaling pathway. Furthermore, prostate cancer cells were sensitive to apoptosis from the combination of 2-5A with either TRAIL or Topo I inhibitor, whereas normal prostate epithelial cells were partially resistant to apoptosis. These findings indicate that RNase L integrates and amplifies apoptotic signals generated during treatment of prostate cancer cells with 2-5A, Topo I inhibitors, and TRAIL.
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PMID:HPC1/RNASEL mediates apoptosis of prostate cancer cells treated with 2',5'-oligoadenylates, topoisomerase I inhibitors, and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand. 1560 85


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