Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P06889 (Mol)
 630,302 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The cDNA corresponding to an inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) from the Egyptian armyworm, Spodoptera littoralis, was cloned by RT-PCR. Sequence analysis showed that the IAP of S. littoralis (SlIAP) contains two baculoviral IAP repeat (BIR) motifs, followed by a RING finger, an organization which is very similar to that of other lepidopteran IAPs. SlIAP mRNA was detected in ovary, testis, salivary gland, fat body, epidermis, brain and midgut of S. littoralis. During the last larval instar, prepupal and pupal stages, brain mRNA levels remained approximately constant, whereas those of midgut showed a large peak centred in the prepupal stage. Midgut morphology changed during metamorphosis from a semi-transparent, cylindrical structure in last instar larvae to a brownish globular mass in pupae. TUNEL assays, LysoTracker staining and caspase-3 immunohistochemistry, indicated that programmed cell death in midgut starts actively at the onset of pupation process, coinciding with the dramatic decrease of SlIAP mRNA levels observed at the same time.
Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2007 Dec
PMID:Molecular characterization of an inhibitor of apoptosis in the Egyptian armyworm, Spodoptera littoralis, and midgut cell death during metamorphosis. 1796 43

The present studies have determined whether interactions between the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor flavopiridol and the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA; vorinostat; Zolinza) occur in breast cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells were treated with flavopiridol (25-100 nmol/L) and vorinostat (125-500 nmol/L) in vitro, and mechanisms of cell killing were determined. Concurrent treatment of cells with flavopiridol and vorinostat or treatment of cells with flavopiridol followed by vorinostat promoted cell killing in a greater than additive fashion. Similar data were obtained with the CDK inhibitor roscovitine. Flavopiridol suppressed c-FLIP-l/s and BCL-xL expression, whereas vorinostat reduced expression of BCL-xL, and combined exposure to flavopiridol and vorinostat reduced MCL-1 and X-chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) levels. Pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of caspase-8 reduced flavopiridol toxicity, but abolished killing by vorinostat and cell death caused by the vorinostat/flavopiridol regimen. Loss of BAX/BAK function or loss of BID function modestly reduced flavopiridol toxicity, but abolished vorinostat-mediated potentiation of flavopiridol toxicity, as did inhibition of caspase-9. Inhibition and/or deletion of cathepsin B function significantly attenuated vorinostat/flavopiridol lethality. Flavopiridol suppressed extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and AKT activity and expression of activated forms of AKT and mitogen-activated protein/ERK kinase 1 maintained c-FLIP-l/s, BCL-xL, and XIAP expression and protected cells against flavopiridol/vorinostat lethality. Overexpression of c-FLIP-s and BCL-xL abolished the lethality of flavopiridol/vorinostat. Collectively, these data argue that flavopiridol enhances the lethality of vorinostat in breast cancer cells in part through the inhibition of AKT and ERK1/2 function, leading to reduced expression of multiple inhibitors of the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, as well as activation of cathepsin protease-dependent pathways.
Mol Cancer Ther 2007 Dec
PMID:Extrinsic pathway- and cathepsin-dependent induction of mitochondrial dysfunction are essential for synergistic flavopiridol and vorinostat lethality in breast cancer cells. 1806 90

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury triggers multiple and distinct but overlapping cell signaling pathways, which may lead to cell survival or cell damage. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that besides necrosis, apoptosis do contributes significantly to the cell death subsequent to I/R injury. Both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways play a vital role, and upon initiation, these pathways recruit downstream apoptotic molecules to execute cell death. Caspases and Bcl-2 family members appear to be crucial in regulating multiple apoptotic cell death pathways initiated during I/R. Similarly, inhibitor of apoptosis family of proteins (IAPs), mitogen-activated protein kinases, and newly identified apoptogenic molecules, like second mitochondrial-activated factor/direct IAP-binding protein with low pI (Smac/Diablo), omi/high-temperature requirement serine protease A2 (Omi/HtrA2), X-linked mammalian inhibitor of apoptosis protein-associated factor 1, and apoptosis-inducing factor, have emerged as potent regulators of cellular apoptotic/antiapoptotic machinery. All instances of cell survival/death mechanisms triggered during I/R are multifaceted and interlinked, which ultimately decide the fate of brain cells. Moreover, apoptotic cross-talk between major subcellular organelles suggests that therapeutic strategies should be optimally directed at multiple targets/mechanisms for better therapeutic outcome. Based on the current knowledge, this review briefly focuses I/R injury-induced multiple mechanisms of apoptosis, involving key apoptotic regulators and their emerging roles in orchestrating cell death programme. In addition, we have also highlighted the role of autophagy in modulating cell survival/death during cerebral ischemia. Furthermore, an attempt has been made to provide an encouraging outlook on emerging therapeutic approaches for cerebral ischemia.
Mol Neurobiol 2008 Feb
PMID:Molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in cerebral ischemia: multiple neuroprotective opportunities. 1806 3

c-IAP1, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family and a RING finger ubiquitin ligase (E3), has been proposed to be an important oncogene. In many types of cancers, the levels of c-IAP1 are upregulated, which contributes positively to tumorigenesis. However, the mechanism by which c-IAP1 promotes tumorigenesis has proven elusive. Although proteins in the IAP family may function as caspase inhibitors, c-IAP1 was shown to be a poor inhibitor of caspases. Here we show that c-IAP1 catalyzes ubiquitination of Max-dimerization protein-1 (Mad1), a cellular antagonist of Myc. Ubiquitination of Mad1 by c-IAP1 accelerates its degradation by the 26S proteasome pathway, and this reduction of the Mad1 levels cooperates with Myc to promote cell proliferation. Our results demonstrate that c-IAP1 exerts its oncogenic functions by promoting the degradation of an important negative regulator in the Myc pathway.
Mol Cell 2007 Dec 14
PMID:c-IAP1 cooperates with Myc by acting as a ubiquitin ligase for Mad1. 1808 13

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) patients show poor survival and a significant incidence of epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (ErbB2) overexpression. A distinct mechanism involving increased expression of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) and survivin, key members of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family, was observed post-trastuzumab (an ErbB2 monoclonal antibody) treatment in an ErbB2-overexpressing, estrogen receptor negative, IBC cellular model, SUM190PT, isolated from a primary IBC tumor. In contrast, a decrease in the IAP expression was observed in the non-IBC, ErbB2-overexpressing SKBR3 cells in which trastuzumab treatment also decreased p-AKT and cell viability. Further, in SUM190PT cells, therapeutic sensitivity to GW583340 (a dual epidermal growth factor receptor/ErbB2 kinase inhibitor) corresponded with XIAP down-regulation and abrogation of XIAP inhibition on active caspase-9 release. Specific small interfering RNA-mediated XIAP inhibition in combination with trastuzumab caused decrease in inactive procaspase-9 and inhibition of p-AKT corresponding with 45% to 50% decrease in cell viability in the SUM190PT cells, which have high steady-state p-AKT levels. Further, embelin, a small-molecule inhibitor that abrogates binding of XIAP to procaspase-9, caused significant decrease in SUM190PT viability. However, embelin in combination with trastuzumab failed to affect SUM190PT viability because it has no direct effect on XIAP, which is induced by trastuzumab treatment. These data have identified a novel functional link between ErbB2 signaling and antiapoptotic pathway mediated by XIAP. Blockade of the IAP antiapoptotic pathway alone or in combination would be an attractive strategy in IBC therapy.
Mol Cancer Ther 2008 Jan
PMID:Trastuzumab signaling in ErbB2-overexpressing inflammatory breast cancer correlates with X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein expression. 1820 8

Apoptosis has been extensively studied in Drosophila by both biochemical and genetic approaches, but there is a lack of knowledge about the mechanisms of apoptosis regulation in other insects. In mosquitoes, apoptosis occurs during Plasmodium and arbovirus infection in the midgut, suggesting that apoptosis plays a role in mosquito innate immunity. We searched the Aedes aegypti genome for apoptosis-related genes using Drosophila and Anopheles gambiae protein sequences as queries. In this study we have identified eleven caspases, three inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, a previously unreported IAP antagonist, and orthologs of Drosophila Ark, Dnr1, and BG4 (also called dFadd). While most of these genes have been previously annotated, we have improved the annotation of several of them, and we also report the discovery of four previously unannotated apoptosis-related genes. We examined the developmental expression profile of these genes in Ae. aegypti larvae, pupae and adults, and we also studied the function of a novel IAP antagonist, IMP. Expression of IMP in mosquito cells caused apoptosis, indicating that it is a functional pro-death protein. Further characterization of these genes will help elucidate the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis regulation in Ae. aegypti.
Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2008 Mar
PMID:Annotation and expression profiling of apoptosis-related genes in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. 1825 47

Ultraviolet radiation is known to cause oxidative DNA damage and is thought to be a major factor implicated in the pathogenesis of pterygium. Among all the photo-oxidative DNA products, the 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is regarded a sensitive and stable biomarker for evaluating the degree of DNA damage. The protein p53 is a major cell stress regulator that acts to integrate signals from a wide range of cellular stresses. UV radiation has a carcinogenic effect resulting in DNA damaged cells with loss of normal growth control. This assumption is supported by the association between UV-B exposure and activation of survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family (IAP), highly up-regulated in almost all types of human malignancy. In this study we demonstrate, for the first time in pterygium, the immunohistochemical presence of survivin, and investigate the correlation between survivin, p53 and 8-OHdG. Our results demonstrate that oxidative stress could lead to a significant activation of survivin expression, suggesting that this might be an important event in the development of pterygium, inducing and supporting a hyperproliferative condition. Survivin expression in pterygium would counteract UV-B-induced apoptosis and would cooperate with loss of p53. The co-operation between survivin and functional loss of p53 might provide a general mechanism for aberrant inhibition of apoptosis that could be responsible for the development of pterygium and its possible progression to neoplasia.
J Cell Mol Med 2008 Dec
PMID:Expression of survivin protein in pterygium and relationship with oxidative DNA damage. 1826 76

Although the toxic effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on T cells in vivo have been well characterized, attempts to reproduce these findings in vitro have not been successful. In the current study, we examined whether activation or the presence of dendritic cells (DCs) would make primary naive T cells from C57BL/6 mice susceptible to TCDD-induced apoptosis in vitro. Although nonactivated primary T cells cultured with 10 to 1000 nM TCDD were relatively resistant to apoptosis, they became sensitive to apoptosis upon activation with concanavalin A (ConA). Moreover, ConA-activated T cells cultured in the presence of DCs showed highest levels of TCDD-induced apoptosis. Likewise, primary T cells from OT.II.2a mice cultured with specific ovalbumin peptide and syngeneic DCs showed higher levels of apoptosis compared with similar nonactivated T cells. T-cell activation led to up-regulation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), Fas, and Fas-ligand (FasL) expression. In addition, DC maturation and culture with TCDD caused significant induction of FasL. TCDD-mediated apoptosis in activated peripheral T cells was AhR-dependent. Analysis of why nonactivated T cells are more resistant, whereas activated T cells are sensitive to TCDD-induced apoptosis revealed that TCDD treatment of activated but not nonactivated T cells led to down-regulation of cellular FLICE inhibitory protein (c-FLIP), an inhibitor of apoptosis. Moreover, down-regulation of c-FLIP using small interfering RNA in nonactivated T cells made them sensitive to TCDD-induced apoptosis. The current study demonstrates for the first time that TCDD can induce apoptosis in vitro in peripheral T cells upon activation and in the presence of DCs and that this may be mediated by down-regulation of c-FLIP.
Mol Pharmacol 2008 Jun
PMID:Primary peripheral T cells become susceptible to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-mediated apoptosis in vitro upon activation and in the presence of dendritic cells. 1833 99

Several posttranslational modifications including phosphorylation have been detected on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). However, the interdependence and combinatorial regulation of these modifications and their role in GR functions are poorly understood. We studied the effects of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-dependent phosphorylation of GR on its sumoylation status and the impact that these modifications have on GR transcriptional activity. GR is targeted for phosphorylation at serine 246 (S246) by the JNK protein family in a rapid and transient manner. The levels of S246 phosphorylation of endogenous GR increased significantly in cells treated with UV radiation that activates JNK. S246 GR phosphorylation by JNK facilitated subsequent GR sumoylation at lysines 297 and 313. GR sumoylation increased with JNK activation and was inhibited in cells treated with JNK inhibitor. GR sumoylation in cells with activated JNK was mediated preferentially by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO)2 rather than SUMO1. An increase in GR transcriptional activity was observed after inhibition of JNK or SUMO pathways and suppression of GR transcriptional activity after activation of both pathways in cells transfected with GR-responsive reporter genes. Endogenous GR transcriptional activity was inhibited on endogenous target genes IGF binding protein (IGFBP) and glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) when JNK and SUMO pathways were induced individually or simultaneously. Activation of both of these signals inhibited GR-mediated regulation of human inhibitor of apoptosis gene (hIAP), whereas simultaneous activation had no effect. We conclude that phosphorylation aids GR sumoylation and that cross talk of JNK and SUMO pathways fine tune GR transcriptional activity in a target gene-specific manner, thereby modulating the hormonal response of cells exposed to stress.
Mol Endocrinol 2008 Jun
PMID:Cross talk of signaling pathways in the regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor function. 1833 89

The Inhibitor of Apoptosis proteins (IAPs) are key repressors of apoptosis. Several IAP proteins contain a RING domain that functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Here we investigated the interplay of ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and RING-mediated IAP turnover. We found that the CARD-RING domain of cIAP1 (cIAP1-CR) is capable of down-regulating protein levels of RING-bearing IAPs such as cIAP1, cIAP2, XIAP, and Livin, while sparing NAIP and Survivin, which do not possess a RING domain. To determine whether polyubiquitination was required, we tested the ability of cIAP1-CR to degrade IAPs under conditions that impair ubiquitination modifications. Remarkably, although the ablation of E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme prevented cIAP1-CR-mediated down-regulation of cIAP1 and cIAP2, there was no impact on degradation of XIAP and Livin. XIAP mutants that were not ubiquitinated in vivo were readily down-regulated by cIAP1-CR. Moreover, XIAP degradation in response to cisplatin and doxorubicin was largely prevented in cIAP1-silenced cells, despite cIAP2 up-regulation. The knockdown of cIAP1 and cIAP2 partially blunted Fas ligand-mediated down-regulation of XIAP and protected cells from cell death. Together, these results show that the E3 ligase RING domain of cIAP1 targets RING-bearing IAPs for proteasomal degradation by ubiquitin-dependent and -independent pathways.
Mol Biol Cell 2008 Jul
PMID:The RING domain of cIAP1 mediates the degradation of RING-bearing inhibitor of apoptosis proteins by distinct pathways. 1843 93


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10