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Query: UNIPROT:P10415 (
Bcl-2
)
33,771
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Our previous results have indicated that the major cellular pool of sphingomyelin present on the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane is not involved in the ceramide pathway of apoptosis. Thus, in this study we aimed at defining which intracellular pools of sphingomyelin and ceramide are involved in cell death. The bacterial sphingomyelinase (SMase) gene
fused
with green fluorescent protein was subcloned into mammalian vectors containing sequences that target the fusion proteins to cytoplasm, plasma membrane, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, or nucleus. Transfection of MCF7 breast cancer cells showed for all constructs an increase in SMase activity ranging from 2- to 60-fold, concomitant with an increase in total cellular ceramide levels (10-100%) as compared with vector-transfected cells. Next, the effect of overexpression of the SMase on cell death was examined. Results demonstrate that only when bacterial SMase was targeted to mitochondria did cells undergo apoptosis; its targeting to the other intracellular compartments was ineffective. Further, the results show that apoptosis induced by mitochondrial targeting of bacterial SMase requires SMase catalytic activity, is prevented by the overexpression of
Bcl-2
, and is mediated by inducing cytochrome c release. These results demonstrate that ceramide induces cell death specifically when generated in mitochondria. The results highlight the significance of compartment-specific lipid-mediated cell regulation, and they offer a novel general approach for these studies.
...
PMID:Selective hydrolysis of a mitochondrial pool of sphingomyelin induces apoptosis. 1172 43
Bim protein is one of the BH3-only proteins, members of the
Bcl-2
family that have only one of the
Bcl-2
homology regions, BH3. BH3-only proteins are essential initiators of apoptotic cell death. Thus far, three isoforms of Bim have been reported, i.e. Bim(EL), Bim(L) and Bim(S). Here we report the cloning and characterization of six novel isoforms of human Bim, designated as Bimalpha1, alpha2, and beta1-beta4, which are generated by alternative splicing. Unlike the three known isoforms, none of these novel isoforms contained a C-terminal hydrophobic region. Among the novel isoforms, only Bimalpha1 and alpha2 contained a BH3 domain and were proapoptotic, although less potent than the classical isoforms. These two isoforms localized, at least in part, in mitochondria when transiently expressed in HeLa cells as a green fluorescent protein-
fused
form. These results suggest that the BH3 domain is necessary for induction of apoptosis and mitochondrial localization but not sufficient for the full proapoptotic activity. While the classical isoforms were always predominantly expressed in transformed cells, expression profiles of bim isoforms were highly variable among normal tissues at least in humans, suggesting a tissue-specific transcriptional regulation of bim.
...
PMID:Molecular cloning and characterization of six novel isoforms of human Bim, a member of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family. 1173 21
Regulation of the homeostasis of vascular endothelium is critical for the processes of vascular remodeling and angiogenesis under physiological and pathological conditions. Here we show that doxorubicin (Dox), a drug used in antitumor therapy, triggered a marked accumulation of p53 and induced CD95 gene expression and apoptosis in proliferating human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Transfection and site-directed mutagenesis experiments using the CD95 promoter
fused
to an intronic enhancer indicated the requirement for a p53 site for Dox-induced promoter activation. Furthermore, the p53 inhibitor pifithrin-alpha (PFT-alpha) blocked both promoter inducibility and protein up-regulation of CD95 in response to Dox. Up-regulated CD95 in Dox-treated cells was functional in eliciting apoptosis upon incubation of the cells with an agonistic CD95 antibody. However, Dox-mediated apoptosis was independent of CD95/CD95L interaction. The analysis of apoptosis in the presence of PFT-alpha and benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-dl-Asp-fluoromethylketone revealed that both p53 and caspase activation are required for Dox-mediated apoptosis of HUVECs. Finally, Dox triggered
Bcl-2
down-regulation, cytochrome c release from mitochondria, and the activation of caspases 9 and 3, suggesting the involvement of a mitochondrially operated pathway of apoptosis. These results highlight the role of p53 in the response of primary endothelial cells to genotoxic drugs and may reveal a novel mechanism underlying the antitumoral properties of Dox, related to its ability to induce apoptosis in proliferating endothelial cells.
...
PMID:Doxorubicin induces apoptosis and CD95 gene expression in human primary endothelial cells through a p53-dependent mechanism. 1177 55
Bad, a proapoptotic member of the
Bcl-2
family, is inactivated by phosphorylation, and this loss of activity may contribute to the malignancy of certain types of tumors such as glioblastoma and prostate cancer. To determine whether extracellular Bad can be delivered into cells via cell surface receptor binding and induce apoptosis, we genetically
fused
the mouse Bad gene to the gene for the translocation and receptor-binding domains of diphtheria toxin (DTTR). The purified Bad (wild-type)-DTTR protein showed cytotoxicity to human glioma cells in a dose-dependent manner. Bad phosphorylation sites at codons 112 and 136 were mutated from serine to alanine to prevent Bad inactivation by kinases and to increase the toxicity of Bad. The Bad (S112A S136A)-DTTR protein was at least 5 times more toxic than Bad (wild-type)-DTTR with an IC(50) of 5 x 10(-8) M. The Bad (S112A S136A)-DTTR protein altered the subcellular distribution of Bcl-X(L), indicating that it enters the cell cytoplasm and binds Bcl-X(L). Bad (S112D S136A)-DTTR, mutated to mimic phosphorylation of Bad, showed lower toxicity than either Bad (wild-type)-DTTR or Bad (S112A S136A)-DTTR, additionally indicating that Bad-DTTR must bind Bcl-X(L) to stimulate apoptosis. We conclude that extracellular Bad can be delivered into cells via the transport domain of a bacterial toxin and may be used to induce apoptosis.
...
PMID:Extracellular Bad fused to toxin transport domains induces apoptosis. 1188 16
Peptides corresponding to the BH3 domains of Bax (BaxBH3) or
Bcl-2
(Bcl2BH3) are potent inducers of apoptosis when
fused
to the Atennapedia plasma membrane translocation domain (Ant). BaxBH3Ant and Bcl2BH3Ant caused a mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP) and apoptosis, via a mechanism that was not inhibited by overexpressed
Bcl-2
or Bcl-X(L), yet partially inhibited by cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. When added to isolated mitochondria, BaxBH3 and Bcl2BH3 induced MMP, which was inhibited by CsA. However,
Bcl-2
or Bcl-X(L) failed to inhibit MMP induced by BaxBH3 and Bc2BH3 in vitro, while they efficiently suppressed the induction of MMP by the Vpr protein (from human immunodeficiency virus-1), a ligand of the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT). BaxBH3 but not Bcl2BH3 was found to interact with ANT, and only BaxBH3 (not Bcl2BH3) permeabilized ANT proteoliposomes and induced ANT to form non-specific channels in electrophysiological experiments. In contrast, both BaxBH3 and Bcl2BH3 were able to stimulate channel formation by recombinant Bax protein. Thus, BaxBH3 might induce MMP via an action on at least two targets, ANT and Bax-like proteins. In contrast, Bcl2BH3 would elicit MMP in an ANT-independent fashion. In purified mitochondria, two ligands of ANT, bongkrekic acid and the protein vMIA from cytomegalovirus, failed to prevent MMP induced by BaxBH3 or Bcl2BH3. In conclusion, BaxBH3 and Bcl2BH3 induce MMP and apoptosis through a mechanism which overcomes cytoprotection by
Bcl-2
and Bcl-X(L).
...
PMID:Cell permeable BH3-peptides overcome the cytoprotective effect of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L). 1196 Mar 69
When cells are exposed to death-inducing molecules such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha or Fas, caspase 8 is activated and cleaves an apoptotic facilitator, Bid, that is a member of the
Bcl-2
family. After additional modification, the C-terminal moiety of Bid is translocated to the mitochondria and induces the release of cytochrome c into the cytoplasm. In an attempt to directly observe the cleavage of Bid and the following events in living cells, we constructed a vector that encoded Bid
fused
with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) (YFP-Bid-CFP). On expression of YFP-Bid-CFP in mammalian cells, we were able to observe the efficient transfer of energy from excited CFP to YFP within the YFP-Bid-CFP molecule and, importantly, the fusion protein YFP-Bid-CFP was fully functional in cells. When YFP-Bid-CFP was cleaved by caspase 8, on activation by anti-Fas Abs but not by Abeta or tunicamycin, no such transfer of energy was detected. To our knowledge, this is the first report of (i) visualization of the activation of Bid by proteolytic cleavage, with direct observation of the cleavage of YFP-Bid-CFP in the cytoplasm and subsequent translocation of the cleaved Bid to mitochondria and (ii) the absence of Abeta- or tunicamycin-mediated significant activation of caspase 8 in individual living cells.
...
PMID:Confirmation by FRET in individual living cells of the absence of significant amyloid beta -mediated caspase 8 activation. 1240 9
Skeletal and cardiac myocytes cease division within weeks of birth. Although skeletal muscle retains limited capacity for regeneration through recruitment of satellite cells, resident populations of adult myocardial stem cells have not been identified. Because cell cycle withdrawal accompanies myocyte differentiation, we hypothesized that C2C12 cells, a mouse myoblast cell line previously used to characterize myocyte differentiation, also would provide a model for studying cell cycle withdrawal during differentiation. C2C12 cells were differentiated in culture medium containing horse serum and harvested at various time points to characterize the expression profiles of known cell cycle and myogenic regulatory factors by immunoblot analysis. BrdU incorporation decreased dramatically in confluent cultures 48 hr after addition of horse serum, as cells started to form myotubes. This finding was preceded by up-regulation of MyoD, followed by myogenin, and activation of
Bcl-2
. Cyclin D1 was expressed in proliferating cultures and became undetectable in cultures containing 40%
fused
myotubes, as levels of p21(WAF1/Cip1) increased and alpha-actin became detectable. Because C2C12 myoblasts withdraw from the cell cycle during myocyte differentiation following a course that recapitulates this process in vivo, we performed a genome-wide screen to identify other gene products involved in this process. Using microarrays containing approximately 10,000 minimally redundant mouse sequences that map to the UniGene database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, we compared gene expression profiles between proliferating, differentiating, and differentiated C2C12 cells and verified candidate genes demonstrating differential expression by RT-PCR. Cluster analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed groups of gene products involved in cell cycle withdrawal, muscle differentiation, and apoptosis. In addition, we identified several genes, including DDAH2 and Ly-6A, whose expression specifically was up-regulated during cell cycle withdrawal coincident with early myoblast differentiation.
...
PMID:Genome-wide examination of myoblast cell cycle withdrawal during differentiation. 1250 34
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen leader protein (EBNA-LP) plays a critical role in EBV-induced transformation. An earlier report (Y. Kawaguchi et al., J. Virol. 74: 10104-10111, 2000) showed that EBNA-LP interacts with a cellular protein HS1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1). The predicted amino acid sequence of HAX-1 exhibits similarity to that of another cellular protein Nip3 which has been shown to interact with cellular and viral anti-apoptotic proteins such as
Bcl-2
and BHRF1, an EBV homolog of
Bcl-2
. Here we investigated whether HAX-1, like Nip3, interacts with
Bcl-2
proteins and report the following. (i) A purified chimeric protein consisting of gluthathione S-transferase (GST)
fused
to BHRF1 (GST-BHRF1) or
Bcl-2
(GST-
Bcl-2
) specifically pulled down HAX-1 transiently expressed in COS-7 cells. (ii) GST-BHRF1 or GST-
Bcl-2
was not able to pull down EBNA-LP transiently expressed in COS-7 cells, whereas each of the GST fusion proteins formed complexes with EBNA-LP in the presence of RAX-1. These results indicated that EBNA-LP interacts with the viral and cellular
Bcl-2
proteins through HAX-1, suggesting that EBNA-LP possesses a potential function in the regulation of apoptosis in EBV-infected cells.
...
PMID:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen leader protein (EBNA-LP) forms complexes with a cellular anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2 or its EBV counterpart BHRF1 through HS1-associated protein X-1. 1263 58
Mcl-1 is an antiapoptotic member of the
Bcl-2
family whose protein and mRNA have a short half-life. In this report, we studied the changes in Mcl-1 protein and mRNA expression induced by staurosporine and aspirin. Both drugs induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells and reduced the levels of Mcl-1 protein. The caspase inhibitor Z-VAD.fmk and the proteasome inhibitor MG132 partially protected Mcl-1 from decay, indicating that both caspase-dependent and proteasome pathways are involved during apoptosis. Staurosporine also reduced Mcl-1 mRNA levels and this reduction was mostly caspase-dependent. In addition, staurosporine reduced the transcriptional activity of the Mcl-1 promoter
fused
to a luciferase gene reporter more than actinomycin D, a general inhibitor of transcription. Thus, we conclude that staurosporine down-regulates Mcl-1 mRNA levels by inhibiting transcription in a caspase-dependent manner and reduces Mcl-1 protein levels by a caspase-independent post-transcriptional mechanism. In contrast aspirin, at doses and times that induced loss of viability and decay of Mcl-1 protein, had no effect on Mcl-1 mRNA levels. Aspirin rapidly inhibited de novo protein synthesis before caspase activation. Moreover, the translational factor eIF2alpha was transiently phosphorylated and therefore inhibited very soon after aspirin treatment. Aspirin also inhibited the luciferase reporter activity of several attached promoter constructs, but it did not affect the luciferase activity of a construct containing an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) in its mRNA 5(')UTR. We conclude that staurosporine inhibits transcription and translation, whereas aspirin only inhibits cap-dependent translation. Treatment with cycloheximide, at doses that inhibit protein synthesis without affecting cell viability, also induced Mcl-1 protein decay. Mcl-1 disappearance might be necessary but not sufficient for the induction of apoptosis by staurosporine and aspirin. A model for the control of Mcl-1 during drug-induced apoptosis is presented.
...
PMID:Transcriptional and translational control of Mcl-1 during apoptosis. 1294 Dec 95
The present study examined if injection of DNA into the testis tabular could generate transgenic mice via transfecting spermatogonia. The 0.9 kb
Bcl-2
cDNA was
fused
to the promoter region of mouse whey acid protein gene and the SV40 polyA. A 3.0 kb fragment of WAP-
Bcl-2
-SV40 was mixed with cationic liposome and one side tabular of 3 mice testis was injected with the fragment, the other side was ligatured. Two out of the 3 males were used to mate with the female 4 days later. Twenty pups were produced and 3 of which were proven to be gene integration positive by PCR detection. Two, 1 male and 1 female, were further confirmed to carry the transgene by Southern blot analysis. The male died by accident during its feeding. The female was demonstrated to express
Bcl-2
protein in its mammary glands by Western blot assay. Seven out of 45 F1 mice were proven to be transgenic by PCR. It is concluded that transfecting spermatogonia in vivo can produce transgenic mice.
...
PMID:[Production of transgenic mice by in vivo spermatogonia-mediated gene transfer]. 1296 29
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