Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: UNIPROT:P10415 (Bcl-2)
33,771 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A major concern in cancer therapy is resistance of tumors such as glioblastoma to current treatment protocols. Here, we report that transfer of the gene encoding second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (Smac) or Smac peptides sensitized various tumor cells in vitro and malignant glioma cells in vivo for apoptosis induced by death-receptor ligation or cytotoxic drugs. Expression of a cytosolic active form of Smac or cell-permeable Smac peptides bypassed the Bcl-2 block, which prevented the release of Smac from mitochondria, and also sensitized resistant neuroblastoma or melanoma cells and patient-derived primary neuroblastoma cells ex vivo. Most importantly, Smac peptides strongly enhanced the antitumor activity of Apo-2L/tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in an intracranial malignant glioma xenograft model in vivo. Complete eradication of established tumors and survival of mice was only achieved upon combined treatment with Smac peptides and Apo2L/TRAIL without detectable toxicity to normal brain tissue. Thus, Smac agonists are promising candidates for cancer therapy by potentiating cytotoxic therapies.
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PMID:Smac agonists sensitize for Apo2L/TRAIL- or anticancer drug-induced apoptosis and induce regression of malignant glioma in vivo. 1211 45

This study shows that in the glioblastoma hamster cell line HJC12 the retinoblastoma family member pRb2/p130 enhances gamma-radiation-induced cell death. In HJC12 cells the tetracycline-regulated expression of pRb2/p130 increased the percentage of gamma-radiation-induced apoptotic cells from 27 to 47%. pRb2/p130 overexpression was associated with the downregulation of the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 and the upregulation of the steady-state protein levels of the pro-apoptotic transcription factor p73. In particular, RT-PCR showed a significant increase in the expression of the p73delta isoform when pRb2/p130 was overexpressed. The ability of pRb2/p130 to modulate apoptosis was not associated with its role in mediating G0/G1 arrest during cell cycle progression. Our data suggest a role for pRb2/p130 in glioblastoma gamma-radiation-induced cell death, indicating that the antitumoral action of pRb2/p130 can regulate both inhibition of cell cycle progression and induction of cell death.
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PMID:pRb2/p130 promotes radiation-induced cell death in the glioblastoma cell line HJC12 by p73 upregulation and Bcl-2 downregulation. 1218 89

Since malignant glioma displays moderate resistance to conventional therapy, a new treatment modality is needed to improve the outcome of patients with these tumors. In this study, we examined whether combination stimulation with interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and retinoic acid (RA) affected proliferation of the glioblastoma cell line GB 12 in vitro. Stimulation with IFN-alpha alone inhibited the GB 12 cell proliferation in a dose/time-dependent fashion, as assessed by WST-1 assay and uptake of 3H-thymidine, while RA limited it only slightly. The anti-proliferative action of IFN-alpha against glioblastoma cells was enhanced by the addition of RA. The IFN-alpha/RA combination also induced apoptosis in a substantial portion of the cells, compared with either reagent alone. Bcl-2 family proteins, regulating apoptosis, were altered by these stimuli: Bcl-2 was down-regulated, while Bax-alpha was up-regulated, especially by the combination. These findings suggest that the IFN-alpha/RA combination would synergistically affect glioblastoma cell growth, probably through apoptosis induction as well as a decreased cellular DNA synthesis.
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PMID:Combined stimulation with interferon alpha and retinoic acid synergistically inhibits proliferation of the glioblastoma cell line GB12. 1239 8

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and malignant central nervous system tumor in humans, is highly proliferative and resistant to apoptosis. Stat3, a latent transcription factor being activated by aberrant cytokine or growth factor signaling, acts as a suppressor of apoptosis in a number of cancer cells. Here we report that GBM tumors and cell lines contain high levels of constitutively activated Stat3 when compared with normal human astrocytes, white matter, and normal tissue adjacent to tumor. The persistent activation of Stat3 is in part, attributable to an autocrine action of interleukin-6 in the GBM cell line U251. Janus kinase inhibitor AG490 inhibits Stat3 activation with a concomitant reduction in steady-state levels of Bcl-X(L), Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 proteins and induces apoptosis in U251 cells as revealed by Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage and Annexin-V staining. Expression of a dominant negative mutant Stat3 protein or treatment with AG490 markedly reduces the proliferation of U251 cells by inhibiting the constitutive activation of Stat3. These results provide evidence that constitutive activation of Stat3 contributes to the pathogenesis of glioblastoma by promoting both proliferation and survival of GBM cells. Therefore, targeting Stat3 signaling may provide a potential therapeutic intervention for GBM.
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PMID:Inhibition of constitutively active Stat3 suppresses proliferation and induces apoptosis in glioblastoma multiforme cells. 1246 61

The functions of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL were examined in glioblastoma cells. Expression of both Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL were found to be elevated in protein lysates from seven early passage cell lines derived from human glioblastoma tumors compared with non-neoplastic glial cells. Down-regulation of both bcl-2 and bcl-xL expression in glioblastoma cell lines U87 and NS008 with bcl-2/bcl-xL bispecific antisense oligonucleotide resulted in spontaneous cell death. The mechanism of cell death was partially caspase-dependent. Executioner caspase 6 and caspase 7, but not caspase 3, were involved in apoptosis induced by bcl-2/bcl-xL antisense treatment. Interestingly, western blots failed to demonstrate expression of caspase 3 in two of the seven glioblastoma cell lines examined. The data support the hypothesis that Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL are important in preventing cell death in glioblastoma cells. It also suggests that there are functional pathways capable of successful completion of caspase-dependent cell death in gliomas. These findings support a potential role of bcl-2/bcl-xL bispecifc antisense oligonucleotide therapy as a treatment strategy to enhance caspase-dependent cell death in patients with glioblastoma.
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PMID:Down-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression with bispecific antisense treatment in glioblastoma cell lines induce cell death. 1255 90

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most challenging solid cancers to treat due to its highly proliferative, angiogenic and invasive nature. The small molecule CDK inhibitor, flavopiridol, has demonstrated antitumor activity in human xenograft models and is currently in clinical trials showing efficacy in patients with advanced disease. We have developed an experimental animal model using the murine glioma GL261 cells as a novel in vivo system to screen potential therapeutic agents for GBM. Results of in vitro testing demonstrate that flavopiridol has several relevant clinical characteristics such as its ability to: 1. inhibit cell growth; 2. inhibit cell migration; 3. decrease expression of cyclin D1, CDK4 and p21; 4. induce apoptosis in cells with high levels of p27 expression; and 5. decrease the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. The mechanism by which flavopiridol induces apoptosis is mitochondrial-mediated. We demonstrate by electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry that drug treatment induces mitochondrial damage that was accompanied by the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol together with the translocation of apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) into the nucleus. This finding in murine glioma cells differs from the mechanism of flavopiridolinduced cell death reported by us for human glioma cells (Alonso et al., Mol Cancer Ther 2003; 2:139) where drug treatment induced a caspase- and cytochrome c-independent pathway in the absence of detectable damage to mitochondria. In apoptotic human glioma cells only translocation of AIF into the nucleus occurred. Thus, the same drug kills different types of glioma cells by different mitochondrial-dependent pathways.
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PMID:Flavopiridol induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in murine glioma GL261 cells via release of cytochrome c and apoptosis inducing factor. 1273 34

Brefeldin A (BFA), a fungal metabolite known to affect the structure and function of the Golgi apparatus, has recently been shown to induce apoptosis and cell growth inhibition in various human cell lines. Glioblastomas (GB) are cerebral tumors with poor prognosis, which display resistance to current therapies including radio- and chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to investigate BFA effects in three human GB cell lines (SA4, SA146 and U87MG cells). Compared with control cells, about 60% of cell growth inhibition was observed in BFA (100 ng/ml for 24 h)-exposed cells in the three cell lines. Furthermore, in SA4 and SA146 cells, BFA was able to induce a time- and dose-dependent apoptosis detected by DAPI staining, TUNEL assay and flow-cytometric analysis. Since p53 expression was not modified after BFA exposure, BFA-induced apoptosis may follow a p53-independent pathway, as already reported. In the same way, BFA did not alter Bcl-2, Bax and Mcl-1 expression. Cell cycle analysis revealed a cell cycle arrest in early G0/G1 phase with an increase in G0/G1 cell population (70% in control cells vs. 83% in exposed cells) associated with a decrease in the S cell population (14% in control cells vs. 5.5% in exposed cells). The Ki67 labeling index also confirmed the cell cycle blockade. Our results suggest that BFA may be a potent cell cycle modulator and inducer of apoptosis in GB cell lines, and therefore may become a promising candidate for the chemotherapeutic treatment of gliomas.
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PMID:Brefeldin A induces apoptosis and cell cycle blockade in glioblastoma cell lines. 1275 46

Glioblastoma is a lethal neoplasm resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Natural born killer (NBK), also known as Bcl-2-interacting killer (BIK), is a death-promoting Bcl-2 family protein sharing with Bcl-2 only the Bcl homology 3 (BH3) domain. We here report that an adenoviral vector encoding NBK (Ad-NBK) uniformly induces cell death in 12 human malignant glioma cell lines. Ad-NBK-induced cell death involves neither quantitative mitochondrial cytochrome c release nor caspase 8, 9, 7, or 3 processing and is unaffected by the viral caspase inhibitor, cytokine response modifier A (CRM-A), or selective caspase 8 or 9 inhibitors. In contrast, Ad-NBK-induced cell death is inhibited by the broad-range caspase inhibitor, zVAD-fmk, or by adenoviral gene transfer of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP). Further, Ad-NBK-induced cell death is inhibited by Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL gene transfer. Interestingly, Bcl-2- and Bcl-xL-transfected glioma cells, which are partially protected from Ad-NBK-induced cell death, accumulate much higher levels of NBK than are ever observed in control-infected cells. This indicates that complex formation with Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL sequesters NBK in an inactive form and that free NBK, rather than an NBK-mediated depletion of free antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, is the proximate mediator of Ad-NBK-induced cell death. Conversely, proteasome inhibition-mediated accumulation of NBK strongly enhances Ad-NBK-induced cell death. Finally, Ad-NBK-infected LN-229 glioma cells are not tumorigenic in nude mice. Thus Ad-NBK triggers an XIAP- and zVAD-fmk-sensitive cell death pathway in glioma cells with potential therapeutic value, provided that NBK expression can be selectively targeted to cancer cells.
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PMID:Adenoviral natural born killer gene therapy for malignant glioma. 1295 95

We investigated the effects of FK228 on cell proliferation and apoptosis against human glioblastoma (GM) T98G, U251MG, and U87MG cells. Upon exposure to FK228, cell proliferation was inhibited, and apoptosis detected by the cleavage of CPP32 was induced. FK228 increased the expression levels of p21 (WAF-1) and of pro-apoptotic Bad protein in all GM cells. Furthermore, FK228 treatment also reduced the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL in all GM cells and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 in U87MG cells, thereby shifting the cellular equilibrium from life to death. An increased accumulation of histone H4 was detected in the p21 (WAF-1) promoter and the structural gene (exon 2) and the Bad structural gene (exon 2 and 3) upon treatment with FK228, as assessed by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. Thus, the results indicated that an increased expression of p21 (WAF1) and Bad due to FK228 is regulated, at least in part, by the degree of acetylation of the gene-associated histone. We also found that FK228 inhibits cellular invasiveness and decreases MMP-2 activity. In addition, the growth of transplanted human GM m-3 cells into the subcutaneous tissue of hereditary athymic mice was significantly inhibited, and apoptosis was induced with FK228 treatment. The results suggested that FK228 might be useful in the treatment of human GM, although further studies will be needed.
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PMID:Histone deacetylase inhibitor, FK228, induces apoptosis and suppresses cell proliferation of human glioblastoma cells in vitro and in vivo. 1502 82

The mechanism of lovastatin-induced cell death was examined in three established human glioblastoma cell lines; U87, U251, and U138. Changes in potential modifiers of apoptosis, including Bcl-2 family proteins and MAP kinase targets after such lovastatin treatment, were evaluated. Lovastatin (5 microm) treatment causes extensive cell death in two of the cell lines, U87 and U251; but only minimal in a third, U138. Lovastatin-induced death occurs in correlation with significantly increased levels of the BH3-only protein, Bim. The up-regulation of Bim levels was directly associated with an increased incidence of apoptosis. Lovastatin treatment in U87 cells results in activation of targets of three major mitogen-activating protein kinase cascades including Erk1/2, JNK and p38. Changes in levels of Bim, as well as increase phosphorylation of Erk1/2, c-jun, and p38 are all prevented by co-incubation of lovastatin and the isoprenylation metabolite, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. Inhibition of the MAP kinase pathways failed to block the increased expression of Bim expression or cell death. Further elucidation of the mechanisms of lovastatin-induced up-regulation of Bim and apoptosis in glioblastoma cells are important in determining a potential role for lovastatin as a chemotherapy agent.
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PMID:Lovastatin-induced up-regulation of the BH3-only protein, Bim, and cell death in glioblastoma cells. 1503 Apr 1


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