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)

Taxane-based therapies appear to have a significant efficacy in clinical trials on hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma. In the present study, we investigated the cellular response of androgen-independent prostate carcinoma cell lines to the novel taxane IDN 5109 (BAY 59-8862) and evaluated its antitumor activity. In previous preclinical studies, this new paclitaxel (PTX) analogue was characterized by high tolerability and antitumor efficacy, ability to overcome multidrug resistance, and activity by oral administration. Upon treatment, DU145 and PC3 prostate carcinoma cell lines underwent a transient mitotic arrest. This was followed by G1 arrest and rapid occurrence of apoptosis in DU145 cells, whereas in PC3 cells, which are defective for the postmitotic checkpoint, a slow cell death was preceded by DNA endoreduplication. At the biochemical level, such events were associated with tubulin polymerization, activation of the mitosis-promoting factor, and phosphorylation of Bcl-X(L)/Bcl-2/Raf-1. In addition, IDN 5109 shared with PTX the ability to down-regulate the expression of the two potent angiogenic factors vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor. These findings indicated that IDN 5109 affected the same pathways involved in the cellular response to PTX and suggested that an antiangiogenic effect mediated by inhibition of paracrine stimulation of endothelial cells might contribute to the antitumor effect of both drugs. In in vivo experiments, the new taxane displayed a superior and more persistent effect compared with PTX against DU145 tumor xenografts. Such an effect was associated with pronounced reduction of the tumor microvessel density, superior to that achieved by PTX. These results support a potential therapeutic advantage of IDN 5109 over PTX against hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma.
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PMID:Cellular bases of the antitumor activity of the novel taxane IDN 5109 (BAY59-8862) on hormone-refractory prostate cancer. 1217 97

By inducing p53-dependent G2 arrest, the pretreatment with low concentrations of DNA damaging drugs (e.g., doxorubicin, DOX) can prevent cell death caused by microtubule-active drugs (e.g., paclitaxel, PTX), thus potentially permitting selective killing of p53-deficient cancer cells. However, DOX still protects a subset of tumor cell lines lacking wt p53 (HL60 and Jurkat leukemia cells), thus limiting the utility of protection of cells with wt p53 (e.g., normal cells). The present work overcomes this obstacle by adding an abrogator of p53-independent checkpoint (e.g., UCN-01) to the DOX-PTX sequence. By inhibiting a p53-independent pathway, UCN-01 overrode DOX-induced G2 arrest and instead induced G1 arrest in HL60 and Jurkat, thus propelling these p53-deficient cells from G2 to G1. Once they entered mitosis, cells were killed by PTX. Induction of G2 arrest with sequential abrogation of a p53-independent checkpoint allows pharmacological manipulation of Raf-1/Bcl-2 hyperphosphorylation, PARP and Rb cleavage and cell death caused by PTX in p53-deficient cells. Unlike previous approaches, this strategy is intended to increase selectivity, not the cytotoxicity of PTX. This rational sequence of agents that induces p53-dependent and abrogates p53-independent arrest represents a cancer-selective strategy for treatment of p53-deficient tumors.
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PMID:Sequential activation and inactivation of G2 checkpoints for selective killing of p53-deficient cells by microtubule-active drugs. 1221 65

Resting cells are relatively resistant to microtubule-active drugs including paclitaxel (PTX). By causing p53-mediated arrest, pretreatment with low concentrations of doxorubicin (DOX) protected HCT116 cells from the cytotoxicity caused by PTX. Unlike DOX, flavopiridol (FL) did not protect HCT116 cells. Low concentrations of FL (50 nM) induced p21 but not p53. High concentrations of FL (500 nM) decreased levels of p21 and Mdm-2 but dramatically induced p53. Thus, FL reciprocally affects p21 and p53. In LNCaP, a prostate cancer cell line which is highly sensitive to p21-induced growth arrest (p21-sensitive), low concentrations of FL (50 nM) induced p21 (without induction of p53) and caused G1 and G2 arrest. This precluded mitotic arrest, Bcl-2 and Raf-1 phosphorylation, and diminished cell death caused by PTX. In contrast, FL did not protect PC3M, arrest-resitant and highly aggressive prostate cancer cells. Like LNCaP, HL60 and SKBr3 cells are known to be p21-sensitive. As predicted, low concentrations of FL antagonized PTX-mediated cytotoxicity in HL60 and SKBr3 cell lines. In summary, only low concentrations of FL can induce p21, and, in turn, only p21-sensitive cells are protected from PTX.
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PMID:Flavopiridol inversely affects p21(WAF1/CIP1) and p53 and protects p21-sensitive cells from paclitaxel. 1243 60

Bile acids have been implicated in biliary tract carcinogenesis, in part, by activating the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Overexpression of Mcl-1, a potent antiapoptotic protein of the Bcl-2 family, has also been reported in cholangiocarcinomas. Because receptor tyrosine kinases like EGFR may modulate antiapoptotic protein expression, we examined the hypothesis that bile acids modulate Mcl-1 expression levels via EGFR. Deoxycholate increased cellular Mcl-1 protein in a concentration-dependent manner. The deoxycholate-mediated increase of cellular Mcl-1 protein was blocked equally by EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors or an EGFR-neutralizing antibody. Although inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinases did not attenuate the deoxycholate-associated increase in Mcl-1 protein, the Raf-1 inhibitor, BAY 37-9751, effectively blocked the cellular increase of this protein. Neither Mcl-1 transcriptional activity nor its mRNA stability was altered by deoxycholate treatment. However, Mcl-1 protein stability was increased by bile acid treatment, an effect duplicated by proteasome inhibition. Deoxycholate prolongation of Mcl-1 turnover was blocked by either EGFR inhibitors or the Raf-1 inhibitor. Whereas the deoxycholate-induced increase in Mcl-1 reduced Fas-mediated apoptosis, the Raf-1 inhibitor potentiated Fas apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that bile acids block Mcl-1 protein degradation via activation of an EGFR/Raf-1 cascade resulting in its cellular accumulation. Raf-1 inhibitors block this increase of Mcl-1 and render the cells more susceptible to apoptosis, a potential therapeutic strategy for cholangiocarcinomas.
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PMID:Bile acids inhibit Mcl-1 protein turnover via an epidermal growth factor receptor/Raf-1-dependent mechanism. 1243 43

Farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) block the growth of tumor cells in vitro and in vivo with minimal toxicity toward normal cells. In general, inhibition of protein farnesylation results in G0/G1 cell cycle block, G2/M cell cycle arrest, or has no effect on cell cycle progression. One aspect of FTI biology that is poorly understood is the ability of these drugs to induce cancer cell growth arrest at the G2/M phase of cell cycle. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the farnesyltransferase inhibitor FTI-277 on two human liver cancer cell lines, HepG2 and Huh7. Treatment of these cells with FTI-277 inhibited Ras farnesylation in a dose-dependent manner. Both HepG2 and Huh7 cell growth was inhibited by FTI-277 and cells accumulated at the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. In HepG2 and Huh7 cells, FTI-277 induced an up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1) without affecting the cellular levels of p53 and p21(Waf1). This event correlated with reduced activity of the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 and cyclin-dependent kinase 1. Moreover, increased expression of Bcl-2 protein was observed in HepG2 and Huh7 cells treated with FTI-277, and this was coincidental with reduced association between Raf-1 and Bcl-2. Finally, transient transfection of a dominant-negative Ras allele induced Bcl-2 expression and reduced Bcl-2/Raf-1 association demonstrating a requirement for Ras. Taken together, these findings show that increased expression of p27(Kip1) and Bcl-2 is concomitant with altered association between Ras, Raf-1 and Bcl-2 and suggest that this is responsible for the growth-inhibitory properties of FTI-277.
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PMID:Growth inhibition by the farnesyltransferase inhibitor FTI-277 involves Bcl-2 expression and defective association with Raf-1 in liver cancer cell lines. 1248 48

trans-Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) is able to significantly reduce paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in the human neuroblastoma (HN) SH-SY5Y cell line, acting on several cellular signaling pathways that are involved in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. trans-Resveratrol reverses phosphorylation of Bcl-2 induced by paclitaxel and concomitantly blocks Raf-1 phosphorylation, also observed after paclitaxel exposure, thus suggesting that Bcl-2 inactivation may be dependent on the activation of the Raf/Ras cascade. trans-Resveratrol also reverses the sustained phosphorylation of JNK/SAPK, which specifically occurs after paclitaxel exposure.Overall, our observations demonstrate that (a) the toxic action of paclitaxel on neuronal-like cells is not only related to the effect of the drug on tubulin, but also to its capacity to activate several intracellular pathways leading to inactivation of Bcl-2, thus causing cells to die by apoptosis, (b) trans-resveratrol significantly reduces paclitaxel-induced apoptosis by modulating the cellular signaling pathways which commit the cell to apoptosis.
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PMID:Effect of trans-resveratrol on signal transduction pathways involved in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. 1251 25

MAP kinase pathways comprise a group of parallel protein phosphorylation cascades, which are involved in signaling triggered by a variety of stimuli. Previous findings suggested that the ERK and the JNK pathways have opposing roles in regulating proliferation and survival or apoptosis and that apoptosis can be promoted by inhibiting the ERK pathway or by activation of the JNK pathway. In order to test this hypothesis and explore whether it can be exploited as a strategy for killing human cancer cells, we used gene transfer experiments with a range of cancer cell lines. We expressed the catalytic fragment of human MEKK1 to activate JNK and the Ras-binding domain (RBD) of Raf-1 to inhibit the Ras-ERK pathway. In addition, we designed several RBD-MEKK1 fusion proteins aiming to simultaneously activate the JNK and block the ERK pathway. We found that the MEKK1 proteins as well as the RBD alone could reduce colony formation in all cell lines. The survival time of MEKK1-expressing cells depended on the cell line. In HeLa cells, survival could be prolonged by inhibition of caspases but not by coexpression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Due to a lower kinase activity the RBD-MEKK1 fusion proteins were less effective in apoptosis induction than the MEKK1 kinase domain alone. Using mutant forms of Ras and Raf-1 we could show that the reduced kinase activity of RBD-MEKK1 fusion proteins was caused by binding to the Ras protein. The expression of lethal doses of MEKK1 resulted in a strong activation of all three major MAP kinase families JNK, ERK, and p38. Blocking these pathways either by coexpressing a dominant negative form of MKK4 or with inhibitors of MEK or p38 failed to inhibit apoptosis. This suggests that MEKK1 induces apoptosis by causing a general deregulation of MAP kinase signaling rather than by the activation of a single pathway.
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PMID:The kinase domain of MEKK1 induces apoptosis by dysregulation of MAP kinase pathways. 1256 21

Overexpression of Bcl-2 plays a role in the development of drug resistance in leukemia and other apoptosis-prone tumors. Raf isoforms areserine/threonine kinases that act as signal transducers in cascades initiated by many growth factors and mitogens. Raf isoform activation has been linked to drug resistance in leukemia. In this study we investigated effects of Bcl-2 and Raf-1 on doxorubicin-induced growth inhibition of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. In the absence of doxorubicin, overexpression of Bcl-2 or a constitutively active form of Raf-1 in MCF-7 cells did not affect proliferation rate. Overexpression of Bcl-2 increased resistance of MCF-7 cells to doxorubicin in 2-day, 5-day, and 8-week assays. Analysis of doxorubicin sensitivity of individual MCF/Bcl-2 clones showed that doxorubicin resistance was positively correlated with level of Bcl-2 overexpression. Overexpression of constitutively active Raf-1 also increased resistance to doxorubicin. Induction of Raf-1 activity in MCF-7 cells overexpressing Bcl-2 resulted in greater doxorubicin resistance than induction of Raf-1 activity in MCF-7 cells lacking Bcl-2 overexpression. Furthermore, levels of P-glycoprotein mRNA were increased in MCF-7 cells overexpressing a constitutively active Raf-1. MCF-7 cells overexpressing constitutively active Raf-1 were also more resistant to paclitaxel, which, like doxorubicin, is a substrate of P-glycoprotein. These observations suggest both independent and overlapping roles for Raf-1 and Bcl-2 oncogenes in the resistance to growth inhibition by doxorubicin.
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PMID:Raf-1 and Bcl-2 induce distinct and common pathways that contribute to breast cancer drug resistance. 1263 22

Taxanes are known to activate several cellular signals including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B), tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc, and serine phosphorylation of Bcl-2. However, the mediators of these signaling pathways are unknown. Using U937 leukemic cells, we evaluated the effect of docetaxel on phosphatidylcholine (PC) and its metabolites, phosphatidic acid (PA) and diacylglycerol (DAG), and their impact on MAPK and NF-kappa B activation, as well as on Raf-1 and Bcl-2 phosphorylation. Metabolic labeling studies showed that docetaxel (10 nM) induced two waves of PA production (130-140%), which were detected at 1 and 10 min. Docetaxel also stimulated DAG production (130%), which followed the first PA wave. The initial PA burst was due to phospholipase D (PLD)-mediated PC hydrolysis. Subsequent DAG production was inhibited by the phosphatidate phosphohydrolase (PAP) inhibitor, propranolol. R59949, a DAG kinase inhibitor, increased DAG accumulation and blocked the second PA wave. These results suggest that docetaxel triggers a metabolic cascade consisting in PLD-mediated PC hydrolysis, PA release, PAP-dependent DAG production, and DAG kinase stimulation, leading to DAG conversion back to PA. Neither R59949 nor propranolol influenced docetaxel-induced Raf-1/ERK activation. However, R59949 abrogated both NF-kappa B activation and Bcl-2 phosphorylation, suggesting that DAG and/or DAG-derived PA contribute in regulating these events.
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PMID:Phosphatidylcholine-derived phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol are involved in the signaling pathways activated by docetaxel. 1272 57

Interactions between the protein kinase C (PKC) and Chk1 inhibitor UCN-01 and the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) antagonist 17-AAG have been examined in human leukemia cells in relation to effects on signal transduction pathways and apoptosis. Simultaneous exposure (30 hours) of U937 monocytic leukemia cells to minimally toxic concentrations of 17-AAG (eg, 400 nM) and UCN-01 (eg, 75 nM) triggered a pronounced increase in mitochondrial injury (ie, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential [Deltapsim]; cytosolic release of cytochrome c), caspase activation, and apoptosis. Synergistic induction of apoptosis was also observed in other human leukemia cell types (eg, Jurkat, NB4). Coexposure of human leukemia cells to 17-AAG and the PKC inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide (GFX) did not result in enhanced lethality, arguing against the possibility that the PKC inhibitory actions of UCN-01 are responsible for synergistic interactions. The enhanced cytotoxicity of this combination was associated with diminished Akt activation and marked down-regulation of Raf-1, MEK1/2, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Coadministration of 17-AAG and UCN-01 did not modify expression of Hsp90, Hsp27, phospho-JNK, or phospho-p38 MAPK, but was associated with further p34cdc2 dephosphorylation and diminished expression of Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and XIAP. In addition, inducible expression of both a constitutively active MEK1/2 or myristolated Akt construct, which overcame inhibition of ERK and Akt activation, respectively, significantly attenuated 17-AAG/UCN-01-mediated lethality. Together, these findings indicate that the Hsp90 antagonist 17-AAG potentiates UCN-01 cytotoxicity in a variety of human leukemia cell types and suggest that interference with both the Akt and Raf-1/MEK/MAP kinase cytoprotective signaling pathways contribute to this phenomenon.
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PMID:Synergistic antileukemic interactions between 17-AAG and UCN-01 involve interruption of RAF/MEK- and AKT-related pathways. 1273 74


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