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)

Radiocontrast agents are thought to induce acute kidney injury in part through increased production of reactive oxygen species and increased cellular apoptosis. In this study we determined whether heme oxygenase-1 could prevent or reduce radiocontrast-induced acute kidney injury and, if so, what were the mechanisms by which this can occur. Sodium iothalamate was administered to uninephrectomized, salt-depleted male Sabra rats to initiate acute kidney injury. Heme oxygenase-1 was induced with cobalt protoporphyrin or inhibited with stannous mesoporphyrin. Inhibition of heme oxygenase exacerbated kidney injury as measured by an increase in plasma creatinine and in superoxide production. Heme oxygenase-1 induction prevented the increase in plasma creatinine and in superoxide in both the cortex and medulla compared to untreated rats with acute kidney injury. This protective effect of heme oxygenase-1 was associated with increased anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl and a decrease of pro-apoptotic caspase-3 and caspase-9 along with increased expression of inactive BAX. Our study suggests that increased levels of heme oxygenase-1 are protective against acute kidney injury due to radiocontrast exposure.
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PMID:Heme oxygenase-1 protects against radiocontrast-induced acute kidney injury by regulating anti-apoptotic proteins. 1791 15

Our objective was to reveal whether host immune response in hamster opisthorchiasis post-praziquantel treatment could induce apoptotic cell death in inflammatory cells. We, therefore, investigated apoptosis-related gene expression in hamsters re-infected with Opisthorchis viverrini (OV) and re-treated with praziquantel. Hamsters were re-infected with OV metacercariae then re-treated with praziquantel. The expression of apoptosis-related genes (i.e. apoptosis gene Bcl-2 associated protein X [BAX], caspase 9, p53 and protein kinase B [PKB]) was detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Histopathological analyses of liver tissues were performed by staining the sections with haematoxylin and eosin using light microscopy. The results show that BAX, Akt/PKB, p53 and caspase 9 expression levels were significantly increased on day 30 post-infection and at 6 h post-treatment and gradually decreased to a level near the uninfected control and at 24 h post-treatment, perhaps because of a decrease in inflammatory cells. Apoptotic cell death was observed at the nuclei of epithelial cells of the bile ducts and of T cells. Our results suggest that repeated infection with OV and re-treatment with praziquantel induces a host immune response that increases inflammatory cells, which in turn leads to increase, apoptosis-related gene expression in the short term post-treatment.
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PMID:Apoptosis-related gene expressions in hamsters re-infected with Opisthorchis viverrini and re-treated with praziquantel. 1785 91

Heart failure is known to be associated with an increase in cardiomyocyte apoptosis; however, neither its occurrence nor the mechanisms involved in hearts failing due to volume overload are completely understood. This study examined some of the signal pathways, which are known to regulate pro- or anti-apoptotic proteins, in heart failure due to volume overload induced by arteriovenous (AV) shunt in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were assessed for cardiac function at 16 weeks of the operation and the left ventricle was used for studying apoptosis and associated signal transduction mechanisms. Hemodynamic and echocardiographic data indicated the presence of severe heart failure in AV shunt rats. A marked elevation in the amount of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and increased occurrence of apoptosis were detected in the volume overloaded myocardium. Western blot analysis revealed a significant increase in BAX and caspases 3/9 proteins in the failing hearts whereas the levels of phosphorylated Akt and Bcl-2 proteins were decreased. These data suggest that there is a downregulation in the Akt-dependent survival signal involving anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, whereas the signals for the pro-apoptotic protein, BAX, are upregulated and these alterations may play a role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis in heart failure due to volume overload.
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PMID:Alterations in both death and survival signals for apoptosis in heart failure due to volume overload. 1793 52

Recent evidence suggests the existence of lipid microdomains in mitochondria, apparently coexisting as structural elements with some of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore-forming proteins and members of the Bcl-2 family. The aim of this study was to investigate the relevance of the main components of membrane microdomains (e.g. cholesterol and sphingolipids) in activation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) by recombinant BAX (rBAX). For this purpose, we used chemically modified renal cortex mitochondria and renal cortex mitochondria from hypothyroid rats that show a modified mitochondrial lipid composition in vivo. Oligomeric rBAX induced an enhanced permeability conformation in the mPTP of control mitochondria. rBAX failed to induce mPTP opening when the cholesterol and ganglioside content of mitochondria were modified with the chelator methyl-beta-cyclodextrin. Accordingly, hypothyroid mitochondria, with endogenously lower cholesterol and ganglioside content, showed resistance to mPTP opening induced by rBAX. These observations suggest that enriched cholesterol and ganglioside domains in the mitochondrial membranes may determine BAX interaction with the mPTP. An intriguing observation was that chemical extraction of cholesterol and ganglioside in control mitochondria did not have an effect on rBAX insertion. Conversely, in hypothyroid mitochondria, rBAX insertion was diminished dramatically compared with control mitochondria. The membrane and protein changes associated with thyroid status and their possible role in rBAX docking into the membranes are discussed.
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PMID:Changes in specific lipids regulate BAX-induced mitochondrial permeability transition. 1802 44

There is growing evidence that accelerated telomeric attrition and/or aberrant telomerase activity contributes to pathogenesis in a number of diseases. Likewise, there is increasing interest to develop new therapies to restore or replace dysfunctional cells characterized by short telomeric length using telomerase-positive counterparts or stem cells. While telomerase adds telomeric repeats de novo contributing to enhanced proliferative capacity and lifespan, it may also increase cellular survival by conferring resistance to apoptosis. Consequently, we sought to determine the involvement of telomerase for reduced apoptosis using ovarian surface epithelial cells. We found that expression of hTERT, the catalytic component of telomerase, was sufficient and specific to reduce caspase-mediated cellular apoptosis. Further, hTERT expression reduced activation of caspases 3, 8, and 9, reduced expression of pro-apoptotic mitochondrial proteins t-BID, BAD, and BAX and increased expression of the anti-apoptotic mitochondrial protein, Bcl-2. The ability of telomerase to suppress caspase-mediated apoptosis was p-jnk dependent since abrogation of jnk expression with jip abolished resistance to apoptosis. Consequently, these findings indicate that telomerase may promote cellular survival in epithelial cells by suppressing jnk-dependent caspase-mediated apoptosis.
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PMID:Telomerase confers resistance to caspase-mediated apoptosis. 1804 12

It is known that p53 alterations are commonly found in tumour cells. Another marker of tumorigenesis is FAK (focal adhesion kinase), a non-receptor kinase that is overexpressed in many types of tumours. Previously we determined that the N-terminal domain of FAK physically interacted with the N-terminal domain of p53. In the present study, using phage display, sitedirected mutagenesis, pulldown and immunoprecipitation assays we localized the site of FAK binding to a 7-amino-acid region(amino acids 65-71) in the N-terminal proline-rich domain of human p53. Mutation of the binding site in p53 reversed the suppressive effect of FAK on p53-mediated transactivation ofp21, BAX (Bcl-2-associated X protein) and Mdm2 (murine double minute 2) promoters. In addition, to functionally test this p53 site, we conjugated p53 peptides [wild-type (containing the wild-type binding site) and mutant (with a mutated 7-aminoacid binding site)] to a TAT peptide sequence to penetrate the cells, and demonstrated that the wild-type p53 peptide disrupted binding of FAK and p53 proteins and significantly inhibited cell viability of HCT116 p53+/+ cells compared with the control mutant peptide and HCT116 p53-/- cells. Furthermore, the TAT-p53 peptide decreased the viability of MCF-7 cells, whereas the mutant peptide did not cause this effect. Normal fibroblast p53+/+ and p53-/- MEF (murine embryonic fibroblast) cells and breast MCF10A cells were not sensitive to p53 peptide. Thus, for the first time, we have identified the binding site of the p53 andFAK interaction and have demonstrated that mutating this site and targeting the site with peptides affects p53 functioning and viability in the cells.
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PMID:The 7-amino-acid site in the proline-rich region of the N-terminal domain of p53 is involved in the interaction with FAK and is critical for p53 functioning. 1821 42

7-[(3-piperidyl)-1-propinyl]-camptothecin (CPT21) is a novel semi-synthetic water-soluble analogue of camptothecin. In this context, we assessed the anti-tumor activity of CPT21 both in vivo and in vitro and explored its molecular mechanism. We found that CPT21 presented a broad anti-tumor spectrum against ten cancer cell lines in vitro, and the IC(50) values ranged from 0.1 to 12.0 microM. CPT21 was also capable to interrupt the DNA topoisemerase I activity and caused DNA double strand breaks during DNA replication. Proportion of apoptotic SGC7901 cells induced by CPT21 showed a time- and concentration-dependent increase accompanied with the decrease in mitochondria membrane potential (DeltaPsim). We also observed that CPT21 up-regulated the protein expression of p53, phospho-p53, p21, BAX, phospho-c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK), meanwhile down-regulating the protein expression of Bcl-2, procaspase-9, XIAP, and phospho-ERK1/2. In the study of SGC7901 xenograft model, the results suggested that both 5.0 mg/kg and 10.0 mg/kg CPT21 achieved high anti-tumor activity, and the tumor inhibition rates were 42.5% and 75.1% respectively. Taken together, our study demonstrates that CPT21 displays an extensive anti-tumor spectrum and CPT21 can induce the apoptosis of SGC7901 cells via activating the caspases cascade followed by disrupting mitochondrion function.
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PMID:CPT21, a novel compound with anti-proliferative effect against gastric cancer cell SGC7901. 1828 17

In a previous investigation reduced apoptosis was identified in normal breast tissue from cancer-containing breasts away from the cancer in comparison to age-matched normal breast from women without cancer. The hypothesis for this study was that defects in expression of apoptotic regulatory and DNA repair proteins would facilitate persistence of genetic alterations and predispose to breast cancer development. Using immunohistochemistry normal breast from 120 age-matched women (58 with breast cancer, 62 without) was analysed for proliferation, apoptosis, bcl2, BAX, caspase 3, Hsp27, Hsp70, BRCA1, ATM and BARD1. All assessments were performed without knowledge as to whether it was a cancer case or control. A significant difference was found for apoptotic index which was higher in controls (P < 0.02). There was no change in apoptotic and proliferation index with age for cancer cases unlike controls. Higher expression of bcl2 (P = 0.001) and Hsp27 (P = 0.001) was found in normal breast from cancer-containing breast in comparison to controls. There were no differences in the other proteins. Apoptosis has been found to be reduced in normal breast in a separate cohort of women with breast cancer, along with increased expression of the anti-apoptotic proteins bcl2 and Hsp27. These alterations in apoptotic regulation would enhance tumour development. Further studies are needed to examine the value of these proteins as risk markers.
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PMID:Altered expression of anti-apoptotic proteins in non-involved tissue from cancer-containing breasts. 1836 76

Gene therapy for a variety of human cancers containing the mutant p53 (mt-p53) gene has been performed by direct injection of a retroviral or adenoviral vector containing the wild-type p53 (wt-p53) gene. Because many individuals with skin squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) have been shown to carry the p53 gene mutation, these patients are candidates for p53 gene therapy. For this reason, we established ponasterone A-inducible the wild-type p53 (wt-p53) protein-expressing clones by transfecting a ponasterone-inducible vector containing the wt-p53 gene into HSC-1 cells, which harbor the mutated p53 (m/w) at codon 173 (GTG --> TTG in one allele). Upon the induction of the wt-p53 protein, severe growth suppression was observed. Based on the results of the expression patterns of the p21, p16, RB, BAX and Bcl-2 proteins, as well as on the results of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase staining, the suppression was caused by senescence-like growth arrest of the cells. Although it is generally accepted that the suppression of tumor cell growth is caused by p53-induced apoptosis, permanent G1 arrest induced by p53 is also an important part of the growth-suppression mechanism in p53 gene therapy. The present results should expand the possibilities for p53 gene therapy for human skin SCCs containing the mutant p53 gene.
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PMID:Establishment of ponasterone A-inducible the wild-type p53 protein-expressing clones from HSC-1 cells, cell growth suppression by p53 expression and the suppression mechanism. 1900 4

The interferon-induced, double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) can play critical roles in inhibiting virus replication and inducing apoptosis. To develop new agents that may inhibit viral replication or induce apoptosis in cancer cells via the PKR signaling pathway, we screened a chemical library for compounds that have differential cytotoxic effects on wild-type [mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF)/PKR(+/+)] and PKR-knockout [MEF/PKR(-/-)] mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. We identified a synthetic compound, BEPP [1H-benzimidazole1-ethanol,2,3-dihydro-2-imino-a-(phenoxymethyl)-3-(phenylmethyl)-,monohydrochloride], that induces a cytotoxic effect more effectively in MEF/PKR(+/+) cells than in MEF/PKR(-/-) cells. BEPP also relatively effectively inhibited the growth of a human lung cancer cell line overexpressing PKR, compared with other cancer cell lines. In sensitive cells, BEPP induced apoptosis with activation of caspase-3. Treatment with BEPP led to increased phosphorylation of PKR and eIF2alpha, increased expression of BAX, and decreased expression of Bcl-2. BEPP-induced apoptosis was PKR dependent and was blocked by the adenovector expressing the dominant-negative PKR. Furthermore, pretreatment of HeLa cells at a noncytotoxic dose of BEPP effectively inhibited Vaccinia virus replication. Together, our results suggest that BEPP and its analogs may induce PKR-dependent apoptosis and inhibition of viral replication and that they can be a potential anticancer or anti-virus agent.
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PMID:Double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase-dependent apoptosis induction by a novel small compound. 1906 42


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