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)

Microtubules are highly dynamic cellular polymers made of alphabeta-tubulin and associated proteins. They play a key role during mitosis, participating in the exact organization and function of the spindle, and are critical for assuring the integrity of the segregated DNA. Therefore, they represent one of the more effective targets in current cancer therapy. Paclitaxel (Taxol) is the prototype of the taxane family of antitumor drugs, and it was the first natural product shown to stabilize microtubules. This unique mechanism of action is in contrast to other microtubule poisons, such as Vinca alkaloids, colchicine, and cryptophycines, which inhibit tubulin polymerization. Taxanes block cell cycle progression through centrosomal impairment, induction of abnormal spindles and suppression of spindle microtubule dynamics. Triggering of apoptosis by aberrant mitosis or by subsequent multinucleated G1-like state related to mitotic slippage, depends on cell type and drug schedule. The development of fluorescent derivatives of paclitaxel led us to locate spindle pole microtubules and centrosomes as main sub-cellular targets of cytotoxic taxoids in living cells. In this review we discuss these findings in the context of a cell cycle-dependent response to taxanes, based on the cellular targets, and the status of the implicated cell cycle checkpoints. We also review those events that can influence this response, like the different signal transduction pathways activated/inactivated in relation to Bcl-2 phosphorylation and induction of apoptosis, and the controversial role of the p53 status on cell sensitivity to paclitaxel. Finally, cell cycle-dependent resistance, an emerging concept in combination sequential chemotherapy, is discussed on the basis of the cell cycle-dependent mechanisms of action of taxanes.
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PMID:Taxanes: microtubule and centrosome targets, and cell cycle dependent mechanisms of action. 1276 88

Docetaxel (Taxotere) is a member of the taxane class of anticancer agents to reach clinical use. This semisynthetic analog of paclitaxel (Taxol) is one of the newer potent anti-neoplastic agents now undergoing extensive laboratory and clinical investigations. Several studies indicate that antimicrotubule agents are potent promoters of apoptosis in cancer cells. Cytotoxic mechanisms of antimitotic taxoids are not yet fully understood, but it has been demonstrated that docetaxel increases tubulin polymerisation, promotes microtubule assembly and also inhibits tubulin depolymerisation. Disruption of microtubules results also in the induction of tumor suppressor gene p53 and inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases and activation/inactivation of several protein kinases. As a consequence cells are arrested in the G2-M phase of the cell cycle, after which they may either undergo cell death by apoptosis or necrosis or overcome the G2-M stop and continue in the division cycle (often toward a post-mitotic cell death) depending on the tumor cell type. Nevertheless, how docetaxel induces apoptotic cell death or caspases activation is not yet defined. One may assume that taxanes are able to induce the phosphorylation of Bcl-X(L)/Bcl-2 members and thus inactivate their anti-apoptotic capacities. The down-regulation of Bcl-2 and/or the upregulation of p53 and p21/WAF-1 are certainly one of the important modes of apoptosis induction by taxanes. The aim of this framework is to summarize the effects of microtubuline targeting agents on apoptotic signal transduction and new molecular pathways. Finally, we will also discuss the potential therapeutic interest in the association of docetaxel and ionizing radiation.
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PMID:Signal transduction pathways of taxanes-induced apoptosis. 1276 74

CD spectroscopy is an established and valuable technique for examining protein structure, dynamics and folding. Because of its ability to sensitively detect conformational changes, it has important potential for drug discovery, enabling screening for ligand and drug binding, and detection of potential candidates for new pharmaceuticals. The binding of the anti-tumour agent Taxol to the anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2 [Rodi, Janes, Sanganee, Holton, Wallace and Makowski (1999) J. Mol. Biol. 285, 197-204] and the binding of the anti-epileptic drug lamotrigine to voltage-gated sodium channels [Cronin, O'Reilly, Duclohier and Wallace (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 10675-10682] are used as examples to show changes detectable by CD involving secondary structure, and are contrasted with the binding of the agonist carbamylcholine to acetylcholine receptors [Mielke and Wallace (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 8177-8182], an example where binding does not involve a secondary structural change. Synchrotron radiation CD spectroscopy offers significant enhancements with respect to conventional CD spectroscopy, which will enable its usage for high-throughput screening and as a tool in 'chemical genomics' or 'reverse chemical genetics' strategies for ligand identification. The lower wavelength data available enable more detailed, sensitive and accurate detection, the higher light intensity permits much smaller amounts of both proteins and drug candidates to be used in the screening, and future technological developments in sample handling and detection should enable automated high-throughput screening to be performed.
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PMID:Circular dichroism and synchrotron radiation circular dichroism spectroscopy: tools for drug discovery. 1277 70

During the course of a mechanism-based screening program designed to identify new microtubule-disrupting agents from natural products, we identified a crude extract from Tacca chantrieri that initiated Taxol-like microtubule bundling. Bioassay-directed purification of the extract yielded the highly oxygenated steroids taccalonolides E and A. The taccalonolides caused an increased density of cellular microtubules in interphase cells and the formation of thick bundles of microtubules similar to the effects of Taxol. Mitotic cells exhibited abnormal mitotic spindles containing three or more spindle poles. The taccalonolides were evaluated for antiproliferative effects in drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant cell lines. The data indicate that taccalonolide E is slightly more potent than taccalonolide A in drug-sensitive cell lines and that both taccalonolides are effective inhibitors of cell proliferation. Both taccalonolides are poorer substrates for transport by P-glycoprotein than Taxol. The ability of the taccalonolides to circumvent mutations in the Taxol-binding region of beta-tubulin was examined using the PTX 10, PTX 22, and 1A9/A8 cell lines. The data suggest little cross-resistance of taccalonolide A as compared with Taxol, however, the data from the PTX 22 cell line indicate a 12-fold resistance to taccalonolide E, suggesting a potential overlap of binding sites. Characteristic of agents that disrupt microtubules, the taccalonolides caused G(2)-M accumulation, Bcl-2 phosphorylation, and initiation of apoptosis. The taccalonolides represent a novel class of plant-derived microtubule-stabilizers that differ structurally and biologically from other classes of microtubule-stabilizers.
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PMID:Taccalonolides E and A: Plant-derived steroids with microtubule-stabilizing activity. 1281 Jun 50

We studied the possibility of increasing sensitization of drug-resistant MDA435/LCC6 multidrug-resistant (MDR) human breast cancer cells to doxorubicin (DOX) by increasing cellular drug retention with P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitor PSC833 in combination with induction of cell death through down-regulation of Bcl-2 protein using Bcl-2 antisense (G3139). In in vitro cytotoxicity assays, the combination of G3139 with DOX exhibited 40% increased cytotoxicity in both wild-type (WT) and MDR cells. PSC833 increased the cytotoxicity of DOX and Taxol with complete and partial reversal of the resistance of MDR cells to DOX and Taxol, respectively. The presence of G3139 did not increase the cytotoxicity of PSC833 combined with DOX or Taxol in both cell lines. In vivo studies with WT and MDR cell lines transplanted into severely combined immunodeficient mice demonstrated that G3139 (5 mg/kg) was able to suppress the growth of both WT and MDR tumors to an equivalent extent. PSC833 (100 mg/kg) partially restored the sensitivity of resistant tumors to DOX, and the combination of G3139 and PSC833 with liposomal DOX showed maximum growth suppression of MDR tumors compared with individual treatments. The improved efficacy of this treatment was attributed to Bcl-2 antisense-induced apoptosis, combined with cellular retention of DOX in tumor cells via P-gp blockade.
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PMID:Combined treatment of Bcl-2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (G3139), p-glycoprotein inhibitor (PSC833), and sterically stabilized liposomal doxorubicin suppresses growth of drug-resistant growth of drug-resistant breast cancer in severely combined immunodeficient mice. 1282 13

The effects of Dox (Dox), paclitaxel (Taxol), and serum starvation on the regulation of XIAP (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis), Bcl-2 phosphorylation, and apoptosis were evaluated in human H460 non-small cell lung cancer cells. Protein kinases that responded to these treatments as prosurvival elements in signal transduction were identified by simultaneously screening phosphorylation of protein kinases in H460 cells cultured in serum-free medium or treated with Dox. We demonstrated that Dox and Taxol induced apoptosis through down-regulation of XIAP and phosphorylation of Bcl-2 in a concentration-dependent manner without changing expression of Bcl-xL in H460 cells. These effects were paralleled by activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase protein. We identified that serum starvation and Dox reduced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK), protein kinase C (PKC) alpha/beta and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase. The MEK-specific inhibitor U0126 or PKC inhibitor staurosporine (STP) also down-regulated XIAP expression and induced apoptosis. Thus, our data suggest that apoptosis and down-regulation of XIAP induced by Dox exposure or serum starvation may be mediated through inactivation of the MEK/ERK and PKCalpha/beta pathways. In support of this we demonstrated that the cytotoxic effects of Dox when combined with U0126 or STP were enhanced, i.e., synergistic cytotoxic activities were demonstrated. The synergistic interaction of U0126 or STP with Dox was sequence- and concentration-dependent.
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PMID:Inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase enhances chemotherapeutic effects on H460 human non-small cell lung cancer cells through activation of apoptosis. 1288 37

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) can down regulate the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and the cell cycle proteins cyclin D1 and cdk2 in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells. We show here that retinoids can also reduce expression of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein, survivin. Here we have compared the regulation of these proteins in MCF-7 and ZR-75 breast cancer cells by natural and synthetic retinoids selective for the RA receptors (RARs) alpha, beta, and gamma then correlated these with growth inhibition, induction of apoptosis and chemosensitization to Taxol. In both cell lines ATRA and 9-cis RA induced the most profound decreases in cyclin D1 and cdk2 expression and also mediated the largest growth inhibition. The RARalpha agonist, Ro 40-6055 also strongly downregulated these proteins although did not produce an equivalent decrease in S-phase cells. Only ATRA induced RARbeta expression. ATRA, 9-cis RA and 4-HPR initiated the highest level of apoptosis as determined by mitochondrial Bax translocation, while only ATRA and 9-cis RA strongly reduced Bcl-2 and survivin protein expression. Enumeration of dead cells over 96 h correlated well with downregulation of both survivin and Bcl-2. Simultaneous retinoid-mediated reduction of both these proteins also predicted optimal Taxol sensitization. 4-HPR was much weaker than the natural retinoids with respect to Taxol sensitization, consistent with the proposed requirement for reduced Bcl-2 in this synergy. Neither the extent of cell cycle protein regulation nor AP-1 inhibition fully predicted the antiproliferative effect of the synthetic retinoids suggesting that growth inhibition requires regulation of a spectrum of RAR-regulated gene products in addition even to pivotal cell cycle proteins.
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PMID:Differential regulation of protein expression, growth and apoptosis by natural and synthetic retinoids. 1458 26

Cancer cells of different solid and hematopoietic tumors express growth factors in respective stages of tumor progression, which by autocrine and paracrine effects enable them to grow autonomously. Here we show that the murine B16 melanoma cell line and two human primary cultures of stomach adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) constitutively secrete interleukin (IL)-10 in an autocrine/paracrine manner. This cytokine is essential for tumor cell proliferation because its neutralization decreases clonogenicity of malignant cells, whereas addition of recombinant IL-10 increases cell proliferation. The immunomodulator ammonium trichloro(dioxoethylene-o,o')tellurate (AS101) decreased cell proliferation by inhibiting IL-10. This activity was abrogated by exogenous addition of recombinant IL-10. IL-10 inhibition by AS101 results in dephosphorylation of Stat3, followed by reduced expression of Bcl-2. Moreover, these activities of AS101 are associated with sensitization of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs, resulting in their increased apoptosis. More importantly, AS101 sensitizes the human aggressive GBM tumor to paclitaxel both in vitro and in vivo by virtue of IL-10 inhibition. AS101 sensitizes GBM cells to paclitaxel at concentrations that do not affect tumor cells. This sensitization can also be obtained by transfection of GBM cells with IL-10 antisense oligonucleotides. Sensitization of GBM tumors to paclitaxel (Taxol) in vivo was obtained by either AS101 or by implantation of antisense IL-10-transfected cells. The results indicate that the IL-10 autocrine/paracrine loop plays an important role in the resistance of certain tumors to chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, anti-IL-10 treatment modalities with compounds such as AS101, combined with chemotherapy, may be effective in the treatment of certain malignancies.
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PMID:Ammonium trichloro(dioxoethylene-o,o')tellurate (AS101) sensitizes tumors to chemotherapy by inhibiting the tumor interleukin 10 autocrine loop. 1499 48

Overexpression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 has been associated with several malignancies, including small cell lung cancer (SCLC). In the present study, we have investigated if Bcl-2 contributes to the emergence of cisplatin resistance in SCLC H69 cells. The ability of cisplatin to induce apoptosis was decreased in H69 cells that acquired resistance to cisplatin (H69/CP). The level of Bcl-2 was, however, substantially reduced in H69/CP cells compared to parental H69 cells. There was little change in Bcl-2 content in H69 cells that were resistant to etoposide (VP-16) or Taxol. Bcl-2 was constitutively phosphorylated at serine 70 in H69 cells but not in H69/CP cells and cisplatin had little effect on Bcl-2 phosphorylation. The level of procaspase-3 was elevated in H69/CP cells but the ability of cisplatin to induce mitochondrial depolarization, caspase-9 activation, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage was compromised in H69/CP cells. The level of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-x(L) and the pro-apoptotic protein Bax was slightly reduced in H69/CP cells but the ratio of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins was not sufficient to explain cellular resistance to cisplatin. These results suggest that the acquisition of cisplatin resistance by H69 cells was not due to an increase in the level/phosphorylation status of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2.
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PMID:Down-regulation of Bcl-2 is associated with cisplatin resistance in human small cell lung cancer H69 cells. 1502 53

Drug resistance is a fundamental problem in cancer chemotherapy. Intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+](i)) may play a role in the development of chemoresistance. We investigated the regulatory role of [Ca2+](i) in Taxol resistance in the non-small-cell lung cancer cell line A549 and its chemoresistant subclone A549-T24. Measurement of cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+](c)) in single cells and cell populations revealed similar levels of basal calcium in the two cell lines. However, a reduced response to thapsigargin (a sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) inhibitor) in A549-T24 cells compared to the parent cell line suggested a lower ER Ca2+ content in these cells. mRNA expression of SERCA2b and SERCA3, major Ca2+ pumps involved in ER Ca2+ homeostasis, did not significantly differ between the two cell lines, as revealed by RT-PCR. An altered calcium influx pathway in the Taxol-resistant cell line was observed. Modulation of the ER calcium pools using CMC (4-chloro-m-cresol) and ATP revealed lower ryanodine receptor (RyR) and IP(3) receptor (IP(3)R)-sensitive Ca2+ stores in the chemoresistant cell line. Western blot and RT-PCR studies suggested that A549-T24 cells expressed higher levels of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 and the calcium-binding protein sorcin, respectively, in comparison to the parent cell line. Both of these proteins have been previously implicated in chemoresistance, in part, due to their ability to modulate[Ca2+](i). These results suggest that altered intracellular calcium homeostasis may contribute to the Taxol-resistant phenotype.
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PMID:Differential regulation of calcium homeostasis in adenocarcinoma cell line A549 and its Taxol-resistant subclone. 1506 2


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