Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P10415 (Bcl-2)
 33,771 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Gossypol, a male contraceptive drug, has been demonstrated to have antiproliferative and antimetastatic effects on many kinds of cancer cells in vitro. HT-29 human carcinoma cell line is one of the most susceptible cell lines to gossypol-induced cell death. Here, it is shown that treatment of HT-29 cells with gossypol not only induces cell cycle arrest on the G0/G1 phase, but also induces apoptosis. With a serial of Western blot analysis, it is revealed that gossypol-induced cell cycle arrest is involved in P21 up-regulation and cyclin D1 down-regulation; gossypol-induced apoptosis triggers down-regulation of anti-apoptosis Bcl-2 members: Bcl-X(L), Bag-1 and Mcl-1, up-regulation of pro-apoptosis Bcl-2 member Bak, activation of caspase-3, -6, -7, -8, and -9, up-regulation of Apaf-1, release of cytochrome c (cyto-c) from mitochondria, and activation of both DFF45 and PARP. Taken together, gossypol-induced cell death initiates extensive alterations of cell cycle and apoptosis proteins. Gossypol-induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells is through first the mitochondrial pathway, then the death receptor pathway, and the mitochondria pathway is, at least in part, involved in cyto-c release.
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PMID:Molecular mechanism of gossypol-induced cell growth inhibition and cell death of HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells. 1281 69

Overexpression of Bcl-2/Bcl-X(L) protein has been observed in more than 80% of B-cell lymphomas. Diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL) is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. (-)-Gossypol, a natural product isolated from cottonseeds, was discovered as a potent small-molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) proteins, with a Ki value in the nanomole per liter range for both. In vitro, (-)-gossypol showed significant growth inhibition effect against WSU-DLCL2 lymphoma cell line and fresh cells obtained from a lymphoma patient with no effect on normal peripheral blood lymphocytes. As expected (-)-gossypol induced complete cytochrome c release from mitochondria, increased caspases-3 and -9 activity, and caused apoptotic death without affecting protein levels of Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), Bax, and Bak. The addition of cyclophosphamide-Adriamycin-vincristine-prednisolone (CHOP) regimen to lymphoma cells preexposed to (-)-gossypol enhanced killing significantly. The maximum tolerated dose of (-)-gossypol in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice was 40 mg/kg for three i.v. injections when given alone and 20 mg/kg x 3 when given in combination with CHOP. Using WSU-DLCL2-SCID mouse xenograft model, the tumor growth inhibition, the tumor growth delay, and the log10 kill of mice treated with (-)-gossypol + CHOP were better than CHOP or (-)-gossypol alone. We conclude that adding Bcl-2/Bcl-X(L) small-molecule inhibitor to standard chemotherapy may prove an effective strategy in lymphoma therapy.
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PMID:Preclinical studies of a nonpeptidic small-molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) [(-)-gossypol] against diffuse large cell lymphoma. 1565 49

Aberrant overexpression of antiapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 protein family, including Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L), contributes to malignant transformation and subsequent resistance to traditional chemotherapeutics. Thus, these proteins represent attractive targets for novel anticancer agents. The small molecule, gossypol, was initially investigated as a contraceptive agent, but subsequently has been shown to possess anticancer properties in vitro and in vivo. Recently gossypol has been found to bind to Bcl-X(L) and, with less affinity, to Bcl-2. Here we investigate the ability of the (-) enantiomer of gossypol, (-)-gossypol, to overcome the apoptosis resistance conferred by Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) overexpression in Jurkat T leukemia cells. (-)-Gossypol potently induced cell death in Jurkat cells overexpressing Bcl-2 (IC50, 18.1+/-2.6 micromol/L) or Bcl-X(L) (IC50, 22.9+/-3.7 micromol/L). Vector-transfected control cells were also potently killed by (-)-gossypol (IC50, 7.0+/-2.7 micromol/L). By contrast, the chemotherapy drug etoposide only induced efficient killing of vector-transfected cells (IC50, 9.6+/-2.3 micromol/L). Additionally, (-)-gossypol was more efficient than etoposide at inducing caspase-3 activation and phosphatidylserine externalization in the setting of Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) overexpression. (-)-Gossypol-induced apoptosis was associated with Bak activation and release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, suggesting a mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic mechanism. Moreover, (-)-gossypol treatment of isolated mitochondria purified from Bcl-2-overexpressing cells also resulted in cytochrome c release, indicating a possible direct action on Bcl-2 present in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Taken together, these results suggest that (-)-gossypol is a potent and novel therapeutic able to overcome apoptosis resistance by specifically targeting the activity of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members. (-)-Gossypol may be a promising new agent to treat malignancies that are resistant to conventional therapies.
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PMID:(-)-Gossypol acts directly on the mitochondria to overcome Bcl-2- and Bcl-X(L)-mediated apoptosis resistance. 1565 50

Radioresistance markedly impairs the efficacy of tumor radiotherapy and involves antiapoptotic signal transduction pathways that prevent radiation-induced cell death. The majority of human prostate cancers overexpress the important antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and/or Bcl-xL, which render tumors resistant to radiation therapy. (-)-Gossypol, a natural polyphenol product from cottonseed, has recently been identified as a potent small molecule inhibitor of both Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. In the current study, we investigated the antitumor activity of (-)-gossypol in prostate cancer and tested our hypothesis that (-)-gossypol may improve prostate cancer's response to radiation by potentiating radiation-induced apoptosis and thus making cancer cells more sensitive to ionizing radiation. Our data show that (-)-gossypol potently enhanced radiation-induced apoptosis and growth inhibition of human prostate cancer PC-3 cells, which have a high level of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL proteins. Our in vivo studies using PC-3 xenograft models in nude mice show that orally given (-)-gossypol significantly enhanced the antitumor activity of X-ray irradiation, leading to tumor regression in the combination therapy. In situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling staining showed that significantly more apoptotic cells were induced in the tumors treated with (-)-gossypol plus radiation than either treatment alone. Anti-CD31 immunohistochemical staining indicates that (-)-gossypol plus radiation significantly inhibited tumor angiogenesis. Our results show that the natural polyphenol inhibitor of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL, (-)-gossypol, can radiosensitize prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo without augmenting toxicity. (-)-Gossypol may improve the outcome of current prostate cancer radiotherapy and represents a promising novel anticancer regime for molecular targeted therapy of hormone-refractory prostate cancer with Bcl-2/Bcl-xL overexpression.
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PMID:(-)-Gossypol enhances response to radiation therapy and results in tumor regression of human prostate cancer. 1571 91

The rate of gossypol-induced apoptosis does not correlate very well with the same dose of gossypol-induced cell growth inhibition, indicating an anti-proliferative effect of gossypol. Using a co-immunoprecipitation assay, it was observed that the level of Bcl-X(L) protein bound to Bax was clearly lower than that of Bcl-2 protein at 5 micro M of gossypol treatment, and the level of Bim protein bound to Bcl-X(L) was lowered at 20 micro M of gossypol treatment for 24 h, implicating that gossypol inhibits the heterodimerization of Bcl-X(L) with Bax and Bim. Gossypol-induced apoptosis is partly suppressed by as low as 0.5 micro M, but not abolished by as high as 50 micro M of a broad range caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK, suggesting that gossypol-induced apoptosis is both caspase-dependent and -independent. Furthermore, the release of apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), which triggers caspase-independent apoptosis, from mitochondria to cytosol was observed in PC-3 cells exposed to gossypol treatment. In conclusion, gossypol inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis in PC-3 cells. Gossypol-induced apoptosis is, at least, through inhibiting the heterodimerization of Bcl-X(L)/Bcl-2 with pro-apoptosis molecules, followed by a caspase-dependent and -independent process which involves the release of AIF from the mitochondria to cytosol.
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PMID:Gossypol induces apoptosis in human PC-3 prostate cancer cells by modulating caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death pathways. 1715 97

1. Bax is a very important pro-apoptosis molecule. HCT116/Bax(-/-) cells do not express the pro-apoptosis Bcl-2 family member, Bax. In the present study, the anticancer effects of gossypol on HCT116 and HCT116/Bax(-/-) cells were compared in terms of inhibition of cell growth, inhibition of colony formation and induction of apoptosis. 2. Following treatment with concentrations more than 20 micromol/L gossypol, only slight differences (not significant) were seen between HCT116 and HCT116/Bax(-/-) cells in terms of the inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis. No difference was seen in the inhibition of colony formation. Gossypol had no effect at concentrations < 2 micromol/L. The only effective concentration of gossypol to result in differences between HCT116 and HCT116/Bax(-/-) cells was 5 micromol/L. However, even at this concentration, Bax deficiency did not result in complete abolition of gossypol-induced growth inhibition or apoptosis. Exposure of cells to 5 micromol/L gossypol for 24 h did not cause any significant difference in the activation of caspase 2 between HCT116 and HCT116/Bax(-/-) cells; however, activation of caspase 3, 8 and 9 was significantly elevated in HCT116 cells, with the effect on caspase 3 activation being the greatest, compared with HCT116/Bax(-/-) cells. 3. These findings suggest that the contribution of Bax to gossypol-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis is dose dependent and that gossypol-induced apoptosis requires activation of caspase 3, 8, and 9.
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PMID:Differential growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis by gossypol between HCT116 and HCT116/Bax(-/-) colorectal cancer cells. 1725 Jun 44

Anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL are overexpressed in 80% of non Hodgkin's lymphoma cells and are thought to play an important role in the resistance of lymphoma cells to current chemotherapeutic agents. Gossypol, an orally-active polyphenolic aldehyde derived from the cotton plant, has been known to have potential anti-neoplastic activity. Recently, gossypol was found to bind to the BH3 binding groove of Bcl-xL and with lesser affinity to Bcl-2. The present study was conducted to determine whether gossypol increases the sensitivity of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cells to the actions of chemotherapeutic agents by potentiating treatment-induced apoptosis. The interactions observed between gossypol and chemotherapeutic drugs were analyzed using the median effect principle (CalcuSyn analysis). Our data showed that treatment of Ramos cells with gossypol not only induced cell arrest on the G(0)/G(1) phase, but also augmented apoptosis and growth inhibition induced by etoposide (VP-16), doxorubicin hydrochloride (ADM), vincristine (VCR), and paclitaxel (taxol). However, when gossypol was combined with cisplatin (DDP) an antagonistic effect was observed. Gossypol-induced cell cycle arrest was accompanied by decreased expression of cyclin D1 in Ramos cells. In addition, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PARP) pathway is, at least in part, involved in the gossypol-induced apoptosis when combined with VP-16. These data indicate that single-agent gossypol is effective in inhibiting growth of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cells in vitro and combination studies with certain secondary chemotherapeutic agents further demonstrate it's synergistic cytotoxicity. These findings support future preclinical and clinical studies of gossypol in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
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PMID:Synergistic cytotoxicity of Bcl-xL inhibitor, gossypol and chemotherapeutic agents in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cells. 1834 25

Antiapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family proteins are overexpressed in prostate cancer and are promising molecular targets for modulating chemoresistance of prostate cancer. (-)-Gossypol, a natural BH3 mimetic, is a small-molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL/Mcl-1 currently in phase II clinical trials as an adjuvant therapy for human prostate cancer. Our objective is to examine the chemosensitization potential of (-)-gossypol in prostate cancer and its molecular mechanisms of action. (-)-Gossypol inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis through mitochondria pathway in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells and synergistically enhanced the antitumor activity of docetaxel both in vitro and in vivo in PC-3 xenograft model in nude mouse. (-)-Gossypol blocked the interactions of Bcl-xL with Bax or Bad in cancer cells by fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay and overcame the Bcl-xL protection of FL5.12 model cells on interleukin-3 withdrawal. Western blot and real-time PCR studies showed that a dose-dependent increase of the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins Noxa and Puma contributed to the cell death induced by (-)-gossypol and to the synergistic effects of (-)-gossypol and docetaxel. The small interfering RNA knockdown studies showed that Noxa and Puma are required in the (-)-gossypol-induced cell death. Taken together, these data suggest that (-)-gossypol exerts its antitumor activity through inhibition of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL accompanied by an increase of proapoptotic Noxa and Puma. (-)-Gossypol significantly enhances the antitumor activity of chemotherapy in vitro and in vivo, representing a promising new regime for the treatment of human hormone-refractory prostate cancer with Bcl-2/Bcl-xL/Mcl-1 overexpression.
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PMID:Natural BH3 mimetic (-)-gossypol chemosensitizes human prostate cancer via Bcl-xL inhibition accompanied by increase of Puma and Noxa. 1864 28

Anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) have been recently validated as targets for the discovery of novel anti-cancer agents. We previously reported that racemic (+/-) Apogossypol, a semi-synthetic compound derived from the natural product Gossypol, binds and inhibits Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L)in vitro and in cell. Given that (+) and (-) Gossypol display different proapoptotic activities, here we report on the synthesis of (+) and (-) Apogossypol and the evaluation of their in vitro and cellular activity.
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PMID:Synthesis and evaluation of Apogossypol atropisomers as potential Bcl-xL antagonists. 1878 51

Androgen deprivation is commonly used in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. The (-)-gossypol enantiomer has been demonstrated as an effective inhibitor of Bcl-2 in the treatment of prostate cancer. However, the mechanism of gossypol as an inhibitor of androgen biosynthesis is not clear. The present study compared (+)- and (-)-gossypols in the inhibition of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) and 17beta-HSD isoform 3 (17beta-HSD3) in human and rat testes. Gossypol enantiomers were more potent inhibitors of rat 3beta-HSD with IC(50)s of approximately 0.2microM compared to 3-5microM in human testes. However, human 17beta-HSD3 was more sensitive to inhibition by gossypol enantiomers, with IC(50)s of 0.36+/-0.09 and 1.13+/-0.12 for (-)- and (+)-gossypols, respectively, compared to 3.43+/-0.46 and 10.93+/-2.27 in rat testes. There were species- and enantiomer-specific differences in the sensitivity of the inhibition of 17beta-HSD3. Gossypol enantiomers competitively inhibited both 3beta-HSD and 17beta-HSD3 by competing for the cofactor binding sites of these enzymes. Gossypol enantiomers, fed orally to rats (20mg/kg), inhibited 3beta-HSD but not 17beta-HSD3. This finding was consistent with the in vitro data, in which rat 3beta-HSD was more sensitive to gossypol inhibition than rat 17beta-HSD3. As the reverse was true for the human enzymes, gossypol might be useful for treating metastatic prostate cancer.
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PMID:The (+)- and (-)-gossypols potently inhibit both 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 in human and rat testes. 1942 56


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