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 change of mitochondrial membrane permeability is essential for apoptosis, leading to translocation of apoptogenic cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor into the cytoplasm. We recently showed that the Bcl-2 family of proteins regulate cytochrome c release and the mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsi) by directly modulating the activity of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) through binding. Here we investigated the biochemical role of the conserved N-terminal homology domain (BH4) of Bcl-x(L), which has been shown to be essential for inhibition of apoptosis, with respect to the regulation of mitochondrial membrane permeability and found that BH4 was required for Bcl-x(L) to prevent cytochrome c release and Deltapsi loss. A study using VDAC liposomes revealed that Bcl-x(L), but not Bcl-x(L) lacking the BH4 domain, inhibited VDAC activity. Furthermore, BH4 oligopeptides of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L), but not mutant peptides, were able to inhibit both VDAC activity on liposomes even in the presence of Bax and apoptotic Deltapsi loss in isolated mitochondria. It was also shown that the BH4 domain, fused to the protein transduction domain of HIV TAT protein (TAT-BH4), efficiently prevented apoptotic cell death. These results indicate that the BH4 of Bcl-2/Bcl-x(L) is essential and sufficient for inhibiting VDAC activity, which in turn prevents apoptotic mitochondrial changes, and for preventing apoptotic cell death. Finally, the data suggest that the TAT-BH4 peptide is potentially useful as a therapeutic agent for diseases caused by accelerated apoptosis.
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PMID:BH4 domain of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members closes voltage-dependent anion channel and inhibits apoptotic mitochondrial changes and cell death. 1073 88

Studies of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and preconditioning have shown that ion homeostasis, particularly calcium homeostasis, is critical to limiting tissue damage. However, the relationship between ion homeostasis and specific cell death pathways has not been investigated in the context of I/R. Previously we reported that calpain cleaved Bid in the absence of detectable caspase activation (1). In this study, we have shown that an inhibitor of the sodium/hydrogen exchanger prevented calpain activation after I/R. Calpain inhibitors prevented cleavage of Bid as well as the downstream indices of cell death, including DNA strand breaks, creatine kinase (CK) release, and infarction measured by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. In contrast, the broad spectrum caspase inhibitor IDN6734 was not protective in this model. To ascertain whether mitochondrial dysfunction downstream of these events was a required step, we utilized a peptide corresponding to residues 4-23 of Bcl-x(L) conjugated to the protein transduction domain of HIV TAT (TAT-BH4), which has been shown to protect mitochondria against Ca2+-induced deltaPsi(m) loss (2). TAT-BH4 attenuated CK release and loss of TTC staining, demonstrating the role of mitochondria and a pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member in the process leading to cell death. We propose the following pathway. (i) Reperfusion results in sodium influx followed by calcium accumulation. (ii) This leads to calpain activation, which in turn leads to Bid cleavage. (iii) Bid targets the mitochondria, causing dysfunction and release of pro-apoptotic factors, resulting in DNA fragmentation and death of the cell. Ischemia/reperfusion initiates a cell death pathway that is independent of caspases but requires calpain and mitochondrial dysfunction.
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PMID:Calpain and mitochondria in ischemia/reperfusion injury. 1204 24

Restenosis post angioplasty remains the major limitation of several therapeutic interventions including stent implantation. This explains the ongoing interest in its basic pathogenic mechanisms and factors. The aim of the present study was to assess the localization and maximal expression of Bcl-2, a central antiapoptotic protooncogene, and of heat shock protein 47 (HSP47), a marker of early collagen synthesis, in the context with hyperplastic neointima formation as well as concomitant transmural remodeling processes following angioplasty. 0, 4, 24 and 48 hours, 4, 7 and 14 days post balloon traumatization by use of a rat carotid artery model, specific vascular wall compartments were evaluated concerning area, cell density as well as Bcl-2 and HSP47 expression by immunohistochemistry and morphometry, supplemented by electron microscopy (TEM). Neointimal cell accumulation was detected 4 days post angioplasty, characterized by luminal cells adherent to the internal elastic lamina, associated with maximal Bcl-2 and HSP47 expression amounting to 49% and 41%, respectively. With ongoing neointimal formation, a luminal prevalence of both key determinants and a decreasing expression in basal neointimal areas were found. In the media, a temporally reduced cell density was observed significant at 48 hours post trauma. Constitutive HSP47 expression of the media was constant during the entire observation period, whereas sparse Bcl-2 signalling was induced post angioplasty maximal on day 2 with 3% and on day 14 with 5%. The adventitia demonstrated a transient structural separation between day 4 and 7, exhibiting an inner layer with sparse cellularity and an outer layer with extremely high cell density as well as pronounced neovascularization. In this outer adventitia layer, a high frequency of signals for both Bcl-2 and HSP47 were observed amounting to 29% and 57%, respectively. Complementary TEM analysis gave no evidence of transmural migratory events propagated by adventitial cells and thereby supports early neointimal formation by luminal cell recruitment and marked co-expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and matrix-generating HSP47 as important survival factors. Clinical implications of these findings may be seen in the integration of proapoptotic substances with temporal efficacy in order to prevent restenosis, e.g., by use of coated stents.
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PMID:[Neointimal hyperplasia by luminal cell recruitment and not be transmural migration. The role of Bcl-2 and HSP47 after balloon angioplasty]. 1242 26

Four human CD8+ T-cell subsets, naive (CCR7+CD45RA+), central memory (TCM, CCR7+CD45RA-), effector memory (TEM, CCR7-CD45RA-), and CD45RA+ effector memory cells (TEMRA, CCR7-CD45RA+) were compared for their capacity to proliferate and differentiate in response to antigen or homeostatic cytokines. Cytokine responsiveness and interleukin-15 receptor expression were low in naive T cells and progressively increased from TCM to TEM and TEMRA. In contrast, the capacity to accumulate in response to T-cell receptor (TCR) or cytokine stimulation showed a reciprocal pattern and was associated with resistance to cell death and Bcl-2 expression. Whereas all TCR-stimulated cells acquired a CD45RA-CCR7- phenotype, cytokine-stimulated cells maintained their phenotype with the exception of TCM cells, which expressed CCR7, CD45RA, and perforin in various combinations. Single CD8+ TCM cells, but not TEM cells, could be expanded with cytokines, and the obtained clones displayed several distinct phenotypes, suggesting that TCM cells are heterogeneous. Consistently, CCR4 expression in the CD8+ TCM pool discriminated CCR4+ type 2 polarized cells (Tc2) and CCR4-CTL precursors. Finally, ex vivo bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation experiments revealed that memory subsets have different in vivo proliferation rates, with CCR4-TCM having the highest turnover and TEMRA the lowest. These results show that human CD8+ memory T-cell subsets have different proliferation and differentiation potentials in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, they suggest that TEMRA cells are generated from a TCM subset upon homeostatic proliferation in the absence of antigen.
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PMID:Proliferation and differentiation potential of human CD8+ memory T-cell subsets in response to antigen or homeostatic cytokines. 1257 17

Apoptosis or programmed cell death plays an important role in a wide variety of physiologic processes and is regulated by proteins of the Bcl-2 family consisting of both antiapoptotic and proapoptotic factors. The direct involvement of the Bcl-2 protein family in the process of mast cell apoptosis has not been clarified. In the present work we have used a single-chain antibody (scFv) raised against Bcl-2 derived from a semisynthetic human phage-display antibody library. The addition of TAT sequence, which is responsible for translocation through the membrane, endows the anti-Bcl-2-scFv with the ability to penetrate living cells. Moreover, it specifically neutralizes Bcl-2 intracellularly by binding to the BH1 domain and eradicates its antiapoptotic activity in 2 types of mast cells and in a human breast cancer cell line.
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PMID:A novel strategy using single-chain antibody to show the importance of Bcl-2 in mast cell survival. 1279 61

The Bcl-2 family of proteins regulates apoptosis chiefly by controlling mitochondrial membrane permeability. It has previously been shown that the BH4 domain of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL is essential for the prevention of apoptotic mitochondrial changes, including the release of cytochrome c and apoptotic cell death. We have previously reported that BH4 peptide fused to the protein transduction domain of HIV-1 TAT protein (TAT-BH4) significantly inhibits etoposide-induced apoptosis in a cell line. This time, we investigated whether TAT-BH4 peptide was cytoprotective in ex vivo and in vivo rodent models. Intraperitoneal injection of TAT-BH4 peptide greatly inhibited X-ray-induced apoptosis in the small intestine of mice and partially suppressed Fas-induced fulminant hepatitis. In addition, this peptide markedly suppressed heart failure after ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolated rat heart, probably by preventing mitochondrial dysfunction. These findings demonstrate that TAT-BH4 peptide exerts anti-apoptotic activity both in vivo and ex vivo, and imply that it may be a useful therapeutic agent for diseases involving mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis.
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PMID:BH4-domain peptide from Bcl-xL exerts anti-apoptotic activity in vivo. 1462 84

The Brn-3 family of POU (Pit-Oct-Unc) homeodomain transcription factors regulate differentiation of neuronal cell types. The transcriptional activator Brn-3a is expressed in Ewing's sarcomas, which also express characteristic chimaeric proteins as a consequence of fusion of the TET family gene EWS to one of several ETS genes. We have previously demonstrated a physical interaction between Brn-3a and EWS proteins, and show here that the C-terminal POU domain but not N-terminal activation domain of Brn-3a can interact in vitro with the RNA-binding domain of EWS. Likely due to POU domain homology, the related factor Brn-3b can also interact with EWS, but to a lesser extent than Brn-3a. Importantly, Brn-3a but not Brn-3b interacts in vitro with chimaeric EWS/Fli-1, EWS/ATF-1 and EWS/ERG proteins. Furthermore, overexpression of EWS/Fli-1 but not EWS or Fli-1 inhibits Brn-3a-associated growth arrest and neurite outgrowth in neuronal cells, and specifically inhibits Brn-3a-dependent activation of p21 and SNAP-25 transcription. In contrast, upregulation of Bcl-2 expression and inhibition of apoptosis by Brn-3a is antagonized more by EWS than by EWS/Fli-1. These data demonstrate that oncogenic rearrangement of EWS to produce EWS/Fli-1 may enhance the antiapoptotic effect of Brn-3a and inhibit its ability to promote neuronal differentiation.
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PMID:The effects of Brn-3a on neuronal differentiation and apoptosis are differentially modulated by EWS and its oncogenic derivative EWS/Fli-1. 1502 3

HL-60 cell differentiation into neutrophil like cells is associated with their induction of apoptosis. We investigated the cellular events that occur pre and post mitochondrial permeability transition to determine the role of the mitochondria in the induction of differentiation induced apoptosis. Pro-apoptotic Bax was translocated to and cleaved at the mitochondrial membrane in addition to t-Bid activation. These processes contributed to mitochondrial membrane disruption and the release of cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO. The release of cytochrome c was caspase independent, as the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD.fmk, which inhibited apoptosis, did not block the release of cytochrome c. In contrast, the release of Smac/DIABLO was partially inhibited by caspase inhibition indicating differential release pathways for these mitochondrial pro-apoptotic factors. In addition to caspase inhibition we assessed the effects of the Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic family on differentiation induced apoptosis. BH4-Bcl-xl-TAT recombinant protein did not delay apoptosis, but did block the release of cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO. Bcl-2 over-expression also inhibited differentiation induced apoptosis but was associated with the inhibition of the differentiation process. Differentiation mediated mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO, may not trigger the induction of apoptosis, as BH4-Bclxl-TAT blocks the release of pro-apoptotic factors from the mitochondria, but does not prevent apoptosis.
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PMID:Differentiation-induced HL-60 cell apoptosis: a mechanism independent of mitochondrial disruption? 1525 66

Viability of isolated islets is one of the main obstacles limiting islet transplantation success. It has been reported that overexpression of Bcl-2/Bcl-XL proteins enhances islet viability. To avoid potential complications associated with long-term expression of anti-apoptotic proteins, we investigated the possibility of delivering Bcl-XL or its anti-apoptotic domain BH4 to islets by protein transduction. Bcl-XL and BH4 molecules were fused to TAT/PTD, the 11-aa cell penetrating peptide from HIV-1 transactivating protein, generating TAT-Bcl-XL and TAT-BH4, respectively. Transduction efficiency was assessed by laser scanning confocal microscopy of live islets. Biological activity was tested as the ability to protect NIT-1 insulinoma cell line from death induced by staurosporine or serum deprivation. Spontaneous caspase activation in human islets and cytotoxicity caused by IL-1beta were significantly reduced in the presence of TAT-Bcl-XL and TAT-BH4. We conclude that both TAT proteins are biologically active after transduction and could be an asset in the improvement of islet viability.
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PMID:Delivery of Bcl-XL or its BH4 domain by protein transduction inhibits apoptosis in human islets. 1536 75

Severe brain damage in patients with pneumococcal meningitis is in part caused by the cytosolic pneumococcal protein pneumolysin. The devastating effect of this neurotoxin might be alleviated by interfering with the cell death pathways that it sets in motion. An important player in these pathways is Bcl-X(L), an antiapoptotic protein of the Bcl-2 family, which is neuroprotective in various in vitro and in vivo models of cell death. We investigated whether its membrane-permeable form, the TAT-Bcl-X(L) fusion protein, is capable of protecting human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells against pneumolysin-induced cell death. Under mild pneumolysin-induced neuronal injury, TAT-Bcl-X(L) increased cell viability significantly by approximately 40% (82.7 +/- 16.1% versus 70.0+/-8.2%; p = 0.04). When the cells were exposed to a more rigorous pneumolysin treatment, TAT-Bcl-X(L) had no protective effects. This suggests the involvement of additional neuronal death pathways in pneumolysin-induced cell death, which are not controlled by Bcl-X(L). Therefore, Bcl-X(L), a promising therapeutic candidate for ischemia and neurodegenerative diseases, is only of partial efficacy in preventing the direct neurotoxicity of pneumolysin.
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PMID:Limited protection of TAT-Bcl-X(L) against pneumolysin-induced neuronal cell death. 1596 Dec 28


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