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)

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha)-induced cell death involves a diverse array of mediators and regulators including proteases, reactive oxygen species, the sphingolipid ceramide, and Bcl-2. It is not known, however, if and how these components are connected. We have previously reported that GSH inhibits, in vitro, the neutral magnesium-dependent sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) from Molt-4 leukemia cells. In this study, GSH was found to reversibly inhibit the N-SMase from human mammary carcinoma MCF7 cells. Treatment of MCF7 cells with TNFalpha induced a marked decrease in the level of cellular GSH, which was accompanied by hydrolysis of sphingomyelin and generation of ceramide. Pretreatment of cells with GSH, GSH-methylester, or N-acetylcysteine, a precursor of GSH biosynthesis, inhibited the TNFalpha-induced sphingomyelin hydrolysis and ceramide generation as well as cell death. Furthermore, no significant changes in GSH levels were observed in MCF7 cells treated with either bacterial SMase or ceramide, and GSH did not protect cells from death induced by ceramide. Taken together, these results show that GSH depletion occurs upstream of activation of N-SMase in the TNFalpha signaling pathway. TNFalpha has been shown to activate at least two groups of caspases involved in the initiation and "execution" phases of apoptosis. Therefore, additional studies were conducted to determine the relationship of GSH and the death proteases. Evidence is provided to demonstrate that depletion of GSH is dependent on activity of interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme-like proteases but is upstream of the site of action of Bcl-2 and of the execution phase caspases. Taken together, these studies demonstrate a critical role for GSH in TNFalpha action and in connecting major components in the pathways leading to cell death.
 ...
PMID:Glutathione regulation of neutral sphingomyelinase in tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced cell death. 955 24

Beta-Lapachone a novel topoisomerase inhibitor, has been found to induce apoptosis in various human cancer cells. In this study we report that a dramatic elevation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in human leukemia HL-60 cells following 1 microM beta-lapachone treatment and that this increase was effectively inhibited by treatment with antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol. NAC strongly prevented beta-lapachone-induced apoptotic characteristics such as DNA fragmentation and apoptotic morphology. However, treatment of HL-60 cells with another topoisomerase inhibitor camptothecin (CPT) did not induce H2O2 production as compared to untreated cells. NAC also failed to block CPT-induced apoptosis. Correlated with these findings, we found that cancer cell lines K562, MCF-7, and SW620, contained high level of intracellular glutathione (GSH), were not elevated in H2O2 and were resistant to apoptosis after treatment with beta-lapachone. In contrast, cancer cell lines such as, HL-60, U937, and Molt-4 which have lower level of GSH, were readily increased of H2O2 and were sensitive to this drug. Furthermore, ectopic overexpression of Bcl-2 in HL-60 cells also attenuated beta-lapachone-induced H2O2 and conferred resistance to beta-lapachone-induced cell death. Beta-Lapachone at the concentration as low as 0.25 microM effectively induced HL-60 cells to undergo monocytic differentiation, as evidenced by CD14 antigenicity and alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase activity. Again, the beta-lapachone-induced monocytic differentiation was suppressed by NAC. These results suggest that intracellular H2O2 generation plays a crucial role in beta-lapachone-induced cell death and differentiation.
 ...
PMID:Involvement of hydrogen peroxide in topoisomerase inhibitor beta-lapachone-induced apoptosis and differentiation in human leukemia cells. 955 79

Bcl-2 is an antiapoptotic protein located in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Cellular perturbations associated with programmed cell death may be the consequence of disrupted mitochondrial function as well as excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Numerous studies indicate that Bcl-2 is involved in opposing cell death induced by oxidative stimuli, but its mode of action is uncertain. We reexamined the role of Bcl-2 by using a loss-of-function model, Bcl-2 knockout mice. Brains from Bcl-2-deficient mice had a 43% higher content of oxidized proteins and 27% lower number of cells in the cerebellum relative to wild-type mice. Incubation of cerebellar neurons from Bcl-2 +/+ brains with 0.5 mM dopamine caused 25% cell death, whereas in Bcl-2-deficient cells, it resulted in 52% death; glial cells provided protection in both cultures. Splenocytes from Bcl-2-deficient mice were also killed more effectively by dopamine as well as paraquat. Bcl-2-deficient mice did not survive intraperitoneal injection of MPTP, which caused a decrease in dopamine level in the striatum of Bcl-2 +/- brains, which was more significant than in wild-type mice. When compared with Bcl-2 +/+ brains, brains of 8-day-old Bcl-2-deficient mice had higher activities of the antioxidant enzymes GSH reductase (192%) and GSH transferase (142%), whereas at the age of 30 days, GSH peroxidase was significantly lower (66%). Activities of GSH transferase and GSH reductase increased significantly (158 and 262%, respectively) from day 8 to day 30 in Bcl-2 +/+ mice, whereas GSH peroxidase decreased (31%) significantly in Bcl-2 -/- animals. In summary, our results demonstrated enhanced oxidative stress and susceptibility to oxidants as well as altered levels of antioxidant enzymes in brains of Bcl-2-deficient mice. It is concluded that Bcl-2 affects cellular levels of ROS, which may be due to an effect either on their production or on antioxidant pathways.
 ...
PMID:Enhanced oxidative stress and altered antioxidants in brains of Bcl-2-deficient mice. 968 65

Overexpression of Bcl-2 and related anti-apoptotic gene products has been shown to increase the intracellular concentration of the antioxidant tripeptide glutathione in neuronal and hematopoietic cells. A similar examination of HeLa cells that stably overexpress Bcl-2 (Bcl-2/HeLa) demonstrated that the reduced form of glutathione (GSH) was increased by 60% compared to control cells (80 nmol GSH/mg protein compared to 50 nmol GSH/mg). Expression of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, the rate limiting enzyme for glutathione synthesis was found to be independent of Bcl-2 overexpression, as determined by Northern blot analysis and immunoprecipitation of [35-S]-labeled enzyme. Bcl-2 overexpression did not alter the rate of GSH biosynthesis, measured under steady state conditions. Thus, the increase in GSH concentration was not the result of increased synthesis. Two activities have been described which govern efflux of reduced glutathione (GSH), RsGshT known as the sinusoidal transporter and RcGshT, known as the canalicular transporter. Both are low affinity, bidirectional, ATP and Na-independent. Consistent with expression of sinusoidal activity, DTT was found to stimulate GSH efflux while the amino acid methionine inhibited efflux in both HeLa and Bcl-2/HeLa cells. However, methionine-dependent inhibition of efflux was found to be significantly increased by expression of Bcl-2. To test the prediction that the increase in GSH observed in Bcl-2/HeLa cells was mediated by methionine; Bcl-2/HeLa cells were cultured for 24 hrs in methionine-free growth medium. Under these conditions, the GSH concentration of the Bcl-2/HeLa cells dropped to the level observed in HeLa cells (50 nmol GSH/mg protein). These studies suggest that overexpression of Bcl-2 increases GSH levels by altering methionine-dependent GSH efflux, an activity associated in HeLa cells with expression of the RsGshT transporter.
 ...
PMID:Expression of Bcl-2 increases intracellular glutathione by inhibiting methionine-dependent GSH efflux. 970 46

Cholangiocytes are the target of a group of liver diseases termed the cholangiopathies that include conditions characterized by periductal inflammation and cholangiocyte apoptosis. Because inflammation is associated with oxidative stress, we developed the hypothesis that cholangiocytes exposed to oxidative stress will be depleted of endogenous cytoprotective molecules, leading to cholangiocyte apoptosis. To begin to test this hypothesis, we explored the relationships among glutathione (GSH) depletion, expression of Bcl-2 (a protooncogene that inhibits apoptosis), and apoptosis in a nonmalignant human cholangiocyte cell line. Monolayers of human bile duct epithelial cells, derived from normal liver and immortalized by SV40 transformation, were depleted of GSH using buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). Bcl-2 expression was assessed by quantitative immunoblot analysis, and apoptosis quantified by fluorescence microscopy using the DNA binding dye 4', 6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole. Bcl-2 message was assessed by RNase protection assay, and Bcl-2 protein synthesis and half-life by pulse-chase analysis. Exposure of human cholangiocytes in culture to BSO reduced GSH levels by 93 +/- 3% (P < 0.01). In addition, treatment of cholangiocytes with BSO reduced Bcl-2 levels by 87 +/- 2% (P < 0.01) and was associated with a time-dependent increase in the number of cells undergoing apoptosis; approximately 11 +/- 1% of cultured cells demonstrated morphological changes of apoptosis by 72 h compared with 1.5 +/- 0.1% in untreated cholangiocytes (P < 0. 01). Maintenance of GSH levels by addition of glutathione ethyl ester in the presence of BSO blocked the BSO-associated increase in apoptosis in BSO-treated cholangiocytes and also prevented the decrease in Bcl-2 protein. BSO treatment of cholangiocytes did not change steady-state levels of bcl-2 mRNA or Bcl-2 protein synthesis. However, Bcl-2 protein half-life decreased 57% in BSO-treated vs. untreated cells. Our results using a human cholangiocyte cell line demonstrate that reduction in the cellular levels of an antioxidant such as GSH results in increased degradation of Bcl-2 protein and an increase in apoptosis. These data provide a mechanistic link between the consequences of oxidative stress and cholangiocyte apoptosis, an observation that may be important in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory cholangiopathies.
 ...
PMID:Glutathione depletion is associated with decreased Bcl-2 expression and increased apoptosis in cholangiocytes. 975 6

Studies on the mechanism of apoptosis in this laboratory support a model in which signal transduction involving caspase 3 leads to activation of a serine protease called Mr 24,000 apoptotic protease (AP24), which then induces internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in the nucleus. This study examined the effect of Bcl-2 overexpression on activation of AP24 and the induction of DNA fragmentation by AP24 in isolated nuclei. It was demonstrated that overexpression of Bcl-2 in either HL-60 or PW leukemia cell lines suppressed activation of AP24 induced by either tumor necrosis factor or UV light and protected cells from apoptosis. Furthermore, nuclei isolated from Bcl-2-overexpressing cells were relatively resistant to internucleosomal DNA fragmentation induced by AP24 isolated from apoptotic cells. Bcl-2-overexpressing cells that were nutritionally depleted of glutathione (GSH) became sensitive to tumor necrosis factor- or UV light-induced activation of AP24 and underwent apoptotic cell death. Moreover, nuclei isolated from Bcl-2-overexpressing cells that were depleted of GSH became sensitive to AP24-induced DNA fragmentation. The addition of exogenous GSH blocked the proteolytic activity of AP24, as well as its ability to induce DNA fragmentation in normal isolated nuclei. These results indicate that Bcl-2 can attenuate at least two events in the AP24 apoptotic pathway: activation of AP24 and induction of DNA fragmentation by activated AP24. Furthermore, agents that deplete intracellular levels of GSH may have therapeutic use in the sensitization of Bcl-2-overexpressing cancer cells to apoptotic cell death.
 ...
PMID:Bcl-2-mediated resistance to apoptosis is associated with glutathione-induced inhibition of AP24 activation of nuclear DNA fragmentation. 985 96

Recent work has focused attention on the role of oxidative stress in various acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Low concentrations of the powerful antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and impaired brain energy metabolism, particularly in the substantia nigra, are key features of Parkinson's disease (PD). The main goal of this study was to better characterize the deleterious effects of brain GSH depletion on mitochondrial function. We depleted GSH in the brains of newborn wild-type (WT) and transgenic (Tg) mice overproducing either human Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (h-CuZnSOD) or human Bcl2 (h-Bcl-2), by subcutaneous injection of l-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), a specific inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase. GSH was 97% depleted in brain homogenates and 90% depleted in brain mitochondria for both WT and Tg mice. This depletion of brain GSH led to a decrease in the activity of the GSH-dependent antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase, both in WT and in Tg animals. BSO treatment decreased the activities of respiratory complexes I, II, and IV in the brain homogenates of WT mice. BSO-treated h-CuZnSOD or h-Bcl-2 Tg mice had no respiratory chain deficiencies. Thus, brain GSH depletion leads to the impairment of mitochondrial respiratory chain activity. The protection of mitochondrial respiratory function by overproduction of Bcl-2 may result from a decrease in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or lipid peroxidation. The protection of mitochondria by overproduction of CuZnSOD is consistent with the involvement of superoxide or superoxide-derived ROS in the mitochondrial dysfunction caused by brain GSH depletion. This study demonstrates that the antioxidant balance is critical for maintenance of brain mitochondrial function, and its disruption may contribute to the pathogenesis of PD.
 ...
PMID:Overproduction of Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase or Bcl-2 prevents the brain mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction induced by glutathione depletion. 1041 49

In this study, both NIH3T3 and Bcl-2 transfected NIH3T3 cells were examined for their propensity to undergo nitroso compound-induced apoptosis. Bcl-2-expressing NIH3T3 prevented N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)- and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO)-induced apoptosis as compared with the control NIH3T3 cells. Flow cytometry revealed that NIH3T3 cells treated with MNNG undergo apoptotic death, which occurred after G2-M arrest in the second cycle of cell proliferation. The mechanism of MNNG-induced NIH3T3 cells apoptosis was observed throughout the activation of caspase-3 protease, PARP degradation and cytochrome c release; it was independent of p53 activation. Glutathione-S-transferanse pi (GST pi) is activated through the transcription activation of antioxidant response element (ARE) during MNNG- and GSNO-induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, overexpression of Bcl-2 in NIH3T3 cells can prevent these features of cell death. Furthermore, both MNNG- and GSNO-induced apoptosis of NIH3T3 cells were accompanied with a decrease in the level of glutathione (GSH); whereas Bcl-2 overexpression led to an increase in total cellular glutathione. MNNG was metabolized rapidly to nitric oxide that reacted with glutathione under the catalysis of GSH transferase in NIH3T3 cell to form GSNO. In short, the production of GSNO in cells was found capable of apoptosis initiation while the overexpression of Bcl-2 can prevent MNNG-mediated cell apoptosis through the elevation of glutathione levels.
 ...
PMID:Suppression of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine- and S-nitrosoglutathione-induced apoptosis by Bcl-2 through inhibiting glutathione-S-transferase pi in NIH3T3 cells. 1059 28

Bcl-2 has been associated with both oxidative and antioxidative effects in vivo. Moreover, despite evidence that Bcl-2 is antiapoptotic by virtue of its effect on reactive oxygen species and their scavengers, Bcl-2 exerts its antiapoptotic effects even under anaerobic conditions. The reasons for the variable relationship between Bcl-2 and reactive oxygen species are not clear. The present studies demonstrate that the impact of Bcl-2 on glutathione (GSH) metabolism is cell line-dependent. Bcl-2 overproduction in PC12 cells is associated with increased functional thiol reserves, increased reductive activation of chemotherapeutic prodrugs, and GSH accumulation after treatment with N-acetylcysteine. In contrast, Bcl-2-overproducing MCF-7 breast cancer cells demonstrate neither altered GSH handling nor potentiation of chemotherapeutic prodrug reduction. These findings indicate that the effects of Bcl-2 on GSH handling are millieu-dependent. This could account for the variable effects of Bcl-2 in in vivo systems. Furthermore, since our previous studies have demonstrated that reduction-dependent prodrugs may be useful chemotherapeutic agents against tumors that demonstrate altered GSH handling, screening in vitro for alteration of GSH handling may predict responsiveness of such tumors to these reduction-dependent agents.
 ...
PMID:Cell line dependence of Bcl-2-induced alteration of glutathione handling. 1065 97

Nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) is a transcription factor involved in the expression of a wide range of genes, most of which code for proteins that play a role in immunity and inflammation. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) is a well-known inhibitor of NF-kappaB. Although its mechanism of action is conferred by its antioxidant property, other mechanisms by which PDTC can act as a prooxidant, metal chelator, and free thiol group modulator have recently been suggested. Here we report that PDTC caused a dual effect on cell viability in neuronal rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, depending on its concentration. Increase of intracellular zinc and copper ion levels selectively potentiated the cytotoxic PDTC effect in a dose-dependent manner, and thiol reagents, such as glutathione and N-acetylcysteine, as well as divalent metal-chelating reagents, such as EDTA and bathocuproline disulfonic acid, blocked its cell death effect. The differential effect of PDTC on cell viability correlates well with the inhibition of NF-kappaB activities. In addition, PDTC differentially activated microtubule-associated protein (MAP) kinases, such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), but not p38, depending on its dose, and the coaddition of glutathione (GSH), other antioxidants, and metal ions also modulated their activities. Furthermore, stable Bcl-2 expression blocked the PDTC-induced cell death. These results suggest that the thiol groups and free zinc and copper ion levels are important for the novel biphasic PDTC effect on cell viability, which is associated with the differential activation of NF-kappaB and MAP kinases.
 ...
PMID:Novel biphasic effect of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate on neuronal cell viability is mediated by the differential regulation of intracellular zinc and copper ion levels, NF-kappaB, and MAP kinases. 1065 92


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>