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)

The radiosensitivity of proliferating crypt epithelial cells makes the gut a major limiting factor in the use of radiotherapy for treatment of abdominal cancers. As post-mitotic epithelial cells migrate from mouse small intestinal crypts to the base of adjacent villi, they rapidly lose their ability to undergo apoptosis in response to ionizing irradiation (IR). To determine whether this radioresistance reflects withdrawal from the cell cycle, we used a lineage-specific promoter to direct expression of wild type Simian virus 40 T antigen (SV40 TAg(Wt)) to villus, but not crypt, enterocytes in FVB/N transgenic mice. SV40 TAg(Wt) induced, pRB-dependent, re-entry into the cell cycle is not associated with the acquisition of IR-stimulated apoptosis 4 h or 24 h after 6 Gy or 12 Gy of gamma-irradiation. Co-expression of SV40 TAg(Wt) and K-ras(val12) produces dysplasia in cycling villus enterocytes but no shift towards apoptotic responsiveness to IR. These findings suggest that the radioresistance of villus enterocytes is not simply due to their cell cycle arrest and may be a reflection of their microenvironment. Remarkably, reentry of villus enterocytes to the cell cycle increases the radiosensitivity of the crypt epithelium without changing Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bak, or Bax expression. This effect is only manifest after IR and, based upon results obtained with mutant SV40 TAgs, depends upon reaching a critical level of proliferation in villus enterocytes. Like the normal crypt response to IR, the villus-derived enhancement of IR-stimulated crypt apoptosis is associated with an induction of p53 and Raf-1, and is dependent upon p53. Unlike the normal crypt response to IR, the p53 induction involves cells distributed throughout the crypt and the apoptotic response is not confined to the lower half of the crypt. These results indicate that signals initiated by cycling enterocytes can be transmitted to the crypt epithelium to induce p53 and influence their IR-induced apoptosis. Understanding the underlying signaling pathways may provide clues about how to modify a normal crypt's radiosensitivity for therapeutic benefit.
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PMID:gamma-Ray-induced apoptosis in transgenic mice with proliferative abnormalities in their intestinal epithelium: re-entry of villus enterocytes into the cell cycle does not affect their radioresistance but enhances the radiosensitivity of the crypt by inducing p53. 924 49

To clarify whether advanced colorectal carcinomas and tumor-neighboring mucosa simultaneously produce both Bcl-2 protein and gut neurohormonal polypeptides and/or amines, and the interrelationship of these phenomenon, we studied retrospective analysis of Bcl-2 protein production and neuroendocrine characteristics in 52 cases of advanced colorectal carcinoma and surrounding mucosa. All of the tumor-neighboring mucosa presented hyperplasia. The rates of enhanced immunoreactivity of the tumor-neighboring mucosa and of positive immunoreactivity of the carcinomas against human Bcl-2 protein and against human vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, pancreatic polypeptide and somatostatin were 78.8% and 94.2%, 82.7% and 59.6%, 78.8% and 67.3%, and 88.5% and 84.6% respectively. Double immunostaining for Bcl-2 protein and each peptide hormone revealed simultaneous expression. In contrast, that of tumor-neighboring mucosa and carcinomas to serotonin and chromogranin-A and to argyrophilia were 11.5% and 1.9%, 32.7% and 17.3%, and 26.9% and 21.2%, respectively. We concluded that tumor-neighboring crypt cells displayed not only hyperplasia but also neuroendocrine characteristics and that enhanced Bcl-2 protein immunoreactivity correlated with tumor occurrence in the wall of the colorectum. The production of Bcl-2 protein by tumor cells and tumor-neighboring crypt cells indicates that the bcl-2 protooncogene may act not only as an inhibitor of apoptosis but also as an inducer of neuroendocrine differentiation from the latent characteristics of the endodermal stem cell.
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PMID:Bcl-2 protein expression and gut neurohormonal polypeptide/amine production in colorectal carcinomas and tumor-neighboring mucosa, which closely correlate to the occurrence of tumor. 998 48

We have come to understand apoptosis as not merely a single form of cell death, but as a fundamental theme in cell biology that has far-reaching implications in the fields of physiology and pathology. At the present time, however, the mechanism of apoptosis is not clearly understood, as research into apoptosis is still at the initial stages. Nevertheless, the links between apoptosis and a variety of pathological conditions are gradually becoming clearer. In this article, we will provide a simple explanation of apoptosis and its mechanism as a novel concept of cell death and discuss the way in which apoptosis has been linked to a variety of pathological conditions. WHAT IS APOPTOSIS?: In normal tissue, cells that are no longer needed are rapidly eliminated without affecting the overall function of the tissue. In this process cells undergo an active and spontaneous suicide called programmed cell death. In fact, the majority of physiological cell deaths take the form of apoptosis. The word apoptosis is used, in contrast to necrosis, to describe the situation in which a cell actively pursues a course toward death upon receiving certain stimuli [1]. The morphological changes of apoptosis found in most cell types first involve contraction in cell volume and condensation of the nucleus. When this happens the intracellular organelles such as the mitochondria retain their normal morphology. As apoptosis proceeds, blebbing of the plasma membrane occurs, and the nucleus becomes fragmented. Finally, the cell itself fragments to form apoptotic bodies that are engulfed by nearby phagocytes. With respect to biochemical changes, it is known that the chromosomes become fragmented into nucleosome units, and DNA forms characteristic ladder patterns when subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis. MECHANISM OF APOPTOSIS: It has been reported that apoptosis is induced in various cells by many kinds of irritations, but the precise mechanism is still unclear. Cell injuries that induce apoptosis include those that cause DNA damage such as radiation and anticancer drugs, those that are mediated by the TNF receptor and Fas receptor (the so-called "death signal receptors"), and the deprivation of cytokines that supply survival signals such as IL-3 and erythropoietin. The tumor suppressor gene p53 plays a very important role in apoptosis induced by damage to DNA. This has been demonstrated by studying resistance to apoptosis of cells derived from p53 knockout mice [2]. Other than the irritations that induce apoptosis, molecules that have been strongly implicated as major players in the drama of apoptosis include the Bcl-2 family proteins and the IL-1 converting enzyme (ICE) and its homolog proteases (caspase family). Both groups of proteins show homology with proteins that affect cell death in nematodes. It is believed that molecules that contribute to cell death have been well conserved in multicellular organisms all the way from the relatively primitive nematodes to mammals including humans. It was discovered that Bcl-2 suppressed apoptosis induced in IL-3 dependent cells by deprivation of IL-3 [3]. It has since become the gene around which apoptosis research revolves. Recently, it has become clear that cell death involving the Bcl-2 protein is under the control of similar proteins from the same family [4]. It is interesting that the phenomenon of cell death may be regulated by the balance of the molecules involved in it. APOPTOSIS ABNORMALITIES AND DISEASE: Physiological cell death plays a major role in the growth and permanent maintenance of the human body [5]. In the process of forming the nervous system, neurons that do not form proper connections die. Physiological cell death also accompanies the removal of virus-infected cells by cytotoxic T cells, the elimination of autoreactive immune cells, the formation of the gut, the reconstitution of cartilage and bone, etc. When physiological cell death that normally should occur is inhibited, inappropriate physiological cell death may occur that is harmful to the body and forms the basis of disease. For example, in patients with neural degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, we can find premature cell death in a particular subset of neurons. The death of T cells in AIDS patients is also a form of physiological cell death. Inhibition of cell death in the immune system enables the survival of autoreactive B cells and T cells, and is therefore a cause of autoimmune disorders. Apoptosis has been particularly linked to cancer. Normal cells are programmed for death if they are subjected to many types of non-physiological stress such as anticancer drugs or radiation, if they become isolated from surrounding cells and are unable to receive their tissue-specific survival signals [6], or if oncogenes are expressed haphazardly [7]. On the other hand, it is believed that the ability to survive is enhanced in transformed cancer cells because they are more resistant to apoptosis, they exhibit resistance to anticancer drugs, they are no longer dependent on survival signals, and they can metastasize. Therefore, the cancer progresses as the cancer cells maintain the proliferative superiority they acquire from their oncogenes. In other words, when cancer cells become resistant to apoptosis, they become resistant to treatment, metastasize, and proliferate destructively. The concept that the malignancy of cancer is due to its resistance to apoptosis is a relatively new one and is worthy of further study.
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PMID:Physician Education: Apoptosis. 1038 21

The adult small and large intestines display distinct expression profiles of Bcl-2 homologs, known regulators of apoptosis. This is thought to indicate that control mechanisms of intestinal apoptosis are gut segment-specific. Little is known on the expression of Bcl-2 homologs during gut development. In man, intestinal features and functions are acquired largely by mid-gestation (18-20 wks); the question whether segment-specific controls of intestinal apoptosis are also acquired early during development remains open. In the present study, we approached this by investigating the expression of six Bcl-2 homologs (Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, Mcl-1, Bax, Bak, Bad), and one nonhomologous associated molecule (Bag-1), during development of the human ileum and colon (12-20 wks of gestation). Beginning at 18 wks, we found that the epithelial localization of Bcl-2 homologs displayed differential patterns (or gradients) in both the ileum and colon; however, the patterns of some of the homologs differed between the two segments. For instance, Bag-1 and Bcl-2 exhibited crypt-villus decreasing gradients of expression in the ileum but not in the colon, whereas Mcl-1 displayed differing compartimentalizations between the two segments. Further analyses indicated that the steady-state expression levels of Bcl-2 homologs underwent modulations between 12 and 20 wks; however, the observed developmental profiles contrasted significantly between the two segments. For example, Bcl-2, Bag-1 and Bak levels increased in the colon, but the levels of these same homologs decreased in the ileum. Furthermore, by 18-20 wks, we found that the expression levels of each Bcl-2 homolog analyzed differed greatly between the ileum and colon. Altogether, these data indicate that the expression of Bcl-2 homologs is modulated differentially during human gut development in order to establish, by mid-gestation, distinct expression profiles for the small and large intestines. This in turn suggests that gut segment-specific control mechanisms of human intestinal apoptosis are acquired early during fetal life.
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PMID:Early acquisition of bowel segment-specific Bcl-2 homolog expression profiles during development of the human ileum and colon. 1133 6

Anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family, such as Bcl-w, maintain cell viability by preventing the activation of the cell death effectors, the caspases. Gene targeting experiments in mice have demonstrated that Bcl-w is required for spermatogenesis and for survival of damaged epithelial cells in the gut. Bcl-w is, however, dispensable for physiological cell death in other tissues. Here we report on the analysis of Bcl-w protein expression using a panel of novel monoclonal antibodies. Bcl-w is found in a diverse range of tissues including colon, brain and testes. A survey of transformed cell lines and purified hematopoietic cells demonstrated that Bcl-w is expressed in cells of myeloid, lymphoid and epithelial origin. Subcellular fractionation and confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated that Bcl-w protein is associated with intracellular membranes. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of the phenotype of Bcl-w-null mice and recent data that suggest that Bcl-w may play a role in colon carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Tissue expression and subcellular localization of the pro-survival molecule Bcl-w. 1142 9

The oral use of chewing tobacco has greatly increased in recent years, and this usage is associated with cancers of the mouth, lip, nasal cavities, esophagus and gut. Oral cancer accounts for 3% of all cancers in U.S.A. and is the seventh most common cancer. Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated the protective abilities of a novel IH636 grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) against reactive oxygen species both in vitro and in vivo models, and provided significantly better protection as compared to vitamins C, E and beta-carotene. In the recent past, we have demonstrated smokeless tobacco (STE)-induced oxidative stress, apoptotic cell death in a primary culture of normal human oral keratinocytes (NHOK), and have compared the protective abilities of vitamins C and E, singly and in combination, and GSPE in this pathobiology [Free Rad. Biol. Med., 26, 992-1000 (1999)]. In the present study, we have assessed the protective role of vitamins C and E, and GSPE against STE-induced modulation of intracellular oxidized states in NHOK cells as demonstrated by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Approximately 11%, 26%, 28% and 50% protection were observed following incubation with vitamin C, vitamin E, a combination of vitamins C plus E, and GSPE, respectively. DNA fragmentation was assessed as an index of oxidative DNA damage and similar results were observed. Furthermore, the cellular viability and functional roles of Bcl-2, p53 and c-myc genes were assessed in STE-induced oxidative stress in NHOK cells. NHOK cells were treated with STE (0-200 micrograms/ml) for 24 h and changes in the expression of Bcl-2, p53 and c-myc genes were measured by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the protective effect of GSPE was assessed. Approximately a 2.0-fold increase in p53 gene expression was observed following incubation of the oral keratinocytes with 100 micrograms/ml of STE, beyond which the expression of p53 decreased, confirming increased apoptotic cell death with a higher concentration of STE as reported earlier. GSPE significantly modulated STE-induced changes in p53. The expression of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 gene decreased with STE treatment and the expression of Bcl-2 gene increased significantly following preincubation with GSPE. No significant change in the expression of transcription factor c-myc gene responsible for cell cycle growth was observed following incubation with STE and/or GSPE. Thus, c-myc may not be involved in STE-induced cytotoxicity towards NHOK cells. These results suggest that antioxidant protection of STE-induced cellular injury is associated with alterations in Bcl-2 and p53 expression.
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PMID:Protective effects of antioxidants against smokeless tobacco-induced oxidative stress and modulation of Bcl-2 and p53 genes in human oral keratinocytes. 1169 99

Gut epithelial apoptosis is increased in human studies and animal models of noninfectious inflammation and sepsis. Elevated intestinal cell death appears to be physiologically significant in sepsis. Previous studies demonstrate that overexpression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 in the gut epithelium of transgenic mice is associated with improved survival from Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia and cecal ligation and puncture. The functional significance of elevated gut apoptosis in noninfectious inflammation has not been examined. We hypothesized that intestinal apoptosis would be detrimental to survival in noninfectious critical illness. To address this issue, acute lung injury (ALI) was induced with intratracheal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 800 microg) in wild-type (WT) FVB/N mice and transgenic mice that overexpress Bcl-2 in their intestinal epithelium. Guts were harvested at 12, 24, 48, and 72 h and assessed for apoptosis by both hematoxylin and eosin and active caspase-3 staining in 100 contiguous crypts. ALI increased gut epithelial apoptosis 12 h after LPS instillation compared with shams (P < 0.01), whereas overexpression of Bcl-2 decreased intestinal apoptosis compared with WT animals with ALI when assayed by active caspase-3 (P < 0.05). Plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 were similar between WT and transgenic animals with ALI, both of which had elevated IL-10 levels at 12 h and elevated IL-6 levels at 24 h compared with sham animals. In a separate experiment, transgenic and WT animals with ALI were followed for mortality to determine whether gut overexpression of Bcl-2 conferred a survival advantage. Survival at 10 days was 73% in WT animals (n = 33) and 65% in Bcl-2 animals (n = 23, P = ns). These results indicate that while gut epithelial apoptosis is elevated in multiple models of critical illness, prevention of intestinal cell death by overexpression of Bcl-2 is associated with a disparate survival effect between sepsis and noninfectious inflammation.
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PMID:Bcl-2 inhibits gut epithelial apoptosis induced by acute lung injury in mice but has no effect on survival. 1456 Jan 8

Apoptosis plays a critical role in the maintenance of gut mucosal homeostasis and is regulated by numerous factors including polyamines. Although the exact roles of polyamines in apoptotic pathway are still unclear, inhibition of polyamine synthesis promotes the resistance of intestinal epithelial cells to apoptosis. Akt is a serine-threonine kinase that has been established as an important intracellular signaling in regulating cell survival. The current studies test the hypothesis that polyamines are involved in the control of Akt activity in normal intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6 line) and that activated Akt mediates suppression of apoptosis following polyamine depletion. Depletion of cellular polyamines by alpha-difluoromethylornithine induced levels of phosphorylated Akt and increased Akt kinase activity, although it had no effect on expression of total Akt, pERK, p38, and Bcl-2 proteins. This activated Akt was associated with both decreased levels of active caspase-3 and increased resistance to tumor necrosis factor-alpha/cycloheximide-induced apoptosis. Inactivation of Akt by either treatment with LY294002 or ectopic expression of a dominant negative Akt mutant (DNMAkt) not only enhanced the caspase-3 activation in polyamine-deficient cells but also prevented the increased resistance to tumor necrosis factor-alpha/cycloheximide-induced apoptosis. Phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3, a downstream target of Akt, was also increased in alpha-difluoromethylornithine-treated cells, which was prevented by inactivation of Akt by LY294002 or DNMAkt overexpression. These results indicate that polyamine depletion induces the Akt activation mediating suppression of apoptosis via inhibition of caspase-3 in normal intestinal epithelial cells.
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PMID:Akt kinase activation blocks apoptosis in intestinal epithelial cells by inhibiting caspase-3 after polyamine depletion. 1502 23

Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) is a gut hormone that stimulates mucosal growth in total parenteral nutrition (TPN)-fed piglets; however, the dose-dependent effects on apoptosis, cell proliferation, and protein synthesis are unknown. We studied 38 TPN-fed neonatal piglets infused iv with either saline or GLP-2 at three rates (2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 nmol.kg(-1).d(-1)) for 7 d. Plasma GLP-2 concentrations ranged from 177 +/- 27 to 692 +/- 85 pM in the low- and high-infusion groups, respectively. GLP-2 infusion dose-dependently increased small intestinal weight, DNA and protein content, and villus height; however, stomach protein synthesis was decreased by GLP-2. Intestinal crypt and villus apoptosis decreased and crypt cell number increased linearly with GLP-2 infusion rates, whereas cell proliferation and protein synthesis were stimulated only at the high GLP-2 dose. The intestinal activities of caspase-3 and -6 and active caspase-3 abundance decreased, yet procaspase-3 abundance increased markedly with increasing infusion rate and plasma concentration of GLP-2. The GLP-2-dose-dependent suppression of intestinal apoptosis and caspase-3 activity was associated with increased protein kinase B and glycogen-synthase kinase-3 phosphorylation, yet the expression phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase was unaffected by GLP-2. Intestinal endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA and protein expression was increased, but only at the high GLP-2 dose. We conclude that the stimulation of intestinal epithelial survival is concentration dependent at physiological GLP-2 concentrations; however, induction of cell proliferation and protein synthesis is a pharmacological response. Moreover, we show that GLP-2 stimulates intestinal cell survival and proliferation in association with induction of protein kinase B and glycogen-synthase kinase-3 phosphorylation and Bcl-2 expression.
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PMID:Glucagon-like peptide 2 dose-dependently activates intestinal cell survival and proliferation in neonatal piglets. 1560 3

Massive small bowel resection increases ileal villus height as part of normal adaptation. However, despite no gut loss, autotransplantation of the entire small intestine also increases ileal villus height. Our aim was to test whether similar modulation of enterocyte proliferation and apoptosis underpin these comparable increases in villus height. Fifteen pigs were randomly assigned for laparotomy (n=5), 75% proximal small bowel resection (n=5), or jejunoileal autotransplantation (n=5). Eight weeks postoperatively, full-thickness small bowel sections underwent routine immunohistochemistry for cell cycle inhibitors (p53, p21, and p27), antiapoptotic Bcl-2, and proapoptotic bax. The specimens were analyzed semiquantitatively, and the number of intensively positive epithelial cells for each group was compared from 20 digital images (0.32 mm(2)/image). Compared with laparotomy, small bowel resection decreased the number of p27-positive enterocytes in both jejunum and ileum, increased the number of bax-expressing cells in ileum, but decreased the number of bax-expressing cells in jejunum. In contrast, compared with laparotomy, jejunoileal autotransplantation altered neither mucosal bax nor p27 expression. In all groups, Bcl-2 expression was similarly confined to inflammatory cells of the lamina propria, while both p53 and p21 were negative. We conclude that long-term alterations in the enterocytic expression of certain cell cycle and apoptosis markers (p27 and bax) accompany small bowel resection. These changes differ between the jejunum and the ileum and are not seen after whole small bowel autotransplantation. Therefore, increased ileal villus height after autotransplantation, despite resembling postresectional intestinal adaptation, is underpinned by different regulation of enterocyte proliferation and apoptosis.
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PMID:Mucosal expression of p21, p27, p53, Bcl-2, and bax after small bowel resection and autotransplantation in pigs. 1582 52


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