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)

Bax is a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 protein family that resides in the outer mitochondrial membrane. It is controversial whether Bax promotes cell death directly through its putative function as a channel protein versus indirectly by inhibiting cellular regulators of the cell death proteases (caspases). We show here that addition of submicromolar amounts of recombinant Bax protein to isolated mitochondria can induce cytochrome c (Cyt c) release, whereas a peptide representing the Bax BH3 domain was inactive. When placed into purified cytosol, neither mitochondria nor Bax individually induced proteolytic processing and activation of caspases. In contrast, the combination of Bax and mitochondria triggered release of Cyt c from mitochondria and induced caspase activation in cytosols. Supernatants from Bax-treated mitochondria also induced caspase processing and activation. Recombinant Bcl-XL protein abrogated Bax-induced release of Cyt c from isolated mitochondria and prevented caspase activation. In contrast, the broad-specificity caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-valinyl-alaninyl-aspartyl-(0-methyl)- fluoromethylketone (zVAD-fmk) and the caspase-inhibiting protein X-IAP had no effect on Bax-induced release of Cyt c from mitochondria in vitro but prevented the subsequent activation of caspases in cytosolic extracts. Unlike Ca2+, a classical inducer of mitochondrial permeability transition, Bax did not induce swelling of mitochondria in vitro. Because the organellar swelling caused by permeability transition causes outer membrane rupture, the findings, therefore, dissociate these two events, implying that Bax uses an alternative mechanism for triggering release of Cyt c from mitochondria.
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PMID:Bax directly induces release of cytochrome c from isolated mitochondria. 956 Feb 17

Solid tumors contain regions of hypoxia, a physiological stress that can activate cell death pathways and, thus, result in the selection of cells resistant to death signals and anticancer therapy. Bcl2/adenovirus EIB 19kD-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) is a cell death factor that is a member of the Bcl-2 proapoptotic family recently shown to induce necrosis rather than apoptosis. Using cDNA arrays and serial analysis of gene expression, we found that hypoxia induces up-regulation of BNIP3 and its homologue, Nip3-like protein X. Analysis of human carcinoma cell lines showed that they are hypoxically regulated in many tumor types, as well as in endothelial cells and macrophages. Regulation was hypoxia inducible factor-1-dependent, and hypoxia inducible factor-1 expression was suppressed by von Hippel-Lindau protein in normoxic cells. Northern blotting and in situ hybridization analysis has revealed that these factors are highly expressed in human tumors compared with normal tissue and that BNIP3 is up-regulated in perinecrotic regions of the tumor. This study shows that genes regulating cell death can be hypoxically induced and are overexpressed in clinical tumors.
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PMID:HIF-1-dependent regulation of hypoxic induction of the cell death factors BNIP3 and NIX in human tumors. 1155 32

The proto-oncogene B-cell lymphoma protein 2 (BCL-2) and its homologues are important modulators of cellular survival after transient brain ischaemia. In the present study we used western blotting to elucidate if the stimulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A type receptors with their agonist BAY X 3702 results in regulation of BCL-2 family proteins. Treatment with BAY X 3702 resulted in elevated BCL-2 protein level in the ipsilateral cerebral cortex of animals as early as at 6 and 12 h of reperfusion, this effect becoming more pronounced at 24 h. BAY X 3702 administration caused no change in BCL-2-associated protein X content during reperfusion. The effect of BAY X 3702 on the level of death-inhibiting protein BCL-2 in the brain during ischaemia/reperfusion could contribute to the neuroprotective potency of the drug.
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PMID:Effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor agonist BAY X 3702 on BCL-2 and BAX proteins level in the ipsilateral cerebral cortex of rats after transient focal ischaemia. 1171 96

The Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) (or human herpesvirus 8) open reading frame (ORF) K15 encodes a putative integral transmembrane protein in the same genomic location as latent membrane protein 2A of Epstein-Barr virus. Ectopic expression of K15 in cell lines revealed the presence of several different forms ranging in size from full length, approximately 50 kDa, to 17 kDa. Of these different species the 35- and 23-kDa forms were predominant. Mutational analysis of the initiator AUG indicated that translation initiation from this first AUG is required for K15 expression. Computational analysis indicates that the different forms detected may arise due to proteolytic cleavage at internal signal peptide sites. We show that K15 is latently expressed in KSHV-positive primary effusion lymphoma cell lines and in multicentric Castleman's disease. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen we identified HAX-1 (HS1 associated protein X-1) as a binding partner to the C terminus of K15 and show that K15 interacts with cellular HAX-1 in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, HAX-1 colocalizes with K15 in the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The function of HAX-1 is unknown, although the similarity of its sequence to those of Nip3 and Bcl-2 infers a role in the regulation of apoptosis. We show here that HAX-1 can form homodimers in vivo and is a potent inhibitor of apoptosis and therefore represents a new apoptosis regulatory protein. The putative functions of K15 with respect to its interaction with HAX-1 are discussed.
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PMID:K15 protein of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus is latently expressed and binds to HAX-1, a protein with antiapoptotic function. 1175 70

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen leader protein (EBNA-LP) plays a critical role in EBV-induced transformation. An earlier report (Y. Kawaguchi et al., J. Virol. 74: 10104-10111, 2000) showed that EBNA-LP interacts with a cellular protein HS1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1). The predicted amino acid sequence of HAX-1 exhibits similarity to that of another cellular protein Nip3 which has been shown to interact with cellular and viral anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2 and BHRF1, an EBV homolog of Bcl-2. Here we investigated whether HAX-1, like Nip3, interacts with Bcl-2 proteins and report the following. (i) A purified chimeric protein consisting of gluthathione S-transferase (GST) fused to BHRF1 (GST-BHRF1) or Bcl-2 (GST-Bcl-2) specifically pulled down HAX-1 transiently expressed in COS-7 cells. (ii) GST-BHRF1 or GST-Bcl-2 was not able to pull down EBNA-LP transiently expressed in COS-7 cells, whereas each of the GST fusion proteins formed complexes with EBNA-LP in the presence of RAX-1. These results indicated that EBNA-LP interacts with the viral and cellular Bcl-2 proteins through HAX-1, suggesting that EBNA-LP possesses a potential function in the regulation of apoptosis in EBV-infected cells.
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PMID:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen leader protein (EBNA-LP) forms complexes with a cellular anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2 or its EBV counterpart BHRF1 through HS1-associated protein X-1. 1263 58

We found that the expression of mitochondrial apoptosis related genes (Bcl-2 associated protein X, BAX; apoptotic protease activating factor 1, Apaf-1; Caspase 9 and serine/threonine protein kinase, PKB) is elevated in Trichinella spiralis-infected muscles during encapsulation. Micro-dissection of the capsule and subsequent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed that the expressions of these genes are restricted to the nurse cell. Immunocytochemistry revealed that pro-apoptosis factor (BAX, Apaf-1 and Caspase 9) are predominantly expressed in the basophilic cytoplasm (infected muscle cell origin) and anti-apoptosis factor (PKB) in the eosinophilic cytoplasm (satellite cell origin) of the nurse cell. Electron microscopy revealed that the pre-existing mitochondria in the muscle cells became swollen and disappeared immediately after newborn larva invasion, but new mitochondria of smaller size appeared in the cytoplasm. Nuclear fragmentation and condensation were observed in basophilic cytoplasm which is known to die. Together, the results suggest that the infected muscle cells transform but die through the process of apoptosis which is triggered by factors from the newly formed mitochondria. The anti-apoptosis factor may help the eosinophilic cytoplasm with its survival to ensure nurse cell function.
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PMID:Expression of apoptosis-related factors in muscles infected with Trichinella spiralis. 1507 81

The development of multiple myeloma (MM) bone disease is mediated by increased number and activity of osteoclasts (OCs). Using an in vitro osteoclastogenesis model consisting of unstimulated and unfractionated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with MM, we showed that T cells support the formation of OCs with longer survival. Different from T-cell-depleted MM PBMC cultures, exogenous macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) were necessary for the formation of OCs; however, they did not exhibit longer survival. We found up-regulated production of RANKL, osteoprotegerin (OPG), and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) by fresh MM T cells. Despite high OPG levels, the persistence of osteoclastogenesis can be related to the formation of the OPG/TRAIL complex demonstrated by immunoprecipitation experiments and the addition of anti-TRAIL antibody which decreases OC formation. OCs overexpressed TRAIL decoy receptor DcR2 in the presence of MM T cells and death receptor DR4 in T-cell-depleted cultures. In addition, increased Bcl-2/Bax (B-cell lymphoma-2/Bcl2-associated protein X) ratio, following Bcl-2 up-regulation, was detected in OCs generated in the presence of T cells. Our results highlight that MM T cells support OC formation and survival, possibly involving OPG/TRAIL interaction and unbalanced OC expression of TRAIL death and decoy receptors.
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PMID:T cells support osteoclastogenesis in an in vitro model derived from human multiple myeloma bone disease: the role of the OPG/TRAIL interaction. 1530 61

Prion protein (PrP) prevents Bcl-2-associated protein X (Bax)-mediated cell death, but the step at which PrP inhibits is not known. We first show that PrP is very specific for Bax and cannot prevent Bak (Bcl-2 antagonist killer 1)-, tBid-, staurosporine- or thapsigargin-mediated cell death. As Bax activation involves Bax conformational change, mitochondrial translocation, cytochrome c release and caspase activation, we investigated which of these events was inhibited by PrP. PrP inhibits Bax conformational change, cytochrome c release and cell death in human primary neurons and MCF-7 cells. Serum deprivation-induced Bax conformational change is more rapid in PrP-null cells. PrP does not prevent active caspase-mediated cell death. PrP does not colocalize with Bax in normal or apoptotic primary neurons and cannot prevent Bax-mediated cytochrome c release in a mitochondrial cell-free system. We conclude that PrP protects against Bax-mediated cell death by preventing the Bax proapoptotic conformational change that occurs initially in Bax activation.
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PMID:Cellular prion protein inhibits proapoptotic Bax conformational change in human neurons and in breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells. 1584 75

A time course study was performed to reveal the sequence of histopathology after Trichinella spiralis or T. pseudospiralis infection in mice. A cyst was formed in the former case by about 18 days post infection and prominent myopathy was restricted within the cyst. In the latter case, however, no typical cyst was formed, and myopathy spread diffusely over the infected muscle tissues occupying half the area of muscle sections. An electron microscope observation revealed that the disintegration of muscle cells was delayed in T. pseudospiralis infection than in T. spiralis infection. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that apoptosis-related genes were expressed for a longer term in muscles infected with T. pseudospiralis than in those with T. spiralis, although the same spectrum of genes are mobilized. Examined apoptosis-related genes included tumor suppressor genes p53, p53; mouse double minute 2, MDM2; cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (WAF1), p21(waf) ; Bcl-2 associated protein X, BAX; apoptotic protease activating factor 1, Apaf-1; Caspase 9 and serine/ threonine protein kinase, PKB. Micro-dissection of the infected muscle tissue and subsequent RT-PCR confirmed that the expressions of these genes are restricted to tissue with myopathy. Thus, the expression of the apoptosis-related genes correlated with continuous and diffuse myopathy caused by T. pseudospiralis infection.
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PMID:Trichinella pseudospiralis infection is characterized by more continuous and diffuse myopathy than T. spiralis infection. 1594 11

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), originally identified as a hypothalamic hormone, is expressed in the pancreas. The peptide has been shown to control glycemia, although the role of TRH in the pancreas has not yet been clarified. In quiescent INS-1 cells (rat immortalized beta-cell line), 200 nM of TRH for 24 hours significantly increased insulin levels in the culture medium and in cell extracts. In studies with gene array technology where about 60% to 75% of the 1081 genes were detected, TRH significantly stimulated multiple groups of gene expressions, including G-protein-coupled receptor and related signaling, such as insulin secretion, endoplasmic reticulum traffic mechanisms, cell-cycle regulators, protein turnover factors, DNA recombination, and growth factors. Noticeably, TRH suppressed the genes of proapoptotic Bcl-2-associated protein X, Bcl-xL/ Bcl-2-associated death promoter, and Fas. The multiple gene expressions in response to TRH in pancreatic cells suggest that the changed microenvironment brought about by TRH may influence beta-cellfunction.
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PMID:Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) affects gene expression in pancreatic beta-cells. 1639 21


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