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 intracellular activity and expression of tissue transglutaminase, which crosslinks proteins through epsilon(gamma-glutamyl)lysine isodipeptide bond, was investigated in CHO cells and those stably transfected with either inducible c-Myc (which leads to apoptosis) or with c-myc and the apoptosis inhibitor Bcl-2. Protein-bound cross-link content was significantly higher when apoptosis was induced by c-Myc while the concomitant presence of Bcl-2 markedly reduced both apoptosis and enzymatic protein cross-linking. The expression of tissue transglutaminase did not change following the initiation of apoptosis by c-Myc or when it was blocked by Bcl-2. Studying transiently co-transfected elements of the mouse tissue transglutaminase promoter linked to a reporter enzyme revealed their overall repression in cells expressing c-Myc. This repression was partially suspended in cells also carrying Bcl-2. Our data suggest that tissue transglutaminase is not induced when c-Myc initiates apoptosis but the pre-existing endogenous enzyme is activated.
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PMID:Lack of induction of tissue transglutaminase but activation of the preexisting enzyme in c-Myc-induced apoptosis of CHO cells. 924 Apr 25

The BCR/ABL oncogenic tyrosine kinase activates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3k) by a mechanism that requires binding of BCR/ABL to p85, the regulatory subunit of PI-3k, and an intact BCR/ABL SH2 domain. SH2 domain BCR/ABL mutants deficient in PI-3k activation failed to stimulate Akt kinase, a recently identified PI-3k downstream effector with oncogenic potential, but did activate p21 RAS and p70 S6 kinase. The PI-3k/Akt pathway is essential for BCR/ABL leukemogenesis as indicated by experiments demonstrating that wortmannin, a PI-3k specific inhibitor at low concentrations, suppressed BCR/ABL-dependent colony formation of murine marrow cells, and that a kinase-deficient Akt mutant with dominant-negative activity inhibited BCR/ABL-dependent transformation of murine bone marrow cells in vitro and suppressed leukemia development in SCID mice. In complementation assays using mouse marrow progenitor cells, the ability of transformation-defective SH2 domain BCR/ABL mutants to induce growth factor-independent colony formation and leukemia in SCID mice was markedly enhanced by expression of constitutively active Akt. In retrovirally infected mouse marrow cells, the BCR/ABL mutant lacking the SH2 domain was unable to upregulate the expression of c-Myc and Bcl-2; in contrast, expression of a constitutively active Akt mutant induced Bcl-2 and c-Myc expression, and stimulated the transcription activation function of c-Myc. Together, these data demonstrate the requirement for the BCR/ABL SH2 domain in PI-3k activation and document the essential role of the PI-3k/Akt pathway in BCR/ABL leukemogenesis.
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PMID:Transformation of hematopoietic cells by BCR/ABL requires activation of a PI-3k/Akt-dependent pathway. 932 94

Recently, attention has focused on the potential of oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes, and assessment of cell proliferation as biological response indicators in human cancer. In this study, immunocytochemical analysis was used to evaluate the usefulness of Ki67, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr), and the protein products of c-Myc and Bcl-2 as indicators of radiosensitivity in primary cultures of head and neck tumours. Primary cultures established from tumours taken at surgery were divided into two groups; the control group remained untreated, and the treatment group received a single dose of 2 Gy. The cultures were incubated for 14 days, after which time they were fixed and examined immunocytochemically. The response to treatment of the cultures was measured as the percentage of growth inhibition (%GI) in the treated cultures relative to the untreated controls. Expression of Ki67 measured after a single dose of 2 Gy significantly differentiated the radioresistant and radiosensitive groups (P = 0.045); high percentages of Ki67+ cells correlated with radioresistance. A significant difference was found between the expression of EGFr in the resistant and sensitive groups, as measured in control cultures and after a dose of 2 Gy (P = 0.002 and P = 0.03, respectively); high levels of expression of EGFr correlated with radioresistance. The level of expression c-Myc+ cells, as measured in control cultures, significantly distinguished the radiosensitive group from the radioresistant group (P = 0.05). These results indicate a potential role for these proteins as indicators of radioresistance.
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PMID:Potential indicators of radiosensitivity in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. 932 97

Pim-1 oncoprotein is a serine/threonine kinase that can closely cooperate with c-Myc in lymphomagenesis, as does Bcl-2. Although the molecular mechanism of this cooperative transformation remains unknown, it is speculated that, similar to Bcl-2, Pim-1 contributes to transformation by inhibiting apoptosis. In this study, therefore, we examined the effect of Pim-1 expression on c-Myc-mediated apoptosis of Rat-1 fibroblasts triggered by serum deprivation. Our results showed that, rather than inhibiting apoptosis, Pim-1 expression stimulated c-Myc-mediated apoptosis in Rat-1 fibroblasts. Pim-1 stimulated c-Myc-mediated apoptosis through an enhancement of the c-Myc-mediated activation of caspase-3 (CPP32)-like proteases, since the suppression of this activity by a specific caspase inhibitor abolished the apoptosis stimulation by Pim-1. A kinase-defective Pim-1 mutant failed to stimulate c-Myc-mediated apoptosis, and Pim-1 expression alone in the absence of c-Myc overexpression did not induce apoptosis of serum-deprived Rat-1 cells, indicating that the kinase activity of Pim-1 and the activated c-Myc signaling pathway were required for apoptosis stimulation by Pim-1. Together, these results suggest that Pim-1 oncoprotein stimulates as a serine/threonine kinase the death signaling elicited by c-Myc at a step upstream of caspase-3-like protease activation in Rat-1 fibroblasts. Our results also suggest that Pim-1 kinase might function cooperatively with c-Myc through the phosphorylation of a factor(s) which regulates the common signaling pathway involved in c-Myc-mediated apoptosis and transformation.
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PMID:Pim-1 kinase stimulates c-Myc-mediated death signaling upstream of caspase-3 (CPP32)-like protease activation. 933 23

The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms responsible for the growth inhibitory effect of hyperthermia and verapamil in human colon cancer cell line HT-29. Apoptotic cell death was verified by flow cytometry analysis. The effect of treatment with hyperthermia and verapamil on the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins including Bcl-2, p53, bax, and c-Myc was studied by Western blot analysis. Changes in intracellular calcium homeostasis was analysed by fluorescence microscopy. The combination of 42 degrees C hyperthermia and verapamil caused a significant delay of human colon cancer cell proliferation as a result of apoptosis. Administration of these agents alone did not cause any cell inhibitory effect. Our experiments have shown that HT-29 cells constitutively express apoptosis-promoting proteins, such as Bax and c-Myc, while they fail to produce Bcl-2. Therefore, we hypothesize that HT-29 cells must have Bcl-2 independent pathways to protect cells against death-inducing signals. Also, apoptosis of HT-29 cells produced by hyperthermia in the presence of verapamil is a p53-independent process. Verapamil, when it did not act as a calcium channel blocker or inhibitor of release from intracellular storages under hyperthermic conditions, accelerated the increase of [Ca2+]i in HT-29 cells which resulted in programmed cell death (apoptosis).
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PMID:Apoptosis induced by hyperthermia and verapamil in vitro in a human colon cancer cell line. 935 39

Induction of apoptosis by oncogenes like c-myc may be important in restraining the emergence of neoplasia. However, the mechanism by which c-myc induces apoptosis is unknown. CD95 (also termed Fas or APO-1) is a cell surface transmembrane receptor of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family that activates an intrinsic apoptotic suicide program in cells upon binding either its ligand CD95L or antibody. c-myc-induced apoptosis was shown to require interaction on the cell surface between CD95 and its ligand. c-Myc acts downstream of the CD95 receptor by sensitizing cells to the CD95 death signal. Moreover, IGF-I signaling and Bcl-2 suppress c-myc-induced apoptosis by also acting downstream of CD95. These findings link two apoptotic pathways previously thought to be independent and establish the dependency of Myc on CD95 signaling for its killing activity.
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PMID:Requirement for the CD95 receptor-ligand pathway in c-Myc-induced apoptosis. 941 52

The lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A) gene, whose product participates in normal anaerobic glycolysis and is frequently increased in human cancers, has been identified as a c-Myc-responsive gene. It was of interest, therefore, to compare the effect of glucose deprivation in c-Myc-transformed and nontransformed cells. We observed that glucose deprivation or treatment with the glucose antimetabolite 2-deoxyglucose caused nontransformed cells to arrest in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. In contrast, c-Myc-transformed fibroblasts, lymphoblastoid, or lung carcinoma cells underwent extensive apoptosis. Ectopic expression of LDH-A alone in Rat1a fibroblasts was sufficient to induce apoptosis with glucose deprivation but not with serum withdrawal, suggesting that LDH-A mediates the unique apoptotic effect of c-Myc when glycolysis is blocked. The apoptosis caused by glucose deprivation was blocked by Bcl-2 expression but appeared to be independent of wild-type p53 activity. These studies provide insights on the coupling of glucose metabolism and the cell cycle in c-Myc-transformed cells and may in the future be exploited for cancer therapeutics.
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PMID:A unique glucose-dependent apoptotic pathway induced by c-Myc. 946 46

c-Myc is a transcriptional activator implicated in the control of cell proliferation, differentiation and transformation, but is also involved in the regulation of programmed cell death, apoptosis. Despite intensive research, the molecular mechanisms by which c-Myc triggers and executes cell death remain still elusive. Here, we made use of Rat 1A MycER cells expressing a conditionally active c-Myc protein and tested first the hypothesis that ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), which is a transcriptional target of c-Myc, were a mediator of c-Myc-induced apoptosis. However, our results show that the activity of ODC is not required for the c-Myc-mediated apoptosis to occur in these cells. We also found that the expression of p53, p21waf1/cip1, Bcl-2, Bax, Bcl-xL, Bad and cyclins D1, E, A and B did not show any significant changes following c-Myc induction. But, our studies revealed that the c-Myc induced apoptosis is associated with a specific cleavage of poly(ADPribose) polymerase (PARP), suggesting that a cysteine protease of the ICE/CED-3 family is involved. Moreover, we found that the cysteine protease CPP32/Caspase-3, which is known to cleave PARP, is processed from its inactive form to an active protease composed of 17 and 12 kDa subunits; whilst Ich-1/Caspase-2 belonging to another subset of this protease family was not processed/ activated following c-Myc activation. The activation of CPP32 and apoptotic cell death were inhibited by addition of Z-VAD-fmk, a universal inhibitor of ICE-like proteases. Further, a selective inhibitor of CPP32-like proteases (Z-DEVD-fmk) partly inhibited apoptosis. These results provide evidence that the ICE/CED3-family proteases, CPP32 and likely others, play a critical role in the execution of a nuclear proto-oncogene, c-Myc-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Involvement of CPP32/Caspase-3 in c-Myc-induced apoptosis. 946 64

Previously we have shown that nitric oxide (NO) donors induced apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, the mechanisms by which NO induced apoptosis in VSMCs are entirely unknown. In the present study, we intended to identify the mechanism by which NO donors induce apoptosis in VSMCs. First, we evaluated the expression of c-Myc, P53, and Bcl-2 proteins in VSMCs treated by NO donors. c-Myc and P53 protein expression increased after VSMCs were incubated with NO donors for 6 hr and reached a maximum level at 24 hr, while Bcl-2 protein decreased after 12 hr incubation. Next we investigated to see whether the CPP32 protease activation was involved in NO donors-induced apoptosis. In VSMCs treated by NO donors, the increase of CPP32 protease activity was observed and specific inhibition of CPP32 activity significantly prevented apoptosis induced by NO donors in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that NO donors induced apoptosis through proto-oncoprotein expression and CPP32-like protease activation.
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PMID:No induced apoptosis accompanying the change of oncoprotein expression and the activation of CPP32 protease. 948 2

A large number of primordial germ cells (PGCs), as well as spermatogonia, undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis in the physiological context. In this process, environmental, cytoplasmic and nuclear factors are involved. Bcl-2 and its related molecules are known as general regulators of cell death, and some are important for survival of PGCs and spermatogonia. Steel factor, a ligand for c-Kit, also supports growth and survival of these cells. In addition, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)8B and Desert Hedgehog (Dhh), which are secreted proteins, and a nuclear factor, c-Myc, play a role in spermatocyte survival. This suggests that germ cell survival or death at each stage of differentiation is precisely controlled by specific signalling pathways which consist of a number of molecules.
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PMID:Regulation of germ cell death in mammalian gonads. 952 72


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