Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P42574 (caspase-3)
 45,978 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recently a new member of the human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family named as VEGI was reported. However, very little is known about the biological activities displayed by this cytokine. In this report, we show that in myeloid cells VEGI activated the transcription factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) as determined by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay, induced degradation of I kappa B alpha, and nuclear translocation of p65 subunit of NF-kappa B. VEGI also activated NF-kappa B-dependent reporter gene expression. In addition, VEGI activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase. When examined for growth modulatory effects, VEGI inhibited the proliferation of breast carcinoma (MCF-7), epithelial (HeLa), and myeloid (U-937 and ML-1a) tumor cells; and activated caspase-3 leading to PARP cleavage. VEGI-induced cytotoxicity was potentiated by inhibitors of protein synthesis. VEGI also induced proliferation of normal human foreskin fibroblast cells. The activity of VEGI could neither be neutralized by antibodies against TNF, nor could it compete with TNF binding, indicating that the activity of VEGI is not due to TNF and it binds to a distinct receptor. These results suggest that VEGI, a new member of the TNF family, has a signaling pathway similar to TNF and is most likely a multifunctional cytokine.
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PMID:VEGI, a new member of the TNF family activates nuclear factor-kappa B and c-Jun N-terminal kinase and modulates cell growth. 1059 52

The therapeutic combination of the herpesvirus simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) thymidine kinase (TK) gene and the prodrug, ganciclovir (GCV), has found great utility for the treatment of many types of cancer. After initial phosphorylation of GCV by HSV-1 TK, cellular kinases generate the toxic GCV-triphosphate metabolite that is incorporated into DNA and eventually leads to tumor cell death. The cellular and pharmacological mechanisms by which metabolites of GCV lead to cell death are still poorly defined. To begin to address these mechanisms, different mutated forms of HSV-1 TK at residue Gln-125 that have distinct substrate properties were expressed in mammalian cell lines. It was found that expression of the Asn-125 HSV-1 TK mutant in two cell lines, NIH3T3 and HCT-116, was equally effective as wild-type HSV-1 TK for metabolism and sensitivity to GCV, bystander effect killing and induction of apoptosis. The major difference between the two enzymes was the lack of deoxypyrimidine metabolism in the Asn-125 TK-expressing cells. In HCT-116 cells expressing the Glu-125 TK mutant, GCV metabolism was greatly attenuated, yet at higher GCV concentrations, cell sensitivity to the drug and bystander effect killing were diminished but still effective. Cell cycle analysis, 4', 6'-diamidine-2'-phenylindoledihydrochloride staining, and caspase 3 activation assays indicated different cell death responses in the Glu-125 TK-expressing cells as compared with the wild-type HSV-1 TK or Asn-125 TK-expressing cells. A mechanistic hypothesis to explain these results based on the differences in GCV-triphosphate metabolite levels is presented.
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PMID:Differential ganciclovir-mediated cell killing by glutamine 125 mutants of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase. 1060 Dec 81

The MDM2 oncoprotein has been shown to inhibit p53-mediated growth arrest and apoptosis. It also confers growth advantage to different cell lines in the absence of p53. Recently, the ability of MDM2 to arrest the cell cycle of normal human fibroblasts has also been described. We report a novel function for this protein, showing that overexpression of MDM2 promotes apoptosis in p53-deficient, human medullary thyroid carcinoma cells. These cells, devoid of endogenous MDM2 protein, exhibited a significant growth retardation after stable transfection with mdm2. Cell cycle distribution of MDM2 transfectants [medullary thyroid tumor (MTT)-mdm2] revealed a fraction of the cell population in a hypodiploid status, suggesting that MDM2 is sufficient to promote apoptosis. This circumstance is further demonstrated by annexin V labeling. MDM2-induced apoptosis is partially reverted by transient transfection with p53 and p19ARF. Both MTT and MTT-mdm2 cells were tumorigenic when injected into nude mice. However, the percentage ofapoptotic nuclei in tumor sections derived from MDM2-expressing cells was significantly higher relative to that in the parental cell line. MDM2-mediated programmed cell death is at least mediated by a down-regulation of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. Protein levels of caspase-2, which are undetectable in the parental cell line, appear clearly elevated in MTT-mdm2 cells. Caspase-3 activation does not participate in MDM2-induced apoptosis, as determined by protein levels or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase fragmentation. The results observed in this medullary carcinoma cell line show for the first time that the product of the mdm2 oncogene mediates cell death by apoptosis in p53-deficient tumor cells.
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PMID:The MDM2 oncoprotein promotes apoptosis in p53-deficient human medullary thyroid carcinoma cells. 1061 65

At present, cancer therapy of solid tumors, such as lung and colorectal cancer, is unsatisfactory. Recently, oxygenated sterols have shown selective cytotoxicity against tumor cells. In this study, the cytotoxicity of 7 beta-hydroxycholesterol (7 beta HC) and two water-soluble derivatives of 7 beta HC, i.e. 7 beta HC-bis-hemisuccinate [disodium salt] (7 beta HC-HS) and 7 beta HC-bis-hemisuccinate-diethanolaminoate (7 beta HC-EA), was determined in DLD-1, KM20L2, HCT-116, HT-29 and SW620 colon carcinoma cell lines using a cell count assay. IC50 values of the two water-soluble derivatives were, on the whole, comparable to 7 beta HC lying in the range of 3-10 microM. In addition, the water-soluble derivatives were able to induce apoptosis in the examined DLD-1 and KM20L2 colon carcinoma cell lines in contrast to the parent compound 7 beta HC, as shown by DNA fragmentation, by the cleavage of DNA repair enzyme poly(ADP) ribose polymerase (PARP), and by the proteolytic cleavage of caspase-3 (CPP32). Due to the improved water-solubility of 7 beta HC-HS and 7 beta HC-EA and their promising antitumor activity in vitro, animal studies in suitable tumor models are warranted.
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PMID:Antitumor activity and induction of apoptosis by water-soluble derivatives of 7 beta-hydroxycholesterol in human colon carcinoma cell lines. 1062 83

Caspase-3 is a member of the cysteine protease family, which plays a crucial role in apoptosis. We applied the human caspase-3 gene as a novel form of anticancer gene therapy. Overexpression of human caspase-3 alone could not induce apoptosis of tumor cell lines, but apoptosis was markedly enhanced by the addition of etoposide. In an AH130 liver tumor model, transduction of human caspase- 3, but not the empty vector, induced extensive apoptosis and reduced tumor volume when combined with etoposide administration. However, this effect was not observed with a Bcl-2 overexpressing tumor. In conclusion, caspase-3 gene transduction accompanied by an additional death stimulus may be a useful method of anticancer gene therapy, except for Bcl-2 overexpressing tumors.
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PMID:Cancer gene therapy using a pro-apoptotic gene, caspase-3. 1063 46

Interferons (IFN) inhibit the growth of tumor cells by blocking the progression of their cell cycle. Recently, we showed that this cell cycle inhibition correlates with the ability of IFN to upregulate the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(WAF1). This, however, is not proof of a causal relationship. Using p21(WAF1)-deficient cells derived from the HCT116 colon adenocarcinoma cell line, we now show that p21(WAF1) is indeed responsible for the antiproliferative effects of the type II IFN, IFN-gamma. IFN-gamma upregulated p21(WAF1) expression in a p53-independent manner, decreased cyclin-dependent kinase 2 activity, and inhibited entry into the S phase of the cell cycle in p21+/+ but not in p21-/- HCT116 cells. We additionally found that the lack of p21(WAF1) expression resulted in an increase in the ability of IFN-gamma to induce apoptosis, as reflected by an earlier induction of DNA fragmentation and caspase 3 activity in p21-/- cell. Our results indicate that p21(WAF1) expression is necessary for IFN-gamma-mediated cell cycle inhibition and suppression of IFN-gamma-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:IFN-gamma induction of p21(WAF1) is required for cell cycle inhibition and suppression of apoptosis. 1063 4

Cisplatin has been widely used as a chemotherapeutic agent to treat different types of tumors. However, its use is limited by the ability of the tumor cells to develop cisplatin-resistance. The molecular lesion that produces cisplatin-resistance is poorly understood. In this report, we show that cisplatin activates a robust apoptotic pathway involving the activation of JNK and p38MAPK whereas it fails to elicit such a response in cisplatin-resistant 2008/C13 cells. Analysis of the defective apoptotic pathway in 2008/C13 cells indicates that these cells are deficient in the proteolytic activation of MEKK1 by caspase-3. The blunted activity of caspase-3 appears to be closely related to the increased levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL seen in the resistant cells. These studies, for the first time, demonstrate that inadequate caspase-3 processing and MEKK1 activation can lead to a drug-resistant phenotype.
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PMID:Cisplatin-resistance involves the defective processing of MEKK1 in human ovarian adenocarcinoma 2008/C13 cells. 1063 76

Induction of tumoricidal activity is one of the major functions of activated macrophages. Our previous study demonstrated that P388D1 murine macrophage-like cells secreted a plasmacytoma cytotoxic factor (PCF) that selectively killed certain tumor cell lines including MOPC-315 plasmacytoma in vitro. Our subsequent studies demonstrated that PCF killed MOPC-315 cells by induction of apoptosis. In this report, the involvement of Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) in PCF-induced apoptosis was investigated. Results suggest that expression of Fas mRNA time-dependently increased in PCF-treated cells and reached an optimal level after 36 h of treatment. The augmented effect of PCF on Fas mRNA expression was significantly reduced by the addition of CB7.C2, an anti-PCF monoclonal antibody. The expression of FasL mRNA was also induced by PCF and reached an optimal level at 24 h, but sharply decreased after 36 h of treatment. Caspase-3 is one of the proteolytic enzymes that can be activated by the Fas-FasL interaction. In our studies, the enzymatic activity of caspase-3 was significantly induced by PCF after 6 h of treatment and reached an optimal level at 12 h. The augmented effect of PCF on caspase activity was significantly reduced by the addition of CB7.C2 and the caspase-3-specific inhibitor, DEVD-fmk. Therefore, PCF-treated plasmacytoma cells might undergo apoptosis via interaction between Fas and FasL.
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PMID:Induction of Fas and Fas-ligand expression in plasmacytoma cells by a cytotoxic factor secreted by murine macrophages. 1064 90

Mechanisms controlling endothelial cell survival during angiogenesis were investigated. Stimulation of quiescent endothelial cells with mitogens, including vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor, induced up to approximately 16-fold up-regulation of the cell cycle-regulated apoptosis inhibitor survivin. Mitogen stimulation rapidly increased survivin RNA expression in endothelial cells, which peaked after 6 to 10 hours in culture and decreased by 24 hours. Inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-1 did not induce survivin expression in endothelial cells. Formation of three-dimensional vascular tubes in vitro was associated with strong induction of survivin in endothelial cells, as compared with two-dimensional cultures. By immunohistochemistry, survivin was minimally expressed in endothelium of nonproliferating capillaries of normal skin, whereas it became massively up-regulated in newly formed blood vessels of granulation tissue in vivo. Recombinant expression of green fluorescent protein survivin in endothelial cells reduced caspase-3 activity and counteracted apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha/cycloheximide. These findings identify survivin as a novel growth factor-inducible protective gene expressed by endothelial cells during angiogenesis. Therapeutic manipulation of survivin expression and function in endothelium may influence compensatory or pathological (tumor) angiogenesis.
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PMID:Control of apoptosis during angiogenesis by survivin expression in endothelial cells. 1066 67

Two new organoselenium compounds, 4-ethyl-4-hydroxy-2-p-tolyl-4H-5,6-dihydro-1,3-selenazine (TS-2) and 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-6-propyl-2-p-tolyl-4H-5,6-dihydro-1,3-selenazine++ + (TS-6) were investigated for their inhibitory effect on the growth of 8 human tumor cell lines, including stomach, lung, prostate and colon cancer cell lines, in vitro. Both TS-2 and TS-6 exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity against a gastric adenocarcinoma (TMK-1) among 8 human tumor cell lines, and their IC50 were 2.38 microM and 2.78 microM, respectively. Twenty-four-h exposure of TMK-1 cells to TS-2 or TS-6 (0.1-100 microM) in the absence of serum led to a concentration-dependent increase of cytotoxicity. Exposure of TMK-1 cells to TS-2 or TS-6 (5, 10 or 20 microM) in the presence of 5% serum resulted in significant inhibition of TMK-1 cell proliferation in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Morphological changes including shrinkage of the nucleus, and DNA ladder fragmentation, which are considered to be the typical features of apoptosis, were observed in TMK-1 cells in response to TS-2 or TS-6. Furthermore, the caspase-3 activity in TMK-1 cells treated with TS-2 or TS-6 was also found to be increased in a time-dependent manner, in parallel with the induction of DNA fragmentation. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that the inhibition of growth of TMK-1 cells by TS-2 and TS-6 is mediated by the induction of apoptosis.
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PMID:Induction of apoptosis in human gastric adenocarcinoma cells by two novel organoselenium compounds, TS-2 and TS-6. 1069 64


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