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)

The role of mast cells in tumor growth is still controversial. In this study we analyzed the effects of both histamine and pre-formed mediators spontaneously released by mast cells on the growth of two human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, HA22T/VGH and HuH-6, with different characteristics of differentiation, biological behavior and genetic defects. We showed that total mast cell releasate, exocytosed granules (granule remnants) and histamine reduced cell viability and proliferation in HuH-6 cells. In contrast, in HA22T/VGH cells granule remnants and histamine induced a weak but significant increase in cell growth. We showed that both cell lines expressed histamine receptors H(1) and H(2) and that the selective H(1) antagonist terfenadine reverted the histamine-induced inhibition of HuH-6 cell growth, whereas the selective H(2) antagonist ranitidine inhibited the histamine-induced cell growth of HA22T/VGH cells. We demonstrated that histamine down-regulated the expression of beta-catenin, COX-2 and survivin in HuH-6 cells and that this was associated with caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. On the contrary, in HA22T/VGH cells expression of survivin and beta-catenin increased after treatment with granule remnants and histamine. Overall, our results suggest that mediators stored in mast cell granules and histamine may affect the growth of liver cancer cells. However, mast cells and histamine may play different roles depending on the tumor cell features. Finally, these data suggest that histamine and histamine receptor agonists/antagonists might be considered as "new therapeutic" drugs to inhibit liver tumor growth.
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PMID:Histamine and spontaneously released mast cell granules affect the cell growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. 1760 79

Crude extracts of Euchresta formosana radix (EFR) have previously been observed to induce the suppression of liver cancer Hep3B cell growth and induce apoptosis in response to overexpression of reactive oxygen species, GADD153, Bax and caspase-3, and to decrease the levels of mitochondrial membrane potential in vitro. In this study, the effect of EFR on cell migration and invasion by the human liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line Hep3B was examined. Hep3B cells treated in vitro with EFR migrated and invaded less than cells treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control. EFR inhibited migration and invasion by down-regulating the production of RhoA and ROCK1, FAK, and matrix metalloproteinase-1, -2, -9 and -10 relative to PBS only. These results show that EFR inhibits invasion and migration by liver cancer cells by down-regulating proteins associated with these processes, resulting in reduced metastasis. Thus, EFR should be considered as a possible therapeutic agent for inhibiting primary tumor growth and preventing metastasis.
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PMID:Crude extracts of Euchresta formosana radix inhibit invasion and migration of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. 1769 28

Cultured rat hepatocytes and human hepatoma HepG2 cells were used to evaluate the hepatoprotective properties of polyphenolic extracts from the edible part of artichoke (AE). The hepatocytes were exposed to H2O2generated in situ by glucose oxidase and were treated with either AE, or pure chlorogenic acid (ChA) or with the well known antioxidant, N, N'-diphenyl-p-phenilenediamine (DPPD). Addition of glucose oxidase to the culture medium caused depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH) content, accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the cultures, as a lipid peroxidation indicator, and cell death. These results demonstrated that AE protected cells from the oxidative stress caused by glucose oxidase, comparable to DPPD. Furthermore, AE, as well as ChA, prevented the loss of total GSH and the accumulation of MDA. Treatment of HepG2 cells for 24 h with AE reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, however, ChA had no prominent effects on the cell death rate. Similarly, AE rather than ChA induced apoptosis, measured by flow cytometric analysis of annexin and by activation of caspase-3, in HepG2 cells. Our findings indicate that AE had a marked antioxidative potential that protects hepatocytes from an oxidative stress. Furthermore, AE reduced cell viability and had an apoptotic activity on a human liver cancer cell line.
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PMID:Antioxidative and apoptotic properties of polyphenolic extracts from edible part of artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) on cultured rat hepatocytes and on human hepatoma cells. 1844 61

mda-7/IL-24 shows tumor-suppressor activity in a broad spectrum of human cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanism by which mda-7/IL-24 induces apoptosis is not well understood and most likely involves different pathways depending on the tumor. We examined the apoptotic effect of the adenovirus-mediated mda-7/IL-24 (Ad.mda-7) on human HepG2 hepatoma cells. We found that blocking the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inhibited apoptosis induced by Ad.mda-7 and down-regulated the expression of caspase-12, Bax and caspase-3. The treatment of subcutaneous tumor xenografts of HepG2 cells with Ad.mda-7 inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis. As in the in vitro studies, we found that blocking ER stress prevented Ad.mda-7 from inducing apoptosis in liver cancer cells in vivo. Our studies suggest that Ad.mda-7 induces apoptosis of HepG2 cells mainly through activation of the ER stress pathway.
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PMID:mda-7/IL-24 induces apoptosis in human HepG2 hepatoma cells by endoplasmic reticulum stress. 1863 9

Anthocyanins extracted from the berries of Phillyrea latifolia L., Pistacia lentiscus L., and Rubia peregrina L., three evergreen shrubs widely distributed in the Mediterranean area, were examined for their antioxidant and anticancer activity. The P. lentiscus anthocyanins showed the highest H(2)O(2) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil radical scavenging effects, indicating that these compounds can be considered as an alternative source of natural antioxidants for food and pharmaceutical products. Here, we also report a novel function of anthocyanins: the induction of autophagy, a process of subcellular turnover involved in carcinogenesis. Autophagy was characterized by the up-regulation of eIF2alpha, an autophagy inducer, and down-regulation of mTOR and Bcl-2, two autophagy inhibitors. This led to the enhanced expression of LC3-II, an autophagosome marker in mammals, and monodansylcadaverine incorporation into autolysosomes. Anthocyanin-induced autophagy switched to apoptosis, as shown by the activation of Bax, cytochrome c and caspase 3, terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling-positive fragmented nuclei, and cells with sub-G(1) DNA content, which were prevented by z-VAD. Inhibition of autophagy by either 3-methyladenine or Atg5 small interfering RNA enhanced anthocyanin-triggered apoptosis. This provided evidence that autophagy functions as a survival mechanism in liver cancer cells against anthocyanin-induced apoptosis and a rationale for the use of autophagy inhibitors in combination with dietary chemopreventive agents.
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PMID:Autophagy inhibition enhances anthocyanin-induced apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. 1872 93

Endostatin can inhibit tumor growth by blocking angiogenesis, whereas tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) may function as a soluble cytokine to selectively kill cancer cells without toxicity to most normal cells. To establish the combined anti-tumor therapeutic effect of endostatin and soluble TRAIL (sTRAIL), we performed intra-tumoral human endostatin and sTRAIL gene transfer using plasmid pVAX1 as a vector in a nude mouse model of human liver cancer. For subcutaneously inoculated human BEL7402 cancer, co-expression of both transgenes conferred marked anti-tumor activity with a significant reduction in tumor vessel density and an increase in apoptotic rates, which was accompanied with a strong activation of caspase-3. Importantly, combination therapy employing one-half dose of endostatin and sTRAIL plasmids was more effective than single endostatin or sTRAIL therapy. These results indicate that a pVAX1-mediated combinatorial antiangiogenic and proapoptotic gene therapy approach involving endostatin and sTRAIL can be an effective novel form of treatment for human liver cancer.
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PMID:Combined endostatin and TRAIL gene transfer suppresses human hepatocellular carcinoma growth and angiogenesis in nude mice. 1927 66

During the search of new anti-cancer agent from high fungi, the ethyl acetate extract of the mushroom Suillus placidus was found to exhibit a significant cytotoxic activity against human hepatoma HepG2 cells. With bioassay-guided fractionation, a cytotoxic component suillin was isolated from the extract. The anti-cancer effect of suillin was subsequently examined in 8 human cancer cell lines by using MTT assay. It is of interest to note that human liver cancer cells (HepG2 cells, Hep3B cells, and SK-Hep-1) were preferentially killed by suillin with an IC(50) of approximately 2microM in a 48h treatment. Mechanistically. suillin was found for the first time to induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells as characterized by DNA fragmentation, phosphatidyl-serine (PS) externalization, activation of caspase-3, -8, -9, depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as release of cytochrome c into the cytosol. Moreover, the apoptosis induced by suillin was suppressed by both caspase-8 and -9 inhibitors. Western blot analysis revealed significant increases in the protein levels of Fas death receptor, adaptor FADD protein, pro-apoptotic protein Bad and a decline of Bid. These results suggest that the induction of apoptosis by suillin is through both death receptor and mitochondrial pathways. Taken together, our results suggest that suillin might be an effective agent to treat liver cancer.
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PMID:Suillin from the mushroom Suillus placidus as potent apoptosis inducer in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. 1961 21

Recently, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) has been introduced as a new cancer therapeutic agent through oxidative decarboxylation by horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The purpose of this study was to determine the therapeutic feasibility of IAA/light combination against liver cancer. SK-HEP-1 cells were irradiated with UVB or visible light (518 nm) in the presence of IAA. Cell viability was measured using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Then, IAA was injected in SK-HEP-1 liver cancer cell-implanted nude mice, and the tumor area was irradiated with intense pulsed light (IPL). Then, tissue was taken for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay and immunohistochemical staining for 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), p53, caspase-3, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). In vitro experiments demonstrated that IAA alone was not cytotoxic, but activated IAA by HRP or light caused cell death. In vivo experiments showed that IAA/IPL treatment caused regression of tumor cells in SK-HEP-1-implanted nude mice. The TUNEL assay showed that IAA/IPL induced cancer cell apoptosis, and this was confirmed by increases in 8-OHdG, p53, and caspase-3 in IAA/IPL-treated mice. In contrast, IPL alone did not induce apoptosis, indicating that the apoptotic effect resulted from activated IAA by light. In summary, we showed that IAA/light induced tumor regression in SK-HEP-1-implanted nude mice. These results suggest the potential use of IAA/light combination in liver cancer.
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PMID:Experimental photodynamic therapy for liver cancer cell-implanted nude mice by an indole-3-acetic acid and intense pulsed light combination. 1972 Dec 41

Abstract The nitrones of alpha-phenyl-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN) and 4-hydroxyl-PBN (4-OH-PBN) that have anti-cancer activity in models of liver cancer and glioblastomas were tested in the ApcMin/+ mouse model. Mice were administered PBN and 4-OH-PBN in drinking water and intestinal tumour size and number assessed after 3-4 months. Throughout the experiment, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to monitor colon tumours. MRI data showed a time-dependent significant increase in total colonic signal intensity in sham-treated mice, but a significant decrease for PBN-treated mice and slight decrease for 4-OHPBN treated mice, probably due to the limited water solubility of 4-OH-PBN. Final pathological and percentage survival data agreed with the MRI data. PBN had little effect on oxaliplatin-mediated killing of HCT116 colon cancer cells and caused only a slight decrease in the amount of active fraction caspase 3 in oxaliplatin-treated cells. PBN has significant anti-cancer activity in this model of intestinal neoplasia.
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PMID:Anti-cancer activity of nitrones in the Apc(Min/+) model of colorectal cancer. 1988 48

Apoptotic effects of oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) on human liver cancer HepG2, Hep3B, Huh7 and HA22T cell lines were examined. OA or UA at 2, 4, 8 micromol/L were used and their effects on cell viability, DNA fragmentation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), activity of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, caspase-3 and caspase-8, cell adhesion, level of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in these cell lines were determined. OA or UA treatments concentration-dependently decreased cell viability and increased DNA fragmentation in HepG2 and Hep3B cell lines (P<0.05). However, these two compounds reduced viability and increased DNA fragmentation in Huh7 cell only at 4 and 8 micromol/L (P<0.05). OA or UA treatments concentration-dependently lowered MMP in HepG2, Hep3B and HA22T cell lines (P<0.05). These two compounds also concentration-dependently diminished Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity and VEGF level in four test cell lines (P<0.05). Besides Huh7 cell, OA or UA treatments concentration-dependently elevated caspase-3 and caspase-8 activities in other three cell lines (P<0.05). Besides HA22T cell, these two compounds concentration-dependently inhibited cell adhesion and decreased ICAM-1 level in other three cell lines (P<0.05). These findings support that OA and UA are potent anti-cancer agents to cause apoptosis in these liver cancer cell lines.
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PMID:Oleanolic acid and ursolic acid induce apoptosis in four human liver cancer cell lines. 2000 42


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