UNIPROT:P42574 - FACTA Search

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Query: UNIPROT:P42574 (caspase-3)
45,978 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Glycosphingolipids, including gangliosides, are emerging as signaling intermediates of extracellular stimuli. Because mitochondria play a key role in the orchestration of death signals, we assessed the interaction of GD3 ganglioside (GD3) with mitochondria and the subsequent cascade of events that culminate in cell death. In vitro studies with isolated mitochondria from rat liver demonstrate that GD3 elicited a burst of peroxide production within 15-30 min, which preceded the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition, followed by cytochrome c (cyt c) release. These effects were mimicked by lactosylceramide and N-acetyl-sphingosine but not by sphinganine or sphingosine and were prevented by cyclosporin A and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Reconstitution of mitochondria pre-exposed to GD3 with cytosol from rat liver in a cell-free system resulted in the proteolytic processing of procaspase 3 and subsequent caspase 3 activation. Intact hepatocytes or U937 cells selectively depleted of glutathione in mitochondria by 3-hydroxyl-4-pentenoate (HP) with the sparing of cytosol reduced glutathione (GSH) were sensitized to GD3, manifested as an apoptotic death. Inhibition of caspase 3 prevented the apoptotic phenotype of HP-treated cells caused by GD3 without affecting cell survival; in contrast, BHT fully protected HP-treated cells to GD3 treatment. Treatment of cells with tumor necrosis factor increased the level of GD3, whereas blockers of mitochondrial respiration at complex I and II protected sensitized cells to GD3 treatment. Thus, the effect of GD3 as a lipid death effector is determined by its interaction with mitochondria leading to oxidant-dependent caspase activation. Mitochondrial glutathione plays a key role in controlling cell survival through modulation of the oxidative stress induced by glycosphingolipids.
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PMID:Direct interaction of GD3 ganglioside with mitochondria generates reactive oxygen species followed by mitochondrial permeability transition, cytochrome c release, and caspase activation. 1078 38

New evidence suggests that physiological and damaging agents activate two different pathways of apoptotic signalling, which are mediated by protein-protein interactions and mitochondrial alterations respectively. The two pathways converge at the activation of caspase 3, the key effector of the execution phase of apoptosis, thus giving similar final results. The knowledge that different biochemical routes exist allows us to re-evaluate previous apparently contradictory results concerning the events occurring during apoptosis, and their respective roles. In particular, this applies to the role of oxidative stress and redox imbalance in the signal transduction events of apoptosis. It now appears that oxidative alterations are absent, or at least unnecessary, for the development of the physiological pathway. Instead, clear indications are emerging showing that redox imbalance is required for the damage-induced mitochondrial pathway. This is suggested by the finding that the depletion of glutathione, a common event in damage-induced apoptosis, is necessary and sufficient to induce cytochrome c release, the key event of this pathway. A model is proposed with GSH efflux as the backbone of the damage-induced apoptotic pathway.
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PMID:GSH extrusion and and the mitochondrial pathway of apoptotic signalling. 1081 99

Metallothionein (MT) is a low-molecular-weight, sulfhydryl-rich, metal-binding protein that can protect against the toxicity of cadmium, mercury, and copper. However, the role of MT in arsenic (As)-induced toxicity is less certain. To better define the ability of MT to modify As toxicity, MT-I/II knockout (MT-null) mice and the corresponding wild-type mice (WT) were exposed to arsenite [As(III)] or arsenate [As(V)] either through the drinking water for 48 weeks, or through repeated sc injections (5 days/week) for 15 weeks. Chronic As exposure increased tissue MT concentrations (2-5-fold) in the WT but not in MT-null mice. Arsenic by both routes produced damage to the liver (fatty infiltration, inflammation, and focal necrosis) and kidney (tubular cell vacuolization, inflammatory cell infiltration, and interstitial fibrosis) in both MT-null and WT mice. However, in MT-null mice, the pathological lesions were more frequent and severe when compared to WT mice. This was confirmed biochemically, in that, at the higher oral doses of As, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were increased more in MT-null mice (60%) than in WT mice (30%). Chronic As exposures produced 2-10 fold elevation of serum interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels, with greater increases seen by repeated injections than by oral exposure, and again, MT-null mice had higher serum cytokines than WT mice after As exposure. Repeated As injections also decreased hepatic glutathione (GSH) by 35%, but GSH-peroxidase and GSH-reductase were minimally affected. MT-null mice were more sensitive than WT mice to the effect of GSH depletion by As(V). Hepatic caspase-3 activity was increased (2-3-fold) in both WT and MT-null mice, indicative of apoptotic cell death. In summary, chronic inorganic As exposure produced injuries to multiple organs, and MT-null mice are generally more susceptible than WT mice to As-induced toxicity regardless of route of exposure, suggesting that MT could be a cellular factor in protecting against chronic As toxicity.
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PMID:Metallothionein-I/II null mice are more sensitive than wild-type mice to the hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic effects of chronic oral or injected inorganic arsenicals. 1082 79

The activation of the death receptors, tumor necrosis factor-receptor-1 (TNF-R1) or CD95, is a hallmark of inflammatory or viral liver disease. In different murine in vivo models, we found that livers depleted of gamma-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine (GSH) by endogenous enzymatic conjugation after phorone treatment were resistant against death receptor-elicited injury as assessed by transaminase release and histopathology. In apoptotic models initiated by engagement of CD95, or by injection of TNF or lipopolysaccharide into galactosamine-sensitized mice, hepatic caspase-3-like proteases were not activated in the GSH-depleted state. Under GSH depletion, also caspase-independent, TNF-R1-mediated injury (high-dose actinomycin D or alpha-amanitin), as well as necrotic hepatotoxicity (high-dose lipopolysaccharide) were entirely blocked. In the T-cell-dependent model of concanavalin A-induced hepatotoxicity, GSH depletion resulted in a suppression of interferon-gamma release, delay of systemic TNF release, hepatic nuclear factor-kappaB activation, and an abrogation of sinusoidal endothelial cell detachment as assessed by electron microscopy. When GSH depletion was initiated 3 hours after concanavalin A injection, ie, after the peak of early pro-inflammatory cytokines, livers were still protected. We conclude that sufficient hepatic GSH levels are a prerequisite for the execution of death receptor-mediated hepatocyte demise.
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PMID:Depletion of hepatic glutathione prevents death receptor-dependent apoptotic and necrotic liver injury in mice. 1085 26

Ceramide has been identified as a putative lipid messenger that mediates diverse cellular processes including cell death. Since glutathione (GSH) depletion is known to sensitize cells to many cytotoxic agents and as a result of the reported regulation of neutral sphyngomyelinase (NSMase) by GSH, the present study compared the role of individual SMases in the induction of oxidative stress, regulation of cellular GSH, and apoptosis of rat hepatocytes. Exposure of cultured rat hepatocytes to exogenous Bacillus cereus sphingomyelinase (bSMase), a neutral SMase, or human placenta sphingomyelinase (hSMase), an acidic SMase (ASMase), generated similar ceramide levels in a dose-dependent manner. However, whereas bSMase increased hepatocellular GSH levels, hSMase depleted GSH stores, an effect that was prevented by monensin and mannose 6-phosphate (M-6-P), suggesting that exogenous hSMase enters hepatocytes by endocytosis and is delivered to an endosomal/lysosomal acidic compartment. Interestingly, despite the differential effect of either SMases on cell GSH levels, both bSMase and hSMase increased gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase heavy-subunit chain (gamma-GCS-HS) mRNA levels. Consistent with these findings on GSH regulation, hSMase, but not bSMase, generated reactive oxygen species (ROS), being accompanied by mitochondrial depolarization, suggesting that hSMase targeted mitochondria, leading to oxidative stress. Accordingly, hepatocytes displayed a selective sensitivity to hSMase in contrast to bSMase exposure, and depletion of GSH stores enhanced susceptibility to hSMase as a result of potentiation of ROS formation and caspase 3 activation. Thus, these findings reveal the ability of ASMase to induce oxidative stress as a result of the targeting of mitochondria, and that GSH depletion sensitizes hepatocytes to the ASMase-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Human placenta sphingomyelinase, an exogenous acidic pH-optimum sphingomyelinase, induces oxidative stress, glutathione depletion, and apoptosis in rat hepatocytes. 1086 89

Apoptosis plays a critical role in maintaining homeostasis of the intestinal epithelium. Dietary oxidants like peroxidized lipids could perturb cellular redox status and disrupt mucosal turnover. The objective of this study was to delineate the role of lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH) -induced redox shifts in intestinal apoptosis using the human colonic CaCo-2 cell. We found that subtoxic concentrations of LOOH increased CaCo-2 cell apoptosis. This LOOH-induced apoptosis was associated with a significant decrease in the ratio of reduced glutathione-to-oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG), which preceded DNA fragmentation by 12 to 14 h, suggesting a temporal relationship between the two events. Oxidation of GSH with the thiol oxidant diamide caused significant decreases in cellular GSH and GSH/GSSG at 15 min that correlated with the activation of caspase 3 (60 min) and cleavage of PARP (120 min), confirming a temporal link between induction of cellular redox imbalance and initiation of apoptotic cell death. These kinetic studies further reveal that oxidant-mediated early redox change (within 1 h) was a primary inciting event of the apoptotic cascade. Once initiated, the recovery of redox balance did not prevent the progression of CaCo-2 cell apoptosis to its biological end point at 24 h. Collectively, the study shows that subtoxic levels of LOOH disrupt intestinal redox homeostasis, which contributes to apoptosis. These results provide insights into the mechanism of hydroperoxide-induced mucosal turnover that have important implications for understanding oxidant-mediated genesis of gut pathology.
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PMID:Lipid hydroperoxide-induced apoptosis in human colonic CaCo-2 cells is associated with an early loss of cellular redox balance. 1092 91

Ebselen, a selenoorganic compound, has recently been shown to display a novel property of inducing apoptosis through rapid depletion of intracellular thiols in human hepatoma cells, HepG(2). The present study was thus designed to explore the mechanism of how ebselen triggers apoptosis upon depletion of intracellular thiols. The results demonstrated that ebselen treatment triggered mitochondrial permeability transition rather rapidly as revealed by redistribution of calcein green fluorescence from cytosol into mitochondria. Ebselen treatment also caused a dose- and time-dependent loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and release of cytochrome c. Pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine, a precursor of intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH) synthesis, significantly attenuated the ebselen-induced MMP disruption and subsequently inhibited the apoptosis. In contrast, pretreatment with buthionine sulfoximine, a specific inhibitor of intracellular GSH synthesis, significantly augmented the ebselen-induced MMP alteration, and enhanced the apoptosis. Although ebselen treatment significantly increased the intracellular superoxide radical and calcium concentrations, superoxide dismutase, and BAPTA (a calcium chelator), however, failed to prevent ebselen-induced MMP loss and apoptosis. Neither caspase-9 nor caspase-3 activation was detected in ebselen-treated cells. Z-VAD-FMK, a general caspase inhibitor, also had no effect on ebselen-induced MMP decrease and apoptosis. The overall findings thus suggest that mitochondrial permeability transition resulted from intracellular thiol depletion is a critical event in ebselen-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Intracellular thiol depletion causes mitochondrial permeability transition in ebselen-induced apoptosis. 1093 87

The chelating and antioxidant effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) have been investigated extensively for preventing cell death induced by different insults. However, the toxic effects of PDTC have been studied only recently and fewer studies on the toxic effects on astrocytes have been reported. In our study, we demonstrated that both PDTC and Cu(2+) alone were rated as only weakly toxic in inducing cell death in cortical astrocytes with IC(50) of 300 microM and 180 microM, respectively. However, PDTC and Cu(2+) in the complex form markedly potentiated with each other by about 1,000-fold with IC(50) of 0.3 microM PDTC plus 10 microM Cu(2+). Other metals at concentrations of 3-10 microM (VO(4)(5+), Cr(6+), Mn(2+), Fe(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Zn(2+), Pb(2+), Bi(2+), Ba(2+), UO(2+), Cs(+), SeO(4)(2-), La(3+)) had no such potentiating effects on PDTC. Changes in morphology (nuclear condensation), apoptotic body formation, and hypodiploidity of DNA suggested that the PDTC-Cu(2+) complex induced cell death through an apoptotic process. Further studies showed that the PDTC-Cu(2+) complex decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, increased hydrogen peroxide production, and depleted GSH contents. After the increased oxidative stress, PDTC-Cu(2+) complex differentially activated JNKs, ERK, p38 and caspase 3, which caused PARP degradation in a time-dependent manner. All these effects were consistent with the increased cellular Cu contents. The nonpermeable copper-specific chelator bathocuproine disulfonate (BCPS), but not the permeable Cu(2+) chelator neocuproine, abolished all the observed effects. Antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine [NAC], vitamin C), catalase, and Cu(2+)-binding proteins (albumin, hemoglobin, and higher serum) reduced the cytotoxic effects of PDTC-Cu(2+) complex. We concluded that the death signaling pathway of PDTC-Cu(2+) complex was mediated by oxidative stress and subsequent JNK activation. These findings imply that PDTC, a widely used pesticide and medicine that is capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier, may cause neurotoxicity through astrocyte dysfunction.
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PMID:Death signaling pathway induced by pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate-Cu(2+) complex in the cultured rat cortical astrocytes. 1094 Nov 51

The present study was conducted to examine the protective effect of cumulus cells on oocyte damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated by the hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase (XOD) system, during in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) and cumulus-denuded oocytes (DOs) were cultured for 44 h in NCSU37 supplemented with cysteine, gonadotropins, 10% porcine follicular fluid, and hypoxanthine in the presence or absence of XOD. DNA cleavage and damage were analyzed using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) method and single cell microgel electrophoresis (comet) assay, respectively, and caspase-3 activity and glutathione (GSH) content were measured in each experimental group. Exposure of DOs to ROS resulted in meiotic arrest and the increase of degenerated oocytes. These degenerated DOs underwent apoptosis, as shown by the TUNEL-positive reaction within their germinal vesicles and the activation of caspase-3. The length of DNA migration in DOs treated with XOD was significantly longer than that of untreated DOs (P: < 0.05). However, irreparable cell damage caused by ROS was not observed in COCs, and no difference was observed in the caspase-3 activity of both COCs treated with and without XOD. A significantly (P: < 0.05) high level of GSH was found in COCs after 44 h of culture, compared with that of oocytes freshly isolated from their follicles, whereas GSH content in DOs markedly decreased after treatment with or without XOD. These findings suggest that cumulus cells have a critical role in protecting oocytes against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis through the enhancement of GSH content in oocytes.
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PMID:Protection of porcine oocytes against apoptotic cell death caused by oxidative stress during In vitro maturation: role of cumulus cells. 1095 24

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3)-treatment is effective in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients with t(15;17). Clinically achievable concentrations of As2O3 induce apoptosis in NB4, an APL cell line, in vitro. Here, to study the mechanism of As2O3-induced apoptosis, we established an As2O3-resistant subline, NB4/As. Growth of NB4/As was inhibited by 50% after 2 day-treatment (IC50) at 1.6 microM As2O3, whereas IC50 of NB4 was 0.3 microM. Degradation of PML-RARalpha and change of the PML-subcellular localization were similarly induced by As2O3 in NB4 and NB4/As, suggesting that their contribution to apoptosis is small. Treatment with 1 microM As2O3 induced the activation of caspase 3 as well as a loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (deltapsim) in NB4 but not in NB4/As. Caspase 8 and Bid were also activated by As2O3 in NB4 but not in NB4/As. In NB4, an inhibitor of caspase 8 blocked not only the activation of caspase 3 but also the loss of deltapsim. Neither cell line expressed CD95/Fas, and agonistic anti-Fas antibody (CH-11) failed to cause apoptosis. Neither antagonistic anti-CD95/Fas antibody nor anti-Fas ligand antibodies influenced the As2O3-induced apoptosis. NB4/As had a higher concentration of intracellular glutathione (GSH) than NB4 (96 vs 32 nmol/mg). Reduction of the GSH level by buthionine sulfoxide (BSO) completely restored the sensitivity to As2O3 in NB4/As. Furthermore, caspase activation and the loss of deltapsim were recovered by combination treatment with BSO. These findings suggest that the As2O3 treatment activates caspase 8 in a CD95-independent but GSH concentration-dependent manner. In combination with BSO, As2O3 might be applied to therapy of leukemia/cancers which are insensitive to the clinically achievable concentrations of As2O3.
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PMID:Involvement of CD95-independent caspase 8 activation in arsenic trioxide-induced apoptosis. 1102 49

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