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 presence of activated macrophages within pancreatic islets in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus suggests an involvement of beta-cell death by necrosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequencies and mechanisms of cytokine-induced beta-cell apoptosis and necrosis and the possible protection mediated by the antiapoptotic gene bcl-2. A combination of interleukin-1beta, interferon-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha increased both necrosis (17% of cells) and apoptosis (5% of cells) in isolated whole rat islets, as determined by vital staining and fluorescence microscopy. Hyperexpression of Bcl-2, achieved by stable transfection using a multicopy viral vector containing a bcl-2 complementary DNA in rat insulin-producing RINm5F cells, counteracted both apoptosis and necrosis. Cytokine-induced cleavage of the caspase-3 substrate poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (which, in other cell types, may occur downstream or independently of a Bcl-2-preventable mitochondrial permeability transition) was observed in control- but neither in bcl-2-transfected cells nor in the presence of the iNOS inhibitor N(G)-methyl-L-arginine. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha alone did not clearly induce cell death or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-cleavage. These findings suggest that cytokines induce both necrosis and apoptosis in insulin-producing cells via a common Bcl-2-preventable nitric oxide-dependent pathway, which may involve mitochondrial permeability transition. The necrosis:apoptosis ratio might be increased by a relative lack of caspase activity.
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PMID:Cytokines induce both necrosis and apoptosis via a common Bcl-2-inhibitable pathway in rat insulin-producing cells. 1083 Feb 83

Broad spectrum caspase inhibitors have been found to reduce neurodegeneration caused by cerebral ischemia. We studied whether blockade of group I caspases, mainly caspase-1, using the inhibitor Ac-YVAD.cmk reduced infarct volume and produced prolonged neuroprotection. Ac-YVAD.cmk (300 ng/rat) was injected intracerebroventricularly 10 min after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat. Drug treatment induced a significant reduction of infarct volume not only 24 hr after ischemia (total damage, percentage of hemisphere volume: control, 41.1 +/- 2.3%; treated, 26.5 +/- 2.1%; p < 0.05) but also 6 d later (total damage: control, 30.6 +/- 2.2%; treated, 23.0 +/- 2.2%; p < 0.05). Ac-YVAD. cmk treatment resulted in a reduction not only of caspase-1 (control, 100 +/- 20.3%; treated, 3.4 +/- 10.4%; p < 0.01) but also of caspase-3 (control, 100 +/- 30.3%; treated, 13.2 +/- 9.5%; p < 0.05) activity at 24 hr and led to a parallel decrease of apoptosis as measured by nucleosome quantitation (control, 100 +/- 11.8%; treated, 47 +/- 5.9%; p < 0.05). Six days after treatment no differences in these parameters could be detected between control and treated animals. Likewise, brain levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and TNF-alpha were reduced at 24 hr (39.5 +/- 23.7 and 51.9 +/- 10.3% of control, respectively) but not at 6 d. Other cytokines, IL-10, MCP-1, MIP-2, and the gaseous mediator nitric oxide, were not modified by the treatment. These findings indicate that blockade of caspase-1-like activity induces a long-lasting neuroprotective effect that, in our experimental conditions, takes place in the early stages of damage progression. Finally, this effect is achieved by interfering with both apoptotic and inflammatory mechanisms.
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PMID:Inhibition of caspase-1-like activity by Ac-Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-chloromethyl ketone induces long-lasting neuroprotection in cerebral ischemia through apoptosis reduction and decrease of proinflammatory cytokines. 1084 8

MAP kinase-dependent phosphorylation processes have been shown to interfere with the degradation of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. The cytosolic MAP kinase phosphatase MAP kinase phosphatase-3 (MKP-3) induces apoptosis of endothelial cells in response to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) via dephosphorylation of the MAP kinase ERK1/2, leading to Bcl-2 proteolysis. Here we report that the endothelial cell survival factor nitric oxide (NO) down-regulated MKP-3 by destabilization of MKP-3 mRNA. This effect of NO was paralleled by a decrease in MKP-3 protein levels. Moreover, ERK1/2 was found to be protected against TNFalpha-induced dephosphorylation by coincubation of endothelial cells with the NO donor. Subsequently, both the decrease in Bcl-2 protein levels and the mitochondrial release of cytochrome c in response to TNFalpha were largely prevented by exogenous NO. In cells overexpressing MKP-3, no differences in phosphatase activity in the presence or absence of NO were found, excluding potential posttranslational modifications of MKP-3 protein by NO. These data demonstrate that upstream of the S-nitrosylation of caspase-3, NO exerts additional antiapoptotic effects in endothelial cells, which rely on the down-regulation of MKP-3 mRNA.
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PMID:Nitric oxide down-regulates MKP-3 mRNA levels: involvement in endothelial cell protection from apoptosis. 1084 76

The nitric oxide (NO)-donating nitroxybutyl ester of flurbiprofen (NO-flurbiprofen), shows reduced gastro-intestinal toxicity relative to flurbiprofen. NO may exert either pro- or anti-apoptotic effects, while non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may induce apoptosis. The aim of the present work was therefore to compare the effects of flurbiprofen and NO-flurbiprofen on apoptosis in guinea-pig gastric mucous cells. Apoptotic activity was assessed by assay of caspase activity and from the fragmentation and condensation of nuclei. Incubation with flurbiprofen for 24 h produced a concentration-dependent induction of apoptosis in cells attached to the culture plate (caspase 3-like activity increased by 257% at 500 microM), while NO-flurbiprofen inhibited basal apoptosis (caspase 3-like activity decreased by 71% at 500 microM). Caspase activity and nuclear fragmentation were substantially increased in cells that had spontaneously detached from the culture plate. NO-flurbiprofen inhibited caspase activity (55% at 500 microM) but not nuclear fragmentation in these detached cells. NO flurbiprofen inhibited the activation of apoptosis by 25 microM C(6)-ceramide in cells attached to the culture plate. Inhibition of caspase activity by NO-flurbiprofen was detectable after 6 h of incubation with intact cells, but by contrast with the NO-donor S-nitrosyl-N-acetyl-penicillamine, was not demonstrable with cell homogenates. Activation of caspase 3-like activity by flurbiprofen was slow (>6 h incubation needed) and was inhibited by cycloheximide. The presence of a nitroxybutyl ester moiety on flurbiprofen prevents the pro-apoptotic activity of the parent compound and may contribute to the reduced gastro-intestinal toxicity of NO-flurbiprofen.
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PMID:Opposite effects of flurbiprofen and the nitroxybutyl ester of flurbiprofen on apoptosis in cultured guinea-pig gastric mucous cells. 1086 87

The human promonocytic U937 cell line, which is moderately susceptible to poliovirus infection, has been used to investigate the induction of apoptosis by this virus. Infection of U937 cells with poliovirus induces morphological changes typical of apoptosis. Poliovirus-resistant U937 cells (PRU) have been isolated that are resistant to apoptosis induced by poliovirus, but that undergo apoptosis after treatment with TNF plus cycloheximide. Despite the fact that poliovirus triggers nitric oxide production in U937 cells, the inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase, N(omega)-monomethyl-l-arginine, did not hinder apoptosis after infection, suggesting that NO does not play a direct role in this process. Finally, poliovirus infection of U937 cells led to the cleavage of pro-caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase, indicating the activation of the CPP32 ICE-like cysteine protease in the induction of apoptosis. Our findings suggest that cellular death takes place in U937 cells productively infected by poliovirus as a result of apoptosis and involves caspase activation.
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PMID:Poliovirus induces apoptosis in the human U937 promonocytic cell line. 1087 68

Huntington disease is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease with no effective treatment. Minocycline is a tetracycline derivative with proven safety. After ischemia, minocycline inhibits caspase-1 and inducible nitric oxide synthetase upregulation, and reduces infarction. As caspase-1 and nitric oxide seem to play a role in Huntington disease, we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of minocycline in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington disease. We report that minocycline delays disease progression, inhibits caspase-1 and caspase-3 mRNA upregulation, and decreases inducible nitric oxide synthetase activity. In addition, effective pharmacotherapy in R6/2 mice requires caspase-1 and caspase-3 inhibition. This is the first demonstration of caspase-1 and caspase-3 transcriptional regulation in a Huntington disease model.
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PMID:Minocycline inhibits caspase-1 and caspase-3 expression and delays mortality in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington disease. 1101 10

Apoptotic cell death has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease pathology and amyloid peptide induced neurotoxicity. We investigated the survival promoting effects of Propentofylline in two models of apoptotic cell death, nerve growth factor withdrawal and beta-amyloid mediated cell death in nerve growth factor differentiated rat pheochromocytoma cell lines. The increase in cell death as measured by lactate dehydrogenase release in response to nerve growth factor withdrawal was suppressed by nitric oxide donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (12.5 to 200 microM) and by 8-bromoguanosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (1.25 to 10mM). Both agents decreased cell death mediated by 25 microM beta-amyloid, suggesting that the protective mechanism involves guanosine -3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate. In support of this hypothesis we can show that S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine increases intracellular levels of guanosine -3',5'-cyclic monophosphate in pheochromocytoma cell lines 3 to 8 fold.Propentofylline, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, has previously demonstrated neuroprotective activity in stroke models and is a potential candidate for therapeutic treatment in neurodegenerative diseases. The present findings support this claim by providing evidence that Propentofylline has protective effects in both nerve growth factor withdrawal and beta-amyloid mediated cell death. Lactate dehydrogenase release was significantly reduced and caspase-3-like activity was attenuated after cotreatment with Propentofylline. Furthermore Propentofylline dose responsively increases intracellular guanosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate levels over the same dose range that provided protection. We hypothesized that guanosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate is a key mediator of neuroprotection under these conditions.
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PMID:Guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate mediated inhibition of cell death induced by nerve growth factor withdrawal and beta-amyloid: protective effects of propentofylline. 1097 37

Nitric oxide (NO) can trigger either necrotic or apoptotic cell death. We have used PC12 cells to investigate the extent to which NO-induced cell death is mediated by mitochondria. Addition of NO donors, 1 mM S-nitroso-N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine (SNAP) or 1 mM diethylenetriamine-NO adduct (NOC-18), to PC12 cells resulted in a steady-state level of 1-3 microM: NO, rapid and almost complete inhibition of cellular respiration (within 1 min), and a rapid decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential within the cells. A 24-h incubation of PC12 cells with NO donors (SNAP or NOC-18) or specific inhibitors of mitochondrial respiration (myxothiazol, rotenone, or azide), in the absence of glucose, caused total ATP depletion and resulted in 80-100% necrosis. The presence of glucose almost completely prevented the decrease in ATP level and the increase in necrosis induced by the NO donors or mitochondrial inhibitors, suggesting that the NO-induced necrosis in the absence of glucose was due to the inhibition of mitochondrial respiration and subsequent ATP depletion. However, in the presence of glucose, NO donors and mitochondrial inhibitors induced apoptosis of PC12 cells as determined by nuclear morphology. The presence of apoptotic cells was prevented completely by benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-fluoromethyl ketone (a nonspecific caspase inhibitor), indicating that apoptosis was mediated by caspase activation. Indeed, both NO donors and mitochondrial inhibitors in PC12 cells caused the activation of caspase-3- and caspase-3-processing-like proteases. Caspase-1 activity was not activated. Cyclosporin A (an inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore) decreased the activity of caspase-3- and caspase-3-processing-like proteases after treatment with NO donors, but was not effective in the case of the mitochondrial inhibitors. The activation of caspases was accompanied by the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol, which was partially prevented by cyclosporin A in the case of NO donors. These results indicate that NO donors (SNAP or NOC-18) may trigger apoptosis in PC12 cells partially mediated by opening the mitochondrial permeability transition pores, release of cytochrome c, and subsequent caspase activation. NO-induced apoptosis is blocked completely in the absence of glucose, probably due to the lack of ATP. Our findings suggest that mitochondria may be involved in both types of cell death induced by NO donors: necrosis by respiratory inhibition and apoptosis by opening the permeability transition pore. Further, our results indicate that the mode of cell death (necrosis versus apoptosis) induced by either NO or mitochondrial inhibitors depends critically on the glycolytic capacity of the cell.
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PMID:Nitric-oxide-induced necrosis and apoptosis in PC12 cells mediated by mitochondria. 1098 25

Nitric oxide (NO) and its derivative, peroxynitrite (ONOO-), inhibit mitochondrial respiration, and this inhibition may contribute to both the physiological and cytotoxic actions of NO. Nanomolar concentrations of NO rapidly and reversibly inhibited cytochrome oxidase in competition with oxygen, as shown with isolated cytochrome oxidase, mitochondria, brain nerve terminals and cells. Cultured astrocytes and macrophages activated (by cytokines and endotoxin) to express the inducible form of NO synthase produced up to 1 microM NO, and inhibited their own respiration and that of co-incubated cells via reversible NO inhibition of cytochrome oxidase. NO-induced inhibition of respiration in brain nerve terminals resulted in rapid glutamate release, which might contribute to the neurotoxicity of NO. NO inhibition of cytochrome oxidase is reversible; however, incubation of cells with NO donors for 4 hours resulted in an inhibition of complex I, which was reversible by light and thiol reagents and may be due to nitrosylation of thiols in complex I. NO also caused the acute inhibition of catalase, stimulation of hydrogen peroxide production by mitochondria, and reaction with hydrogen peroxide on superoxide dismutase to produce peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrite inhibited complexes I, II and V (the ATP synthase), aconitase, creatine kinase, and increases the proton leak in isolated mitochondria. Peroxynitrite also caused opening of the permeability transition pore, resulting in the release of cytochrome c, which might then trigger apoptosis. Hypoxia/ischaemia also resulted in an acute reversible inhibition of cytochrome oxidase. Heart ischaemia caused the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol, and at the same time caspase-3-like-protease activity was activated in the cytoplasm. Addition of cytochrome c to non-ischaemic cytosol also caused activation of this protease activity, suggesting that caspase activation and consequent apoptosis is at least partly a result of this cytochrome c release.
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PMID:Nitric oxide, cytochrome c and mitochondria. 1098 53

Neuronal injury may be dependent upon the generation of the free radical nitric oxide (NO) and the subsequent induction of programmed cell death (PCD). Although the nature of this injury may be both preventable and reversible, the underlying mechanisms that mediate PCD are not well understood. Using the agent nicotinamide as an investigative tool in primary rat hippocampal neurons, the authors examined the ability to modulate two independent components of PCD, namely the degradation of genomic DNA and the early exposure of membrane phosphatidylserine (PS) residues. Neuronal injury was determined through trypan blue dye exclusion, DNA fragmentation, externalization of membrane PS residues, cysteine protease activation, and the measurement of intracellular pH (pHi). Exposure to the NO donors SIN-1 and NOC-9 (300 micromol/L) alone rapidly increased genomic DNA fragmentation from 20 +/- 4% to 71 +/- 5% and membrane PS exposure from 14 +/- 3% to 76 +/- 9% over a 24-hour period. Administration of a neuroprotective concentration of nicotinamide (12.5 mmol/L) consistently maintained DNA integrity and prevented the progression of membrane PS exposure. Posttreatment paradigms with nicotinamide at 2, 4, and 6 hours after NO exposure further demonstrated the ability of this agent to prevent and reverse neuronal PCD. Although not dependent upon pHi, neuroprotection by nicotinamide was linked to the modulation of two independent components of neuronal PCD through the regulation of caspase 1 and caspase 3-like activities and the DNA repair enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. The current work lays the foundation for the development of therapeutic strategies that may not only prevent the course of PCD, but may also offer the ability for the repair of neurons that have been identified through the loss of membrane asymmetry for subsequent destruction.
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PMID:Prevention of nitric oxide-induced neuronal injury through the modulation of independent pathways of programmed cell death. 1099 60


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