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)

Nitric oxide (NO) generated by either endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) or inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) may be involved in prostate tumorigenesis through the inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced apoptosis. Multicellular DU-145 prostate tumor spheroids endogenously generated NO that paralleled the production of ROS. With increasing spheroid size, eNOS expression was downregulated, whereas an upregulation of iNOS expression was observed. In parallel, NO generation declined, as evaluated by the NO indicator diaminofluorescein-2 diacetate (DAF-2DA), suggesting that NO generation in DU-145 tumor spheroids is mainly mediated by eNOS. Elevation of ROS by treatment of tumor spheroids with either buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) or hydrogen peroxide resulted in upregulation of eNOS, whereas iNOS was downregulated. Furthermore, eNOS expression was increased by epidermal growth factor (EGF) in a redox-sensitive manner. Upregulation of eNOS after treatment with hydrogen peroxide was apparently transduced through receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways since it was abolished by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide-1 (BIM-1), the p21(ras) inhibitor S-trans-trans-farnesylthiosalicylic acid (FTS), the c-Raf inhibitor ZM 336372 and PD98059, which inhibits ERK1/2 activation. Endogenous NO may serve to escape from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis since treatment of tumor spheroids with the NO scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl imidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide (carboxy-PTIO) as well as the NO synthase inhibitor N-omega-amino-L-arginine (L-NAA) increased cleaved caspase-3. Consequently, lowering intracellular NO levels with either L-NAA or PTIO significantly raised ROS levels, indicating that endogenously generated NO may play a role as a ROS scavenger, thereby protecting exponentially growing tumor spheroids from ROS-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Reactive oxygen species-mediated regulation of eNOS and iNOS expression in multicellular prostate tumor spheroids. 1256 50

Hyperoxia exposure induces capillary endothelial cell apoptosis in the developing retina, leading to vaso-obliteration followed by proliferative retinopathy. Previous in vivo studies have shown that endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) and peroxynitrite are important mediators of the vaso-obliteration. Now we have investigated the relationship between hyperoxia, NOS3, peroxynitrite, and endothelial cell apoptosis by in vitro experiments using bovine retinal endothelial cells (BREC). We found that BREC exposed to 40% oxygen (hyperoxia) for 48 h underwent apoptosis associated with activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of the caspase substrate poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Hyperoxia-induced apoptosis was associated with increased formation of nitric oxide, peroxynitrite, and superoxide anion and was blocked by treatment with uric acid, nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, or superoxide dismutase. Analyses of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt kinase survival pathway in cells directly treated with peroxynitrite revealed inhibition of VEGF- and basic FGF-induced activation of Akt kinase. These results suggest that hyperoxia-induced formation of peroxynitrite induces BREC apoptosis by crippling key survival pathways and that blocking peroxynitrite formation prevents apoptosis. These data may have important clinical implications for infants at risk of retinopathy of prematurity.
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PMID:Hyperoxia induces retinal vascular endothelial cell apoptosis through formation of peroxynitrite. 1273 39

In liver resection and transplantation ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is one of the main causes of organ dys- or nonfunction. The aim of the present study was to determine whether alpha-lipoic acid (LA) is able to attenuate IRI. Rat livers were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer with or without LA (+/-wortmannin), followed by ischemia (1 h, 37 degrees C) and reperfusion (90 min). Efflux of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and hepatic ATP content were determined enzymatically. Activation of NF-kappaB and activating protein 1 (AP-1) was examined by EMSA, and protein phosphorylation was examined by Western blot. Caspase-3-like activity served as an indicator for apoptotic processes. Animals treated intravenously with 500 micromol LA were subjected to 90 min of partial no-flow ischemia followed by reperfusion for up to 7 days. Preconditioning with LA significantly reduced LDH and PNP efflux during reperfusion in isolated perfused rat livers. ATP content was significantly increased in LA-treated livers. Postischemic activation of NF-kappaB and AP-1 was significantly reduced in LA-pretreated organs. Preconditioning with LA significantly enhanced Akt phosphorylation. It showed neither effect on endothelial nitric oxide synthase nor on Bad phosphorylation. Importantly, simultaneous administration of wortmannin, an inhibitor of the phosphatidylinositol (PI)3-kinase/Akt pathway, blocked the protective effect of LA on IRI, demonstrating a causal relationship between Akt activation and hepatoprotection by LA. Interestingly, despite activation of Akt, LA did not reduce postischemic apoptotic cell death. The efficacy of LA treatment in vivo was shown by reduced GST plasma levels and improved liver histology of animals pretreated with LA. This study shows for the first time that the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway plays a central protective role in IRI of the rat liver and that LA administration attenuates IRI via this pathway.
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PMID:Alpha-lipoic acid preconditioning reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury of the rat liver via the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway. 1281 56

Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) is a gut hormone that stimulates mucosal growth in total parenteral nutrition (TPN)-fed piglets; however, the dose-dependent effects on apoptosis, cell proliferation, and protein synthesis are unknown. We studied 38 TPN-fed neonatal piglets infused iv with either saline or GLP-2 at three rates (2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 nmol.kg(-1).d(-1)) for 7 d. Plasma GLP-2 concentrations ranged from 177 +/- 27 to 692 +/- 85 pM in the low- and high-infusion groups, respectively. GLP-2 infusion dose-dependently increased small intestinal weight, DNA and protein content, and villus height; however, stomach protein synthesis was decreased by GLP-2. Intestinal crypt and villus apoptosis decreased and crypt cell number increased linearly with GLP-2 infusion rates, whereas cell proliferation and protein synthesis were stimulated only at the high GLP-2 dose. The intestinal activities of caspase-3 and -6 and active caspase-3 abundance decreased, yet procaspase-3 abundance increased markedly with increasing infusion rate and plasma concentration of GLP-2. The GLP-2-dose-dependent suppression of intestinal apoptosis and caspase-3 activity was associated with increased protein kinase B and glycogen-synthase kinase-3 phosphorylation, yet the expression phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase was unaffected by GLP-2. Intestinal endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA and protein expression was increased, but only at the high GLP-2 dose. We conclude that the stimulation of intestinal epithelial survival is concentration dependent at physiological GLP-2 concentrations; however, induction of cell proliferation and protein synthesis is a pharmacological response. Moreover, we show that GLP-2 stimulates intestinal cell survival and proliferation in association with induction of protein kinase B and glycogen-synthase kinase-3 phosphorylation and Bcl-2 expression.
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PMID:Glucagon-like peptide 2 dose-dependently activates intestinal cell survival and proliferation in neonatal piglets. 1560 3

Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to play a key role in the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in response to myocardial ischemia in part by antagonizing the action of angiotensin II (Ang II). In this study, we investigated the potential protective role of human endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in left ventricular (LV) remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI) by a somatic gene transfer approach. Male Wistar rats underwent coronary artery ligation to induce MI. One week after surgery, adenovirus encoding the human eNOS or luciferase gene under the control of the CMV promoter/enhancer was injected into rats via the tail vein, and animals were sacrificed at 1 and 5 weeks after gene transfer. Successful gene transfer was evaluated based on increased levels of NO and cGMP in the heart, measured at one week after eNOS gene delivery. Six weeks after MI, the LV end-diastolic pressure, heart weight, LV axis length and cardiomyocyte size were markedly increased compared to the Sham group, while eNOS gene delivery significantly reduced these parameters. Rats receiving control virus developed considerably more fibrotic lesions identified by Sirius Red staining and collagen I immunostaining compared to Sham rats, and eNOS gene delivery significantly reduced collagen accumulation. eNOS gene transfer also reduced TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells. The cardioprotective effect of NO was accompanied by reduced NADH and NADPH oxidase activities and superoxide formation, TGF-beta1 and p27 levels, JNK activation, NF-kappa B nuclear translocation, and caspase-3 activity. This study shows that NO may play an important role in attenuating cardiac remodeling and apoptosis after myocardial infarction via suppression of oxidative stress-mediated signaling pathways.
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PMID:Human endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene delivery protects against cardiac remodeling and reduces oxidative stress after myocardial infarction. 1576 77

To determine the effects of vitamin supplementation on the lipid-peroxidation-mediated toxicity of iron-ions on corneal endothelial cells (CECs) leading to apoptosis, murine CECs were maintained in tissue culture medium supplemented with increasing concentrations of free iron-ions, a treatment known to lead to increased lipid-peroxidation. The concentration of anti-oxidative vitamins (ascorbic acid, tocopherol and retinoic acid) in the cell supernatant and in the cells was determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Apoptosis was assessed by quantification of caspase-3-like activity and by using annexin-V/propidium iodide stains for flow cytometry. Lipid-peroxidation was measured by the malondialdehyde method. Supplementation with anti-oxidative vitamins was tested for the ability to counteract the induction of apoptosis. The production of nitric oxide was assessed spectrophotometrically and the expression levels of inducible and endothelial nitric oxide synthase were determined by Western blot. Increasing levels of free iron led to a rapid loss of anti-oxidative vitamins in the supernatant and in the CECs. This was correlated with rising levels of malondialdehyde and increased apoptosis. Supplementation with ascorbic acid or alpha-tocopherol alone did not prevent lipid-peroxidation in the cells. A combination of vitamins C and E (ascorbic acid, tocopherol) or solitary supplementation with vitamin A (retinoic acid) prevented lipid-peroxidation. We thus present a novel in vitro model for testing the direct influence of pro-oxidative species on CECs. We also show that supplementation with anti-oxidative vitamins to CECs significantly prevents the generation of free-radical-induced oxidative injury and apoptosis. These findings may have important implications for the storage of human corneae prior to transplantation and for the prolongation of corneal graft survival.
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PMID:Anti-oxidative vitamins prevent lipid-peroxidation and apoptosis in corneal endothelial cells. 1583 41

Nitric oxide (NO) may block apoptosis by inhibiting caspases via S-nitrosylation of cysteines. Here, we investigated whether effector caspases might cleave and thereby inhibit endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Exposure of eNOS-transfected COS-7 cells and bovine aortic endothelial cells to staurosporine resulted in significant loss of 135-kDa eNOS protein and activity, and appearance of a 60-kDa eNOS fragment; effects were inhibited by the general caspase inhibitor, benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp[OMe]-fluoromethyl ketone (zVAD-fmk). In eNOS-transfected COS-7 cells, staurosporine-induced activation of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage coincided with increased eNOS degradation and decreased activity. Loss of eNOS activity was greater than the degree of proteolysis. Incubation of immunoprecipitated eNOS with caspase-3, caspase-6 or caspase-7 resulted in eNOS cleavage. Staurosporine, a general protein kinase inhibitor, also reduced phosphorylation and decreased calmodulin binding, an effect that may explain the reduction in activity. eNOS, therefore, is both an inhibitor of apoptosis and a target of apoptosis-associated proteolysis.
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PMID:Effect of staurosporine-induced apoptosis on endothelial nitric oxide synthase in transfected COS-7 cells and primary endothelial cells. 1619 40

The objective of this study was to characterize acute coronary artery injury evoked by the endothelin A receptor (ETAR) antagonist, CI-1034. Male dogs (n = 5) were intravenously administered CI-1034 at 120 mg/kg for 4 d. Control animals (n = 3) received vehicle. Macroscopically, drug-related hemorrhage was observed in the right coronary groove and atrium. Histologically, drugrelated coronary changes were characterized as medial hemorrhage and necrosis, with mixed inflammatory-cell infiltrates in the adventitia and media. Immunohistochemistry staining indicated increased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cleaved caspase-3, and S100A8/A9 (within in monocytes and neutrophils) proteins in coronary arteries of CI-1034-treated animals. However, there were similar expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) among control and CI-1034-treated animals. Significant drug-related nitric oxide (NO) accumulation occurred on days 1 through 4 in serum. Increased interleukin (IL)-6 and fibrinogen in plasma and serum amyloid A (SAA) occurred on days 2 through 5 in CI-1034-treated animals. Increased levels of NO accumulation in serum; increased IL-6 and fibrinogen levels in plasma; increased SAA levels; and increased expressions of iNOS, cleaved caspase-3, and S100A8/A9 complex appear to be characteristic of CI-1034-induced acute vascular injury in dogs.
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PMID:Acute coronary artery injury in dogs following administration of CI-1034, an endothelin A receptor antagonist. 1684 80

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors improve endothelial function and exert antiproliferative effects on vascular smooth muscle cells of systemic vessels. This study was aimed to assess the protective effects of pravastatin (an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor) against monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats. Pravastatin (PS, 10 mg/kg/day) or vehicle were given orally for 28 days to Wistar male rats injected or not with monocrotaline (MC, 60 mg/kg intraperitonealy) and treated or not by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) 15 mg/kg/day. At 4 weeks, monocrotaline-injected rats developed severe pulmonary hypertension, with an increase in right ventricular pressure (RVP) and right ventricle/left ventricle+septum weight ratio (RV/LV+S), associated with a decrease in pulmonary artery dilation induced either by acetylcholine or sodium nitroprusside. Hypertensive pulmonary arteries exhibited an increase in medial thickness, medial wall area, endothelial cell apoptosis, and a decrease of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression. Monocrotaline-rat lungs showed a significant decrease of eNOS expression (4080+/-27 vs 12189+/-761 arbitrary density units [ADU] for MC and control groups respectively, P<0.01) and a significant increase of cleaved caspase-3 expression by western blotting (Control=11628+/-2395 vs MC=2326+/-2243 ADU, P<0.05). A non-significant trend toward a reduced mortality was observed with pravastatin (relative risk of death = 0.33; 95% confidence interval [0.08-1.30], P= 0.12 for MC+PS vs MC groups). Pravastatine induced a protection against the development of the pulmonary hypertension (RVP in mmHg: 30+/-3 vs 45+/-4 and RV/LV+S: 0.46+/-0.04 vs 0.62+/-0.05 for MC+PS and MC groups respectively, P<0.05) and was associated with a significant reduction of MC-induced thickening (61+/-6 mum vs 81+/-3 mum for MC+PS and MC groups respectively, P= 0.01) of the medial wall of the small intrapulmonary arteries. Pravastatin partially restored acetylcholine-induced pulmonary artery vasodilation in MC rats (Emax=65+/-5% and 46+/-3% for MC+PS and MC group respectively, P<0.05) but had no effect on acetylcholine-induced pulmonary artery vasodilation in MC+L-NAME rats. It also prevented apoptosis and restored eNOS expression of pulmonary artery endothelial cells, as well as in the whole lung. Pravastatin reduces the development of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension and improves endothelium-dependent pulmonary artery relaxation, probably through a reduced apoptosis and a restored eNOS expression of endothelial cells.
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PMID:The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, pravastatin, prevents the development of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in the rat through reduction of endothelial cell apoptosis and overexpression of eNOS. 1689 5

The aims of this study were to determine effects of diabetes duration on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and test whether time-dependent differences in sensitivity of the streptozotocin diabetic rat heart to I/R are related to differences in vascular density, levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression, NO formation, activation of Akt, and/or oxidative stress. After 2 or 6 weeks of streptozotocin-induced diabetes, I/R injury was induced by occlusion (30 min) and reperfusion of the left descending coronary artery. After 2 weeks of diabetes, infarct size and cleavage of caspase-3, a proapoptosis signal, were decreased as compared with normoglycemic controls or rats that had been diabetic for 6 weeks, whereas capillary density and levels of VEGF and eNOS protein and cardiac NO(x) levels were all increased. Phosphorylation of Akt, a prosurvival signal, was also significantly increased after 2 weeks of diabetes. Cardiac lipid peroxidation was comparable to controls after 2 weeks of diabetes, whereas levels of nitrotyrosine, a peroxynitrite biomarker, were reduced. After 6 weeks of diabetes, lipid peroxidation was increased and levels of VEGF and plasma NO were reduced as compared with controls or rats diabetic for 2 weeks. Our results indicate endogenous cardioprotective mechanisms become transiently activated in this early stage of diabetes and that this may protect the heart from I/R injury through enhancement of VEGF and eNOS expression, NO formation, activation of cell survival signals, and decreased oxidative stress.
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PMID:Protection against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by short-term diabetes: enhancement of VEGF formation, capillary density, and activation of cell survival signaling. 1695 84

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