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)

Induction of apoptosis in human monocytic THP.1 cells by etoposide or N-tosyl-L-phenylalanyl chloromethyl ketone resulted in release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, formation of ultracondensed mitochondria, development of outer mitochondrial membrane discontinuities and a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential (delta psi m), as well as externalisation of phosphatidylserine, caspase-3 and -7 activation, proteolysis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and lamin B1. The caspase inhibitor, benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp (OMe) fluoromethyl ketone inhibited all these ultrastructural and biochemical characteristics of apoptosis except for the release of cytochrome c. Release of mitochondrial cytochrome c was a late event in non-apoptotic cell death occurring after commitment to cell death and without caspase activation. Thus apoptosis is characterised by release of mitochondrial cytochrome c prior to formation of ultracondensed mitochondria and a reduction in delta psi m and by a mechanism independent of rupture of the outer mitochondrial membrane.
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PMID:Apoptosis, in human monocytic THP.1 cells, results in the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria prior to their ultracondensation, formation of outer membrane discontinuities and reduction in inner membrane potential. 984 82

L5178Y-R mouse lymphoma (LY-R) cells undergo rapid apoptosis when treated with photodynamic therapy (PDT) sensitized with the silicon phthalocyanine Pc 4. In this study we show that cytochrome c is released into the cytosol within 10 min of an LD99.9 dose of PDT. Cellular respiration is inhibited by 42% at 15 min, and 60% at 30 min after PDT treatment, and caspase 3-like protease activity is elevated by 15 min post-PDT. In digitonin-permeabilized cells addition of cytochrome c to the respiration buffer reverses PDT-induced inhibition of state 3 respiration via Complex I by 40-60%, and via Complex III by 50-90%. In contrast, extramitochondrial cytochrome c does not stimulate respiration in permeabilized control cells, and catalyzes only a low rate of oxygen consumption via electron transfer to cytochrome b5 on the outer mitochondrial membrane. These results demonstrate that PDT-induced inhibition of respiration is primarily due to leakage of cytochrome c into the cytosol rather than to damage to the major enzyme complexes of the electron transport chain. Whether or not inhibition of respiration influences the time course or extent of Pc 4-PDT-induced apoptosis in LY-R cells is not clear at the present time.
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PMID:Photodynamic therapy-induced apoptosis in lymphoma cells: translocation of cytochrome c causes inhibition of respiration as well as caspase activation. 1004 69

Although cytochrome P-450 (CYP)-generated reactive metabolites can cause hepatocyte apoptosis, the mechanism of this effect is incompletely understood. In the present study, we assessed the hepatotoxicity of skullcap, a diterpenoid-containing herbal remedy. Male rat hepatocytes were incubated for 2 hours with skullcap diterpenoids (100 microg/mL). This treatment decreased cell glutathione and protein thiols and increased cell [Ca(2+)]. This activated Ca(2+)-dependent tissue transglutaminase, forming a cross-linked protein scaffold, and also opened the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, causing outer mitochondrial membrane rupture, increased cytosolic cytochrome c, activation of procaspase 3, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and ultrastructural features of apoptosis. Cell death was increased by a CYP3A inducer (dexamethasone) or a sulfur amino acid-deficient diet increasing glutathione depletion. In contrast, cell death was prevented by decreasing CYP3A activity (with troleandomycin), preventing glutathione depletion (with cysteine or cystine), blocking Ca(2+)-modulated events (with calmidazolium), preventing mitochondrial permeability transition (with cyclosporin A), or inhibiting caspase 3 (with acetyl-Asp-G u-Va-Asp-a dehyde). Both calmidazolium and cyclosporin A also prevented the increase in cytosolic cytochrome c and procaspase 3 activation. In conclusion, CYP3A activates skullcap diterpenoids into reactive metabolites that deplete cellular thiols and increase cell [Ca(2+)]. This activates Ca(2+)-dependent transglutaminase and also opens the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, causing outer mitochondrial membrane rupture, cytochrome c release, and caspase activation. Preventing mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening and/or caspase activity blocks apoptosis, showing the fundamental role of these final events in metabolite-mediated hepatotoxicity.
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PMID:Cytochrome P450-generated reactive metabolites cause mitochondrial permeability transition, caspase activation, and apoptosis in rat hepatocytes. 1091 37

Bax is a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins. It is believed to exert its action primarily by facilitating the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondrial intermembrane space into the cytosol, leading to caspase activation and cell death. Because alterations in mitochondrial respiratory function, caspase activation and cell death with morphologic features compatible with apoptosis have been observed post mortem in the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease, we tried to clarify the potential role of Bax in this process in an immunohistochemical study on normal and Parkinson's disease post-mortem brain and primary mesencephalic cell cultures treated with MPP(+). We found that Bax is expressed ubiquitously by dopaminergic (DA) neurons in post-mortem brain of normal and Parkinson's disease subjects as well as in vitro. Using an antibody to Bax inserted into the outer mitochondrial membrane as an index of Bax activation, no significant differences were observed between control and Parkinson's disease subjects, regardless of the mesencephalic subregion analysed. However, in Parkinson's disease subjects, the percentage of Bax-positive melanized SNpc neurons containing Lewy bodies, suggestive of DA neuronal suffering, was significantly higher than the overall percentage of Bax-positive neurons among melanized neurons. Furthermore, all melanized SNpc neurons in Parkinson's disease subjects with activated caspase-3 were also immunoreactive for Bax, suggesting that Bax anchored in the outer mitochondrial membrane of melanized SNpc neurons showing signs of neuronal suffering or apoptosis is increased compared with DA neurons that are apparently unaltered. Surprisingly, MPP(+) treatment of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons in primary mesencephalic cultures did not cause redistribution of Bax, although cytochrome c was released from the mitochondria and nuclear condensation/fragmentation was induced. Taken together, these findings suggest that in the human pathology, Bax may be a cofactor in caspase activation, but our in vitro data fail to indicate a central role for Bax in apoptotic death of DA neurons in an experimental Parkinson's disease paradigm.
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PMID:Is Bax a mitochondrial mediator in apoptotic death of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease? 1125 96

Glutathione depletion either decreased or increased death-receptor-mediated apoptosis in previous studies. Comparison of the durations of glutathione depletion before death-receptor stimulation in these studies might suggest a different effect of prolonged versus acute thiol depletion. We compared the effects of the prolonged glutathione depletion caused by a sulfur amino acid-deficient (SAA(-)) diet and the acute depletion caused by a single dose of phorone on hepatic apoptosis triggered by the administration of an agonistic anti-Fas antibody. The chronic SAA(-) diet did not affect hepatic Fas or Bcl-XL, but increased p53 and Bax, and exacerbated Fas-mediated mitochondrial membrane depolarization, electron-microscopy-proven outer mitochondrial membrane rupture, cytochrome c translocation to the cytosol, and caspase 3 activation. These effects were prevented by cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition. The SAA(-) diet increased internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, the percentage of apoptotic hepatocytes, serum alanine transaminase (ALT) activity, and mortality after Fas stimulation. Despite a similar decrease in hepatic glutathione, administration of a single dose of phorone 1 hour before the anti-Fas antibody did not change p53 or Bax, and did not enhance Fas-induced mitochondrial permeability transition and toxicity. However, 4 repeated doses of phorone (causing more prolonged glutathione depletion) increased Bax and Fas-mediated toxicity. In conclusion, a chronic SAA(-) diet, but not acute phorone administration, increases p53 and Bax, and enhances Fas-induced mitochondrial permeability transition and apoptosis. Thiol depletion could cause oxidative stress that requires several hours to increase p53; the latter induces Bax, which translocates to mitochondria after Fas stimulation.
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PMID:Prolonged, but not acute, glutathione depletion promotes Fas-mediated mitochondrial permeability transition and apoptosis in mice. 1134 47

During apoptotic cell death, cells usually release apoptogenic proteins such as cytochrome c from the mitochondrial intermembrane space. If Bcl-2 family proteins induce such release by increasing outer mitochondrial membrane permeability, then the pro-apoptotic, but not anti-apoptotic activity of these proteins should correlate with their permeabilization of membranes to cytochrome c. Here, we tested this hypothesis using pro-survival full-length Bcl-x(L) and pro-death Bcl-x(L) cleavage products (DeltaN61Bcl-x(L) and DeltaN76Bcl-x(L)). Unlike Bcl-x(L), DeltaN61Bcl-x(L) and DeltaN76Bcl-x(L) caused the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria in vivo and in vitro. Recombinant DeltaN61Bcl-x(L) and DeltaN76Bcl-x(L), as well as Bcl-x(L), cleaved in situ by caspase 3-possessed intrinsic pore-forming activity as demonstrated by their ability to efficiently permeabilize pure lipid vesicles. Furthermore, only DeltaN61Bcl-x(L) and DeltaN76Bcl-x(L), but not Bcl-x(L), formed pores large enough to release cytochrome c and to destabilize planar lipid bilayer membranes through reduction of pore line tension. Because Bcl-x(L) and its C-terminal cleavage products bound similarly to lipid membranes and formed oligomers of the same size, neither lipid affinity nor protein-protein interactions appear to be solely responsible for the increased membrane-perturbing activity elicited by Bcl-x(L) cleavage. Taken together, these data are consistent with the hypothesis that Bax-like proteins oligomerize to form lipid-containing pores in the outer mitochondrial membrane, thereby releasing intermembrane apoptogenic factors into the cytosol.
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PMID:Pro-apoptotic cleavage products of Bcl-xL form cytochrome c-conducting pores in pure lipid membranes. 1139 68

Bcl-2 protein family members function either to promote or inhibit programmed cell death. Bcl-2, typically an inhibitor of apoptosis, has also been demonstrated to have pro-apoptotic activity (Cheng, E. H., Kirsch, D. G., Clem, R. J., et al. (1997) Science 278, 1966-1968). The pro-apoptotic activity has been attributed to the cleavage of Bcl-2 by caspase-3, which converts Bcl-2 to a pro-apoptotic molecule. Bcl-2 is a membrane protein that is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, the outer mitochondrial membrane, and the nuclear envelope. Here, we demonstrate that transient expression of Bcl-2 at levels comparable to those found in stably transfected cells induces apoptosis in human embryonic kidney 293 cells and in the human breast cell line MDA-MB-468 cells. Furthermore, we have targeted Bcl-2 specifically to either the ER or the outer mitochondrial membrane to test whether induction of apoptosis by Bcl-2 is dependent upon its localization within either of these membranes. Our findings indicate that Bcl-2 specifically targeted to the mitochondria induces cell death, whereas Bcl-2 that is targeted to the ER does not. The expression of Bcl-2 does result in its cleavage to a 20-kDa protein; however, mutation of the caspase-3 cleavage site (D34A) does not inhibit its ability to induce cell death. Additionally, we find that transiently expressed ER-targeted Bcl-2 inhibits cell death induced by Bax overexpression. In conclusion, the ability of Bcl-2 to promote apoptosis is associated with its localization at the mitochondria. Furthermore, the ability of ER-targeted Bcl-2 to protect against Bax-induced apoptosis suggests that the ER localization of Bcl-2 may play an important role in its protective function.
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PMID:Transient expression of wild-type or mitochondrially targeted Bcl-2 induces apoptosis, whereas transient expression of endoplasmic reticulum-targeted Bcl-2 is protective against Bax-induced cell death. 1154 93

The events that precipitate cell death and the stress proteins responsible for cytoprotection during ATP depletion remain elusive. We hypothesize that exposure to metabolic inhibitors damages mitochondria, allowing proapoptotic proteins to leak into the cytosol, and suggest that heat stress-induced hsp72 accumulation prevents mitochondrial membrane injury. To test these hypotheses, renal epithelial cells were transiently ATP depleted with sodium cyanide and 2-deoxy-D-glucose in the absence of medium dextrose. Recovery from ATP depletion was associated with the release into the cytosol of cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), proapoptotic proteins that localize to the intermitochondrial membrane space. Concomitant with mitochondrial cytochrome c leak, a seven- to eightfold increase in caspase 3 activity was observed. In controls, state III mitochondrial respiration was reduced by 30% after transient exposure to metabolic inhibitors. Prior heat stress preserved mitochondrial ATP production and significantly reduced both cytochrome c release and caspase 3 activation. Despite less cytochrome c release, prior heat stress increased binding between cytochrome c and hsp72. The present study demonstrates that mitochondrial injury accompanies exposure to metabolic inhibitors. By reducing outer mitochondrial membrane injury and by complexing with cytochrome c, hsp72 could inhibit caspase activation and subsequent apoptosis.
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PMID:Heat stress prevents mitochondrial injury in ATP-depleted renal epithelial cells. 1217 48

Parkin gene mutations have been implicated in autosomal-recessive early-onset parkinsonism and lead to specific degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in midbrain. To investigate the role of Parkin in neuronal cell death, we overproduced this protein in PC12 cells in an inducible manner. In this cell line, neuronally differentiated by nerve growth factor, Parkin overproduction protected against cell death mediated by ceramide, but not by a variety of other cell death inducers (H(2)O(2), 4-hydroxynonenal, rotenone, 6-OHDA, tunicamycin, 2-mercaptoethanol and staurosporine). Protection was abrogated by the proteasome inhibitor epoxomicin and disease-causing variants, indicating that it was mediated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of Parkin. Interestingly, Parkin acted by delaying mitochondrial swelling and subsequent cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation observed in ceramide-mediated cell death. Subcellular fractionation demonstrated enrichment of Parkin in the mitochondrial fraction and its association with the outer mitochondrial membrane. Together, these results suggest that Parkin may promote the degradation of substrates localized in mitochondria and involved in the late mitochondrial phase of ceramide-mediated cell death. Loss of this function may underlie the degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neurons in patients with Parkin mutations.
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PMID:Parkin prevents mitochondrial swelling and cytochrome c release in mitochondria-dependent cell death. 1258 99

Methylglyoxal (MG) is an endogenous metabolite that increases in the blood and tissues of diabetic patients and is believed to be linked to the development of chronic complications of diabetes. We showed previously that Jurkat cells treated with MG rapidly undergo apoptosis via c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation. In this study, we examined whether phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) can prevent MG-induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells. The results showed the following: 1) PMA can prevent MG-induced apoptosis; 2) triggering of this antiapoptotic signal depends on the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway; 3) PMA inhibits MG-induced activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, release of cytochrome c, and decline of mitochondrial membrane potential, but it does not affect MG-induced JNK activation; 4) the ERK pathway modulates outer mitochondrial membrane permeability and regulates the mitochondrial death machinery; and 5) activated ERK prevents JNK-induced leakage of cytochrome c from isolated mitochondria. Taken together, these results suggest that PMA-induced ERK activation can protect Jurkat cells from methylglyoxal-induced apoptosis and that activated ERK exerts its antiapoptotic effects on mitochondria by inhibiting activated JNK-induced permeabilization of the outer mitochondrial membrane.
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PMID:Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate protects Jurkat cells from methylglyoxal-induced apoptosis by preventing c-Jun N-terminal kinase-mediated leakage of cytochrome c in an extracellular signal-regulated kinase-dependent manner. 1497 57


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