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)

Nanomolar concentrations of human amylin promote death of RINm5F cells in a time- and concentrationdependent manner. Morphological changes of chromatin integrity suggest that cells are predominantly undergoing apoptosis. Human amylin induces significant activation of caspase-3 and strong and sustained phosphorylation of stress-activated protein kinases, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, that precedes cell death. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation was not concomitant with JNK and/or p38 activation. Activation of caspase-3 and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) was detected by Western blot analysis. Addition of the MEK1 inhibitor PD 98059 had no effect on amylin-induced apoptosis, suggesting that ERK activation does not play a role in this apoptotic scenario. A correlative inhibition of JNK activation by the immunosuppressive drug FK506, as well as a selective inhibition of p38 MAPK activation by SB 203580, significantly suppressed procaspase-3 processing and the extent of amylin-induced cell death. Moreover, simultaneous pretreatment with both FK506 and SB 203580, or with the caspase-3 inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO alone, almost completely abolished procaspase-3 processing and cell death. Thus, our results suggest that amylin-induced apoptosis proceeds through sustained activation of JNK and p38 MAPK followed by caspase-3 activation.
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PMID:Amylin-induced cytotoxicity is associated with activation of caspase-3 and MAP kinases. 1253 May 40

Fibrillogenic human amylin elicits pancreatic beta-cell apoptosis that may contribute to development of type-2 diabetes. Here, we demonstrated that activation of a caspase cascade is necessary for induction of apoptosis by fibrillogenic amylin variants in two pancreatic beta-cell lines. Human amylin, as well as truncated 8-37human amylin, evoked sequential activation of caspases-8 and -3, and apoptosis, whereas non-beta-sheet forming and non-fibrillogenic homologs, such as [25,28,29triprolyl]human amylin, did not, implying that the beta-sheet conformer is required for human amylin-induced caspase activation. Significant inhibition of apoptosis was evoked by a selective caspase-1 inhibitor, indicating that caspase-1 is also essential for activation of the caspase cascade. Furthermore, we showed that specific jnk1 antisense oligonucleotides, which suppress phospho-JNK1 expression, effectively decreased human amylin-induced activation of c-Jun. Studies of the interplay between the caspase cascade and the JNK pathway showed that both apoptosis and caspase-3 activation were suppressed by treatment with a JNK inhibitor and by transfection of antisense jnk1 oligonucleotides or antisense-c-jun, whereas a selective inhibitor of caspases-1 and -3 prevented apoptosis but not c-Jun activation. Thus, the JNK1 activation preceded activation of caspases-1 and -3. However, selective JNK inhibition had no effect on caspase-8 activation, and selective caspase-8 inhibition only partially suppressed apoptosis and c-Jun activation, indicating that caspase-8 may partially act upstream of the JNK pathway. Our studies demonstrate a functional interaction of a caspase cascade and JNK1. Fibrillogenic amylin can evoke a JNK1-mediated apoptotic pathway, which is partially dependent and partially independent of caspase-8, and in which caspase-3 acts as a common downstream effector.
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PMID:Fibrillogenic amylin evokes islet beta-cell apoptosis through linked activation of a caspase cascade and JNK1. 1453 96

beta-cells die by apoptosis in type 1 diabetes as a result of autoimmune attack mediated by cytokines, and in type 2 diabetes by various perpetrators including human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP). The cascade of apoptotic events induced by cytokines and hIAPP is mediated through caspases and reactive oxygen species. The baculovirus p35 protein is a potent anti-apoptotic agent shown to be effective in a variety of species and able to inhibit a number of apoptotic pathways. Here, we aimed at determining the protective potential of p35 in beta-cells exposed to cytokines and hIAPP, as well as the effects of p35 on beta-cell function. The p35 gene was introduced into betaTC-tet cells, a differentiated murine beta-cell line capable of undergoing inducible growth-arrest. Both proliferating and growth-arrested cells expressing p35 manifested increased resistance to cytokines and hIAPP, compared with control cells, as judged by cell viability, DNA fragmentation, and caspase-3 activity assays. p35 was significantly more protective in growth-arrested, compared with proliferating, cells. No significant differences were observed in proliferation and insulin content between cells expressing p35 and control cells. In contrast, p35 manifested a perturbing effect on glucose-induced insulin secretion. These findings suggest that p35 could be incorporated as part of a multi-pronged approach of immunoprotective strategies to provide protection from recurring autoimmunity for transplanted beta-cells, as well as in preventive gene therapy in type 1 diabetes. p35 may also be protective from beta-cell damage caused by hIAPP in type 2 diabetes.
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PMID:Baculovirus p35 increases pancreatic beta-cell resistance to apoptosis. 1589 16

Amylin-mediated islet beta-cell death is implicated in diabetogenesis. We previously reported that fibrillogenic human amylin (hA) evokes beta-cell apoptosis through linked activation of Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK 1) and a caspase cascade. Here we show that p38 kinase [p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase] became activated by hA treatment of cultured beta-cells whereas extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) did not; by contrast, nonfibrillogenic rat amylin (rA) altered neither. Pretreatment with the p38 kinase-inhibitor SB203580 decreased hA-induced apoptosis and caspase-3 activation by approximately 30%; as did combined SB203580 and JNK inhibitor I, by about 70%; and the combination of SB203580, the JNK inhibitor I and a caspase-8 inhibitor, by 100%. These findings demonstrate the requirement for concurrent activation of the p38 kinase, JNK and caspase-8 pathways. We further showed that hA elicits time-dependent activation of activating transcription factor 2 (ATF-2), which was largely suppressed by SB203580, indicating that this activation is catalyzed mainly by p38 kinase. Furthermore, hA-induced apoptosis was suppressed by specific antisense ATF-2, and increased phospho-ATF-2 (p-ATF-2) was associated with increased CRE (cAMP-response element) DNA binding and CRE-mediated transcriptional activity, as well as enhancement of c-jun promoter activation. We also detected changes in the phosphorylation status and composition of the CRE complex that may play important roles in regulation of distinct downstream target genes. These studies establish p38 MAP kinase-mediated activation of ATF-2 as a significant mechanism in hA-evoked beta-cell death, which may serve as a target for pharmaceutical intervention and effective suppression of beta-cell failure in type-2 diabetes.
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PMID:Activation of activating transcription factor 2 by p38 MAP kinase during apoptosis induced by human amylin in cultured pancreatic beta-cells. 1686 89

Amyloid formation is cytotoxic and can activate the caspase cascade. Here, we monitor caspase-3-like activity as reduction of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) using the contstruct pFRET2-DEVD containing enhanced cyan fluorescent protin (EYFP) linked by the caspase-3 specific cleavage site residues DEVD. Beta-TC-6 cells were transfected, and the fluoorescence was measured at 440 nm excitation and 535 nm (EYFP) and 480 nm (ECFP) emission wavelength. Cells were incubated with recombinant pro lset Amyloid Polypeptide (rec prolAPP) or the processing metabolites of prolAPP; the N-terminal flanking peptide withIAPP (recN+IAPP); IAPP with the C-terminal flanking peptied (recIAPP+C) and lslet Amyloid Polypeptide (recIAPP) . Peptides were added in solubilized from (50 microM) or as performed amyloid-like fibrils, or as a combination of these. FRET was measured and incubation with a mixture of solubilized peptide and performed fibrils resulted in loss of FRET and apoptosis was determined to occure in cells incubated with recproIAPP (49%), recN+IAPP (46%), recIAPP (72%) and recIAPP+C (59%). These results show that proIAPP and the processing intermediates reside the same cell toxic capacity as IAPP, and they can all have a central role in the reduction of beta-cell number in type 2 diabetes.
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PMID:Real-time monitoring of apoptosis by caspase-3-like protease induced FRET reduction triggered by amyloid aggregation. 1856 81

The amyloid hypothesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus postulates that elevated levels of normally expressed monomeric proteins of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) trigger oligomerization that independently causes fibril formation and disease progression. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the existence of amyloid oligomers in human pancreatic islets. Human pancreas tissues were obtained at autopsy of 8 nondiabetic control subjects (mean age = 75.8 +/- 11.7 years, 4 males), 8 type 2 diabetic cases without islet amyloid (mean age = 78.8 +/- 8.5 years, 4 males), and 8 type 2 diabetic patients with islet amyloid (mean age = 73.7 +/- 14.2 years, 4 males). Several markers for insulin, IAPP, amyloid fibrils (thioflavin T), and apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3) were used in combination with an oligomer-specific antibody. Two distinct forms of oligomers were found in pancreatic islets. Small spherical puncta were found in approximately 3% to 20% of the islet cells of nondiabetic subjects, and large curvilinear structures as extracellular oligomers were identified frequently in diabetic islets. Large oligomers were spatially localized adjacent to amyloid fibrils and were associated with apoptosis. This report demonstrates the presence of 2 morphologic classes of amyloid oligomers in human pancreatic islets. The observations warrant function studies to investigate the clinical implications of the amyloid oligomerization in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.
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PMID:Amyloid oligomers in diabetic and nondiabetic human pancreas. 1910 Sep 55

We evaluated the effect of islet neogenesis-associated protein pentadecapeptide (INGAP-PP) upon islet beta- and non-beta cell differentiation from mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells. ES-D3 cell lines were cultured following Lumelsky's protocol with or without INGAP-PP (5 microg/ml) at different stages. Gene expression was quantified using qPCR. mES cells were fixed and immunostained using anti insulin-, somatostatin-, glucagon-, Pdx-1-, Ngn-3-, Nkx-6.1 and PGP9.5 specific antibodies. PCNA was used to measure replication rate. Bcl(2) (immunostaining) and caspase-3 (enzyme activity and gene expression) were determined as apoptosis markers. INGAP-PP increased IAPP, Glut-2, Kir-6.2, SUR-1 and insulin gene expression, and the percentage of insulin-immunostained cells. Conversely, INGAP-PP reduced significantly glucagon and somatostatin gene expression and immunopositivity. While nestin gene expression was not affected, there was a significant reduction in the percentage of PGP9.5-immunostained cells. Pdx-1 gene expression increased by 115% in INGAP-PP treated cells, as well as the percentage of Pdx-1, Ngn-3 and Nkx-6.1 immunopositive cells. Neither caspase-3 (expression and activity) nor Bcl(2) positively immunostained cells were affected by INGAP-PP. Accordingly, INGAP-PP would promote stem cell differentiation into a beta-like cell phenotype, simultaneously decreasing its differentiation toward non-beta-cell precursors. Therefore, INGAP-PP would be potentially useful to obtain beta-cells from stem cells for replacement therapy.
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PMID:Selective effect of INGAP-PP upon mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation toward islet cells. 1915 49

It is widely accepted that human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) aggregation plays an important role in the loss of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. hIAPP-induced cytotoxicity is mediated by generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Phycocyanin (PC) is a natural compound from blue-green algae that is widely used as food supplement. Currently, little is known about the effects of PC on beta cells with the presence of hIAPP. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro protective effects of PC on INS-1E rat insulinoma beta cells against hIAPP-induced cell death, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that hIAPP-induced cell death with apoptotic characteristics including growth inhibition, chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. However, cytotoxicity of hIAPP was significantly attenuated by co-incubation of the cells with PC. The results of Western blotting showed that activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in hIAPP-treated cells was blocked by PC. Moreover, PC significantly prevented the hIAPP-induced overproduction of intracellular ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as changes in activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) enzymes. Furthermore, hIAPP triggered the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and these effects were effectively suppressed by PC. Taken together, our results suggest that PC protects INS-1E pancreatic beta cells against hIAPP-induced apoptotic cell death through attenuating oxidative stress and modulating c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 pathways.
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PMID:Phycocyanin protects INS-1E pancreatic beta cells against human islet amyloid polypeptide-induced apoptosis through attenuating oxidative stress and modulating JNK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. 1916 64

Amyloid peptides interfere with survival of pancreatic beta-cells. In some cells apoptosis is paralleled by ceramide-dependent alterations of ion channel activity. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the dependence of amyloid peptides Abeta(1-42) and islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP)-induced cell death on ceramide formation and ion channel activity in murine pancreatic islet cells. As disclosed by TUNEL (terminal dUTP nick-end labelling) and cleaved caspase 3 staining, apoptotic cell death was induced by Abeta(1-42), IAPP and exogenously added C2-ceramide in islet cells from wild type mice. In islet cells from acid sphingomyelinase-deficient mice (ASMKO) Abeta(1-42) and IAPP but not exogenously added N-acetyl-D-sphingosine (C2-ceramide, 20 microM) failed to stimulate apoptosis. Immunofluorescent staining revealed a stimulatory effect of Abeta(1-42) on ceramide formation. According to patch clamp experiments, administration of Abeta(1-42) and IAPP significantly decreased outwardly rectifying whole cell currents in wild type but not in ASMKO islet cells. C2-ceramide but not inactive di-ceramide (20 microM) mimicked the inhibitory effect on Kv channel current. In conclusion, amyloid peptides induce apoptosis of pancreatic islet cells at least in part through activation of acid sphingomyelinase resulting in production of ceramide and subsequent inhibition of ion channel activity.
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PMID:Sphingomyelinase dependent apoptosis following treatment of pancreatic beta-cells with amyloid peptides Abeta(1-42) or IAPP. 1948 58

Pancreatic amyloid deposits of amylin are a hallmark of Type II diabetes and considerable evidence indicates that amylin oligomers are cytotoxic to beta-cells. Many efforts are presently spent to find out naturally occurring molecules, or to design synthetic ones, able to hinder amylin aggregation or to protect cells against aggregate cytotoxicity. In this context, a protective effect of some polyphenols against amyloid cytotoxicity was reported. Actually dietary polyphenols are endowed with multiple health benefits, and extra virgin olive oil is attracting increasing interest as a source of these substances. Here, we investigated the effects on amylin aggregation and cytotoxicity of the secoiridoid oleuropein aglycon, the main phenolic component of extra virgin olive oil. We found that oleuropein, when present during the aggregation of amylin, consistently prevented its cytotoxicity to RIN-5F pancreatic beta-cells, as determined by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide test and caspase-3 activity assay. A lack of interaction with the cell membrane of amylin aggregates grown in the presence of oleuropein was shown by fluorescence microscopy and synthetic lipid vesicle permeabilization. Moreover, our ThT assay, circular dichroism analysis and electron microscopy images suggested that oleuropein interferes with amylin aggregation, resulting in a different path skipping the formation of toxic pre-fibrillar aggregates. These results provide a molecular basis for some of the benefits potentially coming from extra virgin olive oil consumption and pave the way to further studies on the possible pharmacological use of oleuropein to prevent or to slow down the progression of type II diabetes.
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PMID:Oleuropein aglycon prevents cytotoxic amyloid aggregation of human amylin. 1961 28


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