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)

CD34(+) bone marrow blasts from high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients as well as MDS patient-derived cell lines (P39 and MOLM13) constitutively activate the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway and undergo apoptosis when NF-kappaB is inhibited. Here, we show that the combination of conventional chemotherapeutic agents (daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, 5-azacytidine or camptothecin) with the NF-kappaB inhibitor BAY11-7082 did not yield a synergistic cytotoxicity. In contrast, BAY11-7082 (which targets the NF-kappaB-activating I-kappaB kinase (IKK) complex) or knockdown of essential components of the NF-kappaB system (such as the IKK1 and IKK2 subunits of the IKK complex and the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB), by small interfering RNAs sensitized MDS cell lines to starvation-induced apoptosis. The combination of BAY11-7082 and nutrient depletion synergistically killed the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line U937 as well as primary CD34(+) bone marrow blasts from AML and high-risk MDS patients. The synergistic killing by BAY11-7082, combined with nutrient depletion, led to cell death accompanied by all hallmarks of apoptosis, including an early loss of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, the release of cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) from mitochondria, activation of caspase-3, phosphatidylserine exposure on the plasma membrane surface and nuclear chromatin condensation. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of numerous autophagic vacuoles in the cytoplasm before cells underwent nuclear apoptosis. Nonetheless, cell death was neither inhibited by the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk nor by knockdown of AIF or of essential components of the autophagy pathway (ATG5, ATG6/Beclin-1, ATG10, ATG12). In contrast, external supply of glucose, insulin or insulin-like growth factor-I could retard the cell death induced by BAY11-7082 combined with starvation. These results suggest that in MDS cells, NF-kappaB inhibition can precipitate a bioenergetic crisis that leads to an autophagic stress response followed by apoptotic cell death.
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PMID:NF-kappaB inhibition sensitizes to starvation-induced cell death in high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. 1721 4

Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in grapes and other fruit and vegetables, is a powerful chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic molecule potentially of interest for the treatment of breast cancer. The human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, which is devoid of caspase-3 activity, is refractory to apoptotic cell death after incubation with resveratrol. Here we show that resveratrol arrests cell proliferation, triggers death and decreases the number of colonies of cells that are sensitive to caspase-3-dependent apoptosis (MCF-7 casp-3) and also those that are unresponsive to it (MCF-7vc). We demonstrate that resveratrol (i) acts via multiple pathways to trigger cell death, (ii) induces caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death in MCF-7 casp-3 cells, (iii) induces only caspase-independent cell death in MCF-7vc cells and (iv) stimulates macroautophagy. Using BECN1 and hVPS34 (human vacuolar protein sorting 34) small interfering RNAs, we demonstrate that resveratrol activates Beclin 1-independent autophagy in both cell lines, whereas cell death via this uncommon form of autophagy occurs only in MCF-7vc cells. We also show that this variant form of autophagic cell death is blocked by the expression of caspase-3, but not by its enzymatic activity. In conclusion, this study reveals that non-canonical autophagy induced by resveratrol can act as a caspase-independent cell death mechanism in breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Role of non-canonical Beclin 1-independent autophagy in cell death induced by resveratrol in human breast cancer cells. 1842 1

We evaluated homeostatic mass control in non-neoplastic gastric epithelia under Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection in the macroscopically normal-appearing mucosa resected from the stomach with gastric cancer, immunohistochemically analyzing the proliferation, kinetics of stem cells and programmed cell death occurring in them. Ki67 antigen-positive proliferating cells were found dominantly in the elongated neck portion, sparsely in the fundic areas and sporadically in the stroma with chronic infiltrates. CD117 could monitor the kinetics of gastric stem cells and showed its expression in two stages of gastric epithelial differentiation, namely, in transient cells from the gastric epithelial stem cells to the foveolar and glandular cells in the neck portion and in what are apparently progenitor cells from the gastric stem cells in the stroma among the infiltrates. Most of the nuclei were positive for ssDNA in the almost normal mucosa, suggesting DNA damage. Cleaved caspase-3-positive foveolar cells were noted under the surface, suggesting the suppression of apoptosis in the surface foveolar cells. Besides such apoptosis of the foveolar cells, in the severely inflamed mucosa apoptotic cells were found in the neck portion where most of the cells were Ki67 antigen-positive proliferating cells. Beclin-1 was recognized in the cytoplasm and in a few nuclei of the fundic glandular cells, suggesting their autophagic cell death and mutated beclin-1 in the nuclei. Taken together, the direct and indirect effects of HP infection on the gastric epithelial proliferation, differentiation and programmed cell death suggested the in-situ occurrence of gastric cancer under HP infection.
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PMID:Homeostatic mass control in gastric non-neoplastic epithelia under infection of Helicobacter pylori: an immunohistochemical analysis of cell growth, stem cells and programmed cell death. 1863 10

Although apoptosis (programmed cell death type I) is more frequently reported in the literature in imatinib-treated gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) cell lines,morphological features consistent with autophagic changes aremore often encountered in surgical specimens of treated patients. Autophagy (programmed cell death type II) is highly regulated by a tumor-suppressor mechanism that mainly involves the genes beclin1, PI3KIII, and bcl2. Being our material not suitable for electron microscopy analysis (not paraformaldehyde-glutaraldehyde-fixed), we evaluated the morphological, biochemical, and immunophenotypical profiles expected to be related to autophagy and apoptosis in a series of surgically resected samples taken from 11 imatinib-treated patients with molecularly characterized GISTs. The samples were examined for imatinib-induced morphological changes, the presence/interactions of the autophagic-related proteins (beclin1, PI3KIII, bcl2, and LC3-II) and the presence of apoptosis-related proteins (caspase 3, caspase 7, and lamin A/C) by means ofWestern blot analysis and coimmunoprecipitation, complemented by immunohistochemistry. We also studied samples of two untreated GISTs used as controls. Sampling areas with different residual cellularity scores fromboth the imatinib-treated and untreated patients showed biochemical and immunohistochemical evidence of high levels of proautophagy beclin1/PI3KIII and low levels of antiautophagy beclin1/bcl2 complexes, together with the presence of LC3-II detected by Western blot analysis, thus supporting the presence of autophagy. There was no expression of cleaved/activated caspase 3 or 7 or cleaved lamin A/C. Our descriptive results support the idea that GISTs activate autophagy rather than apoptosis in response to imatinib treatment and that their molecular makeup includes fingerprints of autophagy.
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PMID:Is autophagy rather than apoptosis the regression driver in imatinib-treated gastrointestinal stromal tumors? 1904 28

Upon nutrient deprivation during culture, recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cells are subjected to two types of programmed cell death (PCD), apoptosis and autophagy. To investigate the effect of Bcl-x(L) overexpression on apoptosis and autophagy in rCHO cells, an erythropoietin (EPO)-producing rCHO cell line with regulated Bcl-x(L) overexpression (EPO-off-Bcl-x(L)) was established using the Tet-off system. The expression level of Bcl-x(L) in EPO-off-Bcl-x(L) cells was tightly regulated by doxycycline in a dose-dependent manner. Bcl-x(L) overexpression enhanced cell viability and extended culture longevity in batch culture. Upon nutrient depletion in the later stage of batch culture, Bcl-x(L) overexpression suppressed apoptosis by inhibiting the activation of caspase-3 and -7. Simultaneously, Bcl-x(L) overexpression also delayed autophagy, characterized by LC3-II accumulation. Immunoprecipitation analysis with a Flag-tagged Bcl-x(L) revealed that Bcl-x(L) interacts with Bax and Bak, essential mediators of caspase-dependent apoptosis, as well as with Beclin-1, an essential mediator of autophagy, and may inhibit their pro-cell death function. Taken together, it was found that Bcl-x(L) overexpression inhibits both apoptosis and autophagy in rCHO cell culture.
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PMID:Effect of Bcl-xL overexpression on apoptosis and autophagy in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells under nutrient-deprived condition. 1926 76

Prolonged ischemia amplified iscehemia/reperfusion (IR) induced renal apoptosis and autophagy. We hypothesize that ischemic conditioning (IC) by a briefly intermittent reperfusion during a prolonged ischemic phase may ameliorate IR induced renal dysfunction. We evaluated the antioxidant/oxidant mechanism, autophagy and apoptosis in the uninephrectomized Wistar rats subjected to sham control, 4 stages of 15-min IC (I15 x 4), 2 stages of 30-min IC (I30 x 2), and total 60-min ischema (I60) in the kidney followed by 4 or 24 hours of reperfusion. By use of ATP assay, monitoring O2-. amounts, autophagy and apoptosis analysis of rat kidneys, I60 followed by 4 hours of reperfusion decreased renal ATP and enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and proapoptotic and autophagic mechanisms, including enhanced Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, cytochrome C release, active caspase 3, poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase (PARP) degradation fragments, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) and Beclin-1 expression and subsequently tubular apoptosis and autophagy associated with elevated blood urea nitrogen and creatinine level. I30 x 2, not I15 x 4 decreased ROS production and cytochrome C release, increased Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), Copper-Zn superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) and catalase expression and provided a more efficient protection than I60 against IR induced tubular apoptosis and autophagy and blood urea nitrogen and creatinine level. We conclude that 60-min renal ischemia enhanced renal tubular oxidative stress, proapoptosis and autophagy in the rat kidneys. Two stages of 30-min ischemia with 3-min reperfusion significantly preserved renal ATP content, increased antioxidant defense mechanisms and decreased ischemia/reperfusion enhanced renal tubular oxidative stress, cytosolic cytochrome C release, proapoptosis and autophagy in rat kidneys.
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PMID:Ischemic conditioning by short periods of reperfusion attenuates renal ischemia/reperfusion induced apoptosis and autophagy in the rat. 1927 87

The binding of Bcl-2 to Beclin-1 reduces Beclin-1's capacity to induce autophagy. Here, we have tested whether the interaction is reciprocated by loss of Bcl-2's anti-apoptotic function. We targeted Bcl-2 to mitochondria or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and induced apoptosis using several apoptotic stimuli that initiate ER and/or mitochondrial signaling pathways (UV radiation, TNF and cycloheximide, staurosporine, thapsigargin and tunicamycin). When Beclin-1 and Bcl-2 were expressed together in HeLa cells, Beclin-1 (but not Beclin-1 lacking the Bcl-2-binding domain) followed Bcl-2 to the appropriate organelle with complete or near-complete overlap (comprising 60 and 30% of cells, respectively). The interaction between Beclin-1 and Bcl-2 was verified by immunoprecipitation, and a membrane-proximate localization of Beclin-1 was shown by immunoelectron microscopy. Apoptosis was followed by measuring changes in nuclear morphology, caspase-3 activity, poly-ADP-ribose polymerase cleavage or punctation of mRFP-Bax on mitochondria. Binding of Beclin-1 to Bcl-2 did not modify apoptosis irrespective of Bcl-2 concentration, location or apoptotic stimulus. A similar result was obtained in Atg5-/- cells that are autophagy-deficient, arguing against compensation for the loss of protection by Bcl-2 by autophagy-mediated survival induced by Beclin-1. Hence, although Beclin-1 contains a BH3-only motif typical of pro-apoptotic proteins, it is a negligible modulator of Bcl-2's anti-apoptotic function.
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PMID:Bcl-2 complexed with Beclin-1 maintains full anti-apoptotic function. 1939 51

The Beclin-1 protein is essential for the initiation of autophagy, and recent studies suggest this function may be compromised in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In addition, in vitro studies have supported a loss of function of Beclin-1 due to proteolytic modification by caspases. In the present study, we examined whether caspase-cleavage of Beclin-1 occurs in the AD brain by designing a site-directed caspase-cleavage antibody based upon a known cleavage site within the protein at position D149. We confirmed that Beclin-1 is an excellent substrate for caspase-3 and demonstrates cleavage led to the formation of a 35-kDa C-terminal fragment labeled by our novel antibody following Western blot analysis. Application of this antibody termed Beclin-1 caspase-cleavage product antibody or BeclinCCP in frontal cortex tissue sections revealed strong immunolabeling within astrocytes that localized with plaque regions and along blood vessels in all AD cases examined. In addition, weaker, more variable BeclinCCP labeling was also observed within neurofibrillary tangles that colocalized with the early tau conformational marker, MC-1 as well as the late tangle marker, PHF-1. Collectively, these data support a depletion of Beclin-1 in AD following caspase-cleavage. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Autophagy and protein degradation in neurological diseases."
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PMID:Depletion of Beclin-1 due to proteolytic cleavage by caspases in the Alzheimer's disease brain. 2108 Nov 64

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are common components of many chemotherapeutic regimens for lymphoid malignancies including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The BCL-2 family has an essential role in regulating GC-induced cell death. Here we show that downregulation of antiapoptotic BCL-2 family proteins, especially MCL-1, enhances GC-induced cell death. Thus we target MCL-1 by using GX15-070 (obatoclax) in ALL cells. Treatment with GX15-070 in both dexamethasone (Dex)-sensitive and -resistant ALL cells shows effective growth inhibition and cell death. GX15-070 induces caspase-3 cleavage and increases the Annexin V-positive population, which is indicative of apoptosis. Before the onset of apoptosis, GX15-070 induces LC3 conversion as well as p62 degradation, both of which are autophagic cell death markers. A pro-apoptotic molecule BAK is released from the BAK/MCL-1 complex following GX15-070 treatment. Consistently, downregulation of BAK reduces caspase-3 cleavage and cell death, but does not alter LC3 conversion. In contrast, downregulation of ATG5, an autophagy regulator, decreases LC3 conversion and cell death, but does not alter caspase-3 cleavage, suggesting that apoptosis and autophagy induced by GX15-070 are independently regulated. Downregulation of Beclin-1, which is capable of crosstalk between apoptosis and autophagy, affects GX15-070-induced cell death through apoptosis but not autophagy. Taken together, GX15-070 treatment in ALL could be an alternative regimen to overcome glucocorticoid resistance by inducing BAK-dependent apoptosis and ATG5-dependent autophagy.
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PMID:GX15-070 (obatoclax) overcomes glucocorticoid resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia through induction of apoptosis and autophagy. 2136 79

Previous data demonstrate that traumatic brain injury (TBI) activates autophagy, and increases microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) immunostaining mainly in neurons. However, the role of autophagy in traumatic brain damage remains elusive. The aim of the present study was to investigate the autophagic mechanisms participating in traumatic brain injury. The autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and bafliomycin A1 (BFA) were administered with a single i.c.v. injection before TBI. We first examined the protein levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 II, which have been found to promote autophagy previously. Immunoblotting analysis showed that 3-MA pretreatment reduced post-TBI Beclin-1 and LC3-II levels, and maintained p62/SQSTM1 (p62) levels. In addition, double immunolabeling showed that the increased punctate LC3-II dots colocalizing with Propidium Iodide (PI)-stained nuclei at 24 h after injury, were partially inhibited by 3-MA pretreatment. Furthermore, inhibition of autophagy could reduce TBI-induced cell injury assessed with i.p. injection of PI and lesion volume, and attenuate behavioral outcome evaluated by motor test and Morris water maze. The neuroprotective effects were associated with an inhibition on TBI-induced up-regulation of LC3, Beclin-1, cathepsin B, caspase-3 and the Beclin-1/Bcl-2 ratio. Taken together, these data imply that the autophagy pathway is involved in the pathophysiologic responses after TBI, and inhibition of this pathway may help attenuate traumatic damage and functional outcome deficits.
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PMID:Autophagy is involved in traumatic brain injury-induced cell death and contributes to functional outcome deficits in mice. 2146 64


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