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 molecular events involved in apoptosis induced by ionizing radiation remain unresolved. In this paper we show that the cleavage of fodrin to a 150 kDa fragment is an early proteolytic event in radiation-induced apoptosis in the Burkitts' Lymphoma cell line BL30A and requires 100 microM zVAD-fmk for inhibition. Caspases-1, -3, -6 and -7 were shown to cleave fodrin to the 150 kDa fragment in vitro and all were inhibited by 10 microM zVAD-fmk. We also show that the in vitro cleavage of fodrin by calpain is inhibited by 100 microM zVAD-fmk as was the calpain-mediated hydrolysis of casein. We demonstrate that calpain is activated within 15 min after radiation exposure, concomitant with the cleavage of fodrin to the 150 kDa fragment whereas caspase-3 is activated at 2 h correlating with the cleavage of fodrin to the 120 kDa fragment. These results support a role for calpain in the early phases of the radiation-induced apoptosis pathway, upstream of the caspases.
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PMID:Calpain activation is upstream of caspases in radiation-induced apoptosis. 989 12

Decreased susceptibility to apoptosis and impaired proliferative control are thought to be responsible for prolonged life span and accumulation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) cells. The activity of calpains (calcium-dependent, neutral proteases, active in the cells responding to signals inducing a rise of cytoplasmic Ca(++)) is involved in the regulation of apoptosis of some cell types by interaction with caspase-3. This work verifies the hypothesis of the abnormal activity of calpains and its role in reduced apoptosis of the B-CLL cells. Casein zymography, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and Western blotting were used for identification and quantification of the activity and expression of calpains in B-CLL cells and purified normal B lymphocytes. The activity and expression of mu-calpain (requiring micromolar Ca(++) for activation) are significantly higher in the leukemic than in nonmalignant cells. Contrarily, the activity and expression of m-calpain (requiring millimolar Ca(++)) as well as the expression of calpastatin (an endogenous inhibitor of calpains) are unchanged or reduced in the B-CLL lymphocytes. Correspondingly, the activity of caspase-3 is many times lower in the B-CLL cells than in normal B lymphocytes. Inhibition of overexpressed mu-calpain in living B-CLL cells in vitro results in doubling of the proportion of the cells undergoing spontaneous apoptosis. This observation suggests a possible role for calpains in longer survival of the B-CLL cells and may open new therapeutic possibilities.
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PMID:Modulation of the activity of calcium-activated neutral proteases (calpains) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) cells. 1217 3

Bid is instrumental in death receptor-mediated apoptosis where it is cleaved by caspase 8 at aspartate 60 and aspartate 75 to generate truncated Bid (tBID) forms that facilitate release of mitochondrial cytochrome c. Bid is also cleaved at these sites by caspase 3 that is activated downstream of cytochrome c release after diverse apoptotic stimuli. In this context, tBid may amplify the apoptotic process. Bid is phosphorylated in vitro by casein kinases that regulate its cleavage by caspase 8 (Desagher, S., Osen-Sand, A., Montessuit, S., Magnenat, E., Vilbois, F., Hochmann, A., Journot, L. Antonsson, A., and Martinou, J.-C. (2001) Mol. Cell 8, 601-611). Using a Bid decapeptide substrate, we observed that phosphorylation at threonine 59 inhibited cleavage by caspase 8. This was also seen when recombinant Bid (rBid) and Bid isolated from murine kidney were incubated with casein kinase II. However, there were differences in the susceptibility of rBid and isolated Bid to cleavage by caspases 3 and 8. Caspase 8 cleaved rBid to generate two C-terminal products, p15 and p13 tBid, but produced only p15 tBid from isolated Bid. Contrary to rBid, isolated Bid was resistant to cleavage by caspase 3, yet was readily cleaved within the cytosolic milieu. Our data suggest that one or more distinct cellular mechanisms regulate Bid cleavage by caspases 8 and 3 in situ.
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PMID:Post-translational modification of Bid has differential effects on its susceptibility to cleavage by caspase 8 or caspase 3. 1259 29

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is present in mammary gland, and VDR ablation is associated with accelerated glandular development during puberty. VDR is a nuclear receptor whose ligand, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)(2)D] is generated after metabolic activation of vitamin D by specific vitamin D hydroxylases. In these studies, we demonstrate that both the VDR and the vitamin D 1-alpha hydroxylase (CYP27B1), which produces 1,25-(OH)(2)D are present in mammary gland and dynamically regulated during pregnancy, lactation, and involution. Furthermore, we show that mice lacking VDR exhibit accelerated lobuloalveolar development and premature casein expression during pregnancy and delayed postlactational involution compared with mice with functional VDR. The delay in mammary gland regression after weaning of VDR knockout mice is associated with impaired apoptosis as demonstrated by reductions in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine nick-end labeling staining, caspase-3 activation and Bax induction. Under the conditions used in this study, VDR ablation was not associated with hypocalcemia, suggesting that altered mammary gland development in the absence of the VDR is not related to disturbances in calcium homeostasis. Furthermore, in the setting of normocalcemia, VDR ablation does not affect milk protein or calcium content. These studies suggest that the VDR contributes to mammary cell turnover during the reproductive cycle, and its effects may be mediated via both endocrine and autocrine signaling pathways. Unlike many mammary regulatory factors that exert transient, stage-specific effects, VDR signaling impacts on mammary gland biology during all phases of the reproductive cycle.
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PMID:Accelerated mammary gland development during pregnancy and delayed postlactational involution in vitamin D3 receptor null mice. 1517 42

In studies designed to evaluate the therapeutic window for treatment of traumatic brain injury, the caspase 3 inhibitor z-DEVD-fmk improved neurologic function and reduced lesion volumes when administered at 1 but not at 4, 8, or 24 hours after injury. Moreover, neither caspase 3 nor PARP, a caspase 3 substrate, were cleaved in injured, untreated cortex from 1 to 72 hours after injury. Few cortical neurons expressed active caspase 3 or were TUNEL positive from 6 to 24 hours after injury, and TUNEL staining was primarily Type I (necrotic). Nissl staining revealed extensive neuronal necrosis in the injured cortex from 6 to 24 hours after impact. Considered together, these data suggested that z-DEVD-fmk may reduce neuronal necrosis, so we used an in vitro model of necrotic cell death induced by maitotoxin to test this further and explore the potential mechanism(s) involved. Z-DEVD-fmk (1 nM-100 microM) significantly attenuated maitotoxin induced neuronal cell death and markedly reduced expression of the 145 kD calpain-mediated alpha-spectrin breakdown product after maitotoxin injury. Neither the 120 kD caspase-mediated alpha-spectrin cleavage product nor cathepsin B were expressed after maitotoxin injury. In a cell free assay, z-DEVD-fmk reduced hydrolysis of casein by purified calpain I. Finally, z-DEVD-fmk reduced expression of the 145 kD calpain-mediated alpha-spectrin cleavage fragment after traumatic brain injury in vivo. These data suggest that neuroprotection by z-DEVD-fmk may, in part, reflect inhibition of calpain-related necrotic cell death.
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PMID:Caspase inhibitor z-DEVD-fmk attenuates calpain and necrotic cell death in vitro and after traumatic brain injury. 1552 12

We examined the influence of sepsis on the expression and activity of the calpain and caspase systems in skeletal muscle. Sepsis was induced in rats by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Control rats were sham operated. Calpain activity was determined by measuring the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of casein and by casein zymography. The activity of the endogenous calpain inhibitor calpastatin was measured by determining the inhibitory effect on calpain activity in muscle extracts. Protein levels of mu- and m-calpain and calpastatin were determined by Western blotting, and calpastatin mRNA was measured by real-time PCR. Caspase-3 activity was determined by measuring the hydrolysis of the fluorogenic caspase-3 substrate Ac-DEVD-AMC and by determining protein and mRNA expression for caspase-3 by Western blotting and real-time PCR, respectively. In addition, the role of calpains and caspase-3 in sepsis-induced muscle protein breakdown was determined by measuring protein breakdown rates in the presence of specific inhibitors. Sepsis resulted in increased muscle calpain activity caused by reduced calpastatin activity. In contrast, caspase-3 activity, mRNA levels, and activated caspase-3 29-kDa fragment were not altered in muscle from septic rats. Sepsis-induced muscle proteolysis was blocked by the calpain inhibitor calpeptin but was not influenced by the caspase-3 inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO. The results suggest that sepsis-induced muscle wasting is associated with increased calpain activity, secondary to reduced calpastatin activity, and that caspase-3 activity is not involved in the catabolic response to sepsis.
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PMID:Sepsis stimulates calpain activity in skeletal muscle by decreasing calpastatin activity but does not activate caspase-3. 1556 79

We report that dietary modification from a soy-based diet to a casein-based diet radically improves disease indicators and cardiac function in a transgenic mouse model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. On a soy diet, males with a mutation in the alpha-myosin heavy chain gene progress to dilation and heart failure. However, males fed a casein diet no longer deteriorate to severe, dilated cardiomyopathy. Remarkably, their LV size and contractile function are preserved. Further, this diet prevents a number of pathologic indicators in males, including fibrosis, induction of beta-myosin heavy chain, inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta), and caspase-3 activation.
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PMID:Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice. 1639 97

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) has developed several strategies to evade immune defenses. We show that GBS induces macrophage (Mphi) membrane permeability defects and apoptosis, prevented by inhibition of calcium influx but not caspases. We analyze the molecular mechanisms of GBS-induced murine Mphi apoptosis. GBS causes a massive intracellular calcium increase, strictly correlated to membrane permeability defects and apoptosis onset. Calcium increase was associated with activation of calcium-dependent protease calpain, demonstrated by casein zymography, alpha-spectrin cleavage to a calpain-specific fragment, fluorogenic calpain-substrate cleavage, and inhibition of these proteolyses by calpain inhibitors targeting the calcium-binding, 3-(4-Iodophenyl)-2-mercapto-(Z)-2-propenoic acid, or active site (four different inhibitors), by calpain small-interfering-RNA (siRNA) and EGTA. GBS-induced Mphi apoptosis was inhibited by all micro- and m-calpain inhibitors used and m-calpain siRNA, but not 3-(5-Fluoro-3-indolyl)-2-mercapto-(Z)-2-propenoic acid (micro-calpain inhibitor) and micro-calpain siRNA indicating that m-calpain plays a central role in apoptosis. Calpain activation is followed by Bax and Bid cleavage, cytochrome c, apoptosis-inducing factor, and endonuclease G release from mitochondria. In GBS-induced apoptosis, cytochrome c did not induce caspase-3 and -7 activation because they and APAF-1 were degraded by calpains. Therefore, apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G seem the main mediators of the calpain-dependent but caspase-independent pathway of GBS-induced apoptosis. Proapoptotic mediator degradations do not occur with nonhemolytic GBS, not inducing Mphi apoptosis. Apoptosis was reduced by Bax siRNA and Bid siRNA suggesting Bax and Bid degradation is apoptosis correlated. This signaling pathway, different from that of most pathogens, could represent a GBS strategy to evade immune defenses.
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PMID:Group B Streptococcus induces macrophage apoptosis by calpain activation. 1675 1

Geminin has been proposed to coordinate cell cycle and differentiation events through balanced interactions with the cell cycle regulator Cdt1 and with homeobox transcription factors and chromatin remodeling activities implicated in cell fate decisions. Here we show that Geminin is cleaved in primary cells and cancer cell lines induced to undergo apoptosis by a variety of stimuli. Geminin targeting is mediated by caspase-3 both in vivo and in vitro. Two sites at the carboxyl terminus of Geminin (named C1 and C2) are cleaved by the caspase, producing truncated forms of Geminin. We provide evidence that Geminin cleavage is regulated by phosphorylation. Casein kinase II alters Geminin cleavage at site C1 in vitro, whereas mutating phosphorylation competent Ser/Thr residues proximal to site C1 affects Geminin cleavage in vivo. We show that truncated Geminin produced by cleavage at C1 can promote apoptosis. In contrast, Geminin cleaved at site C2 has lost the ability to interact with Brahma (Brm), a catalytic subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, while binding efficiently to Cdt1, indicating that targeting of Geminin during apoptosis differentially affects interactions with its binding partners.
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PMID:Geminin cleavage during apoptosis by caspase-3 alters its binding ability to the SWI/SNF subunit Brahma. 1726 82

alpha-Synuclein is a major protein component deposited in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites that is extensively phosphorylated at Ser(129), although its role in neuronal degeneration is still elusive. In this study, several apoptotic pathways were examined in alpha-synuclein-overexpressing SH-SY5Y cells. Following the treatment with rotenone, a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor, wild type alpha-synuclein-overexpressing cells demonstrated intracellular aggregations, which shared a number of features with Lewy bodies, although cells overexpressing the S129A mutant, in which phosphorylation at Ser(129) was blocked, showed few aggregations. In wild typealpha-synuclein cells treated with rotenone, the proportion of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein was about 1.6 times higher than that of untreated cells. Moreover, induction of unfolded protein response (UPR) markers was evident several hours before the induction of mitochondrial disruption and caspase-3 activation. Eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha, a member of the PERK pathway family, was remarkably activated at early phases. On the other hand, the S129A mutant failed to activate UPR. Casein kinase 2 inhibitor, which decreased alpha-synuclein phosphorylation, also reduced UPR activation. The alpha-synuclein aggregations were colocalized with a marker for the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment. Taken together, it seems plausible that alpha-synuclein toxicity is dependent on the phosphorylation at Ser(129) that induces the UPRs, possibly triggered by the disturbed endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi trafficking.
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PMID:Serine 129 phosphorylation of alpha-synuclein induces unfolded protein response-mediated cell death. 1856 15


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