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)

Exposure of mammalian cells to ultraviolet (UV) light elicits a cellular response and can also lead to apoptotic cell death. In this report, we show that a 36-kDa myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase detected by an in-gel kinase assay can be dramatically activated during the early stages of UV irradiation-triggered apoptosis of A431 cells. Immunoblot analysis revealed that this 36-kDa MBP kinase could be recognized by an antibody against the C-terminal regions of a family of p21Cdc42/Rac-activated kinases (PAKs). By using this antibody and a PAK2-specific antibody against the N-terminal region of PAK2 as studying tools, we further demonstrated that UV irradiation caused cleavage of PAK2 to generate a 36-kDa C-terminal catalytic fragment and a 30-kDa N-terminal fragment in A431 cells. The appearance of the 36-kDa C-terminal catalytic fragment of PAK2 matched exactly with the activation of the 36-kDa MBP kinase in A431 cells upon UV irradiation. In addition, UV irradiation also led to activation of CPP32/caspase-3, but not ICH-1L/caspase-2 and ICE/caspase-1, in A431 cells and the kinetics of activation of CPP32/caspase-3 appeared to correlate well with that of DNA fragmentation and of cleavage/activation of PAK2, respectively. Moreover, blockage of activation of CPP32/caspase-3 by pretreating the cells with two specific tetrapeptidic inhibitors for caspases (Ac-DEVD-cho and Ac-YVAD-cmk) could significantly attenuate the extent of cleavage/activation of PAK2 induced by UV irradiation. Collectively, the results demonstrate that cleavage and activation of PAK2 can be induced during the early stages of UV irradiation-triggered apoptosis and indicate the involvement of CPP32/caspase-3 in this process.
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PMID:Proteolytic cleavage and activation of PAK2 during UV irradiation-induced apoptosis in A431 cells. 971 43

Heat shock induces a stress response in mammalian cells and can also lead to apoptotic cell death. Here we report that a 36-kDa myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase detected by an in-gel kinase assay can be drastically activated in several cell types by heat shock. Immunoblot analysis revealed that this 36-kDa MBP kinase can be recognized by an antibody against the C-terminal region of a family of p21Cdc42/Rac-activated kinases (PAKs). By using this antibody and a PAK2-specific antibody against the N-terminal region of PAK2 as tools, we further demonstrated that heat shock can induce cleavage of PAK2 to generate a 36-kDa C-terminal catalytic fragment in mouse Balb/c 3T3 and human Hep 3B cells. The kinetic profile of appearance of the 36-kDa C-terminal catalytic fragment of PAK2 matched exactly with the activation of the 36-kDa MBP kinase in these cells induced by heat shock. In addition, the heat shock-induced cleavage and activation of PAK2 was found to be closely associated with both DNA fragmentation and activation of an ICE/CED-3 family cysteine protease termed caspase-3 in heat shock-treated Hep 3B cells. Moreover, blockage of the activation of caspase-3 by pretreating the cells with two specific tetrapeptidic inhibitors of caspases (Ac-DEVD-cho and Ac-YVAD-cmk) could substantially diminish the extent of heat shock-induced cleavage/activation of PAK2. Overall, our results point out that PAK2 is cleaved and activated during the heat shock-induced apoptotic cell death process and suggest that caspase-3 is involved in this process.
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PMID:Heat shock stress induces cleavage and activation of PAK2 in apoptotic cells. 971 44

A novel anticancer drug, cytotrienin A, isolated from Streptomyces sp., induces apoptosis (or programmed cell death) in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells within 4 h. To elucidate the mechanism of this process, we performed an in-gel kinase assay using myelin basic protein (MBP) as a substrate and found the activation of kinase with an apparent molecular mass of 36 kDa (p36 MBP kinase). The dose of cytotrienin A required to activate p36 MBP kinase was consistent with that required to induce apoptotic DNA fragmentation in HL-60 cells. This p36 MBP kinase was activated with kinetics distinct from the activation of JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase)/stress-activated protein kinase and p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase). Importantly, the p36 MBP kinase was immunologically different from MAPK superfamily molecules such as ERK1, JNK isoforms, and p38 MAPK. In addition, the p36 MBP kinase activation and apoptotic DNA fragmentation were inhibited by antioxidants such as N-acetylcysteine and reduced-form glutathione. The p36 MBP kinase activation was also observed during hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and okadaic acid-induced apoptosis. Although a specific inhibitor of caspase-3-like proteases (Ac-DEVD-CHO) or a specific inhibitor of caspase-1-like proteases (Ac-YVAD-CHO) did not block the cytotrienin A-, H2O2-, or okadaic acid-induced apoptosis, a broad specificity inhibitor of caspases (Z-Asp-CH2-DCB) strongly inhibited the apoptosis of HL-60 cells. Surprisingly, Z-Asp-CH2-DCB inhibited the activation of p36 MBP kinase induced by cytotrienin A or H2O2, but did not inhibit the activation of JNK/stress-activated protein kinase and p38 MAPK. Taken together, these results indicate that p36 MBP kinase activation is downstream of the activation of Z-Asp-CH2-DCB-sensitive caspases, and reactive oxygen species could be included in the apoptotic events. Moreover, according to the Western blotting using the antibodies against MST1/Krs2 or MST2/Krs1, it is suggested that the p36 MBP kinase is an active proteolytic product of MST1/Krs2 and MST2/Krs1, which are originally cloned by virtue of its homology to the budding yeast Ste20 kinase. Thus, the p36 MBP kinase might be a common component of the diverse signaling pathways leading to apoptosis, and controlling this p36 MBP kinase pathway might be a novel strategy for cancer chemotherapy.
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PMID:Caspase-mediated activation of a 36-kDa myelin basic protein kinase during anticancer drug-induced apoptosis. 980 95

FTY720 is a novel immunosuppressive drug derived from a metabolite from Isaria sinclairii that is known to induce apoptosis of rat splenic T cells. In this study, we examined the intracellular signaling pathway triggered by FTY720. Treatment of human Jurkat T lymphocytes with FTY720-induced apoptosis characterized by DNA fragmentation. The same treatment induced activation of protein kinases such as c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), p38/CSBP (CSAID-binding protein), and a novel 36-kDa myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase, but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Pretreatment of Jurkat cells with DEVD-CHO blocked FTY720-induced DNA fragmentation as well as the activation of p38/CSBP. However, DEVD-CHO treatment failed to inhibit FTY720-induced activation of JNK and the 36-kDa MBP kinase. We have also demonstrated that activation of the ERK signaling pathway completely suppressed the FTY720-induced apoptotic process including activation of caspase 3 and activation of JNK and the 36-kDa MBP kinase. Furthermore, transient expression of constitutively active mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase (MEK) protected the cells from FTY720-induced cell death. The effect of MEK was canceled by coexpression of a mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase, CL100. These results indicate that JNK and p38 pathways are differentially regulated during FTY720-induced apoptosis and that activation of ERK pathway alone is sufficient to cancel the FTY720-induced death signal.
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PMID:Differential activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and p38 pathways during FTY720-induced apoptosis of T lymphocytes that is suppressed by the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway. 1009 85

Fas is a well characterized apoptosis-inducing factor. One of our synthetic compounds, MT-21, induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells similar to Fas. MT-21 activated caspase-3, an important cysteine aspartic protease for apoptosis induction. MT-21 also activated c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), a member of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily that is involved in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and cell death. Moreover, MT-21 treatment resulted in the activation of a 36 kDa kinase which uses myelin basic protein (MBP) as a substrate. However, MAPK and p38 were not activated by treatment with MT-21. The 36 kDa MBP kinase was shown to be a proteolytic product derived from the Krs protein with a molecular weight of 60 kDa. The Krs protein is a Ser/Thr protein kinase whose activity is enhanced by digestion of its C-terminal regulatory domain by caspase-3. When a kinase-inactive mutant form of Krs protein was overexpressed in HL-60 cells, JNK activation and apoptosis induction by MT-21 were suppressed. Furthermore, overexpression of dominant negative c-Jun also suppressed apoptosis induction by MT-21. These findings indicate that MT-21 induces apoptosis by the activation of JNK via the Krs protein, which is activated by caspase cleavage.
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PMID:Requirement of protein kinase (Krs/MST) activation for MT-21-induced apoptosis. 1049 71

We found that antitumor drugs such as cytotrienin A, camptothecin, taxol, and 5-fluorouracil induced the activation of a 36-kDa protein kinase (p36 myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase) during apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. This p36 MBP kinase, which phosphorylates MBP in an in-gel kinase assay, results from the caspase-3-mediated proteolytic cleavage of MST/Krs protein, a mammalian Ste20-like serine/threonine kinase. Herein the correlation between cytotrienin A-induced apoptosis and the activation of MST/Krs proteins was examined in human tumor cell lines, including leukemia-, lung-, epidermoid-, cervix-, stomach-, and brain-derived cell lines. In cytotrienin A-sensitive cell lines, we observed a strong activation of p36 MBP kinase by cleavage of the C-terminal regulatory domain of full-length MST/Krs proteins by caspase-3. When the kinase-inactive mutant form of MST/Krs protein was overexpressed in cytotrienin A-sensitive HL-60 cells, the cytotrienin A-induced apoptosis was partially inhibited. Because cytotrienin A also activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase, we examined the effect of the expression of dominant negative c-Jun on cytotrienin A-induced apoptosis. The expression of dominant negative c-Jun also partially inhibited cytotrienin A-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, coexpression of kinase-inactive MST/Krs protein and dominant negative c-Jun completely suppressed cytotrienin A-induced apoptosis. These findings suggest that the proteolytic activation of MST/Krs and c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation are involved in cytotrienin A-induced apoptosis in human tumor cell lines.
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PMID:Activation of MST/Krs and c-Jun N-terminal kinases by different signaling pathways during cytotrienin A-induced apoptosis. 1072 20

The myelin-deficient (MD) rat has a point mutation in its proteolipid protein (PLP) gene that causes severe dysmyelination and oligodendrocyte cell death. Using an in vitro model, we have shown that MD oligodendrocytes initially differentiate similarly to wild-type cells, expressing galactocerebroside, 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase, and myelin basic protein. However, at the time when PLP expression would normally begin, the MD oligodendrocytes die via an apoptotic pathway involving caspase activation. The active form of caspase-3 was detected, along with the cleavage products of poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and spectrin, major targets of caspase-mediated proteolysis. A specific inhibitor of casapse-3, Ac-DEVD-CMK, reduced apoptosis in MD oligodendrocytes, but the rescued cells did not mature fully or express myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein. These results suggest that mutant PLP affects not only cell death but also oligodendrocyte differentiation.
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PMID:Caspase-3 activation in oligodendrocytes from the myelin-deficient rat. 1134 Jun 44

We have cloned a novel human GCK family kinase that has been designated as MASK (Mst3 and SOK1-related kinase). MASK is widely expressed and encodes a protein of 416 amino acid residues, with an N-terminal kinase domain and a unique C-terminal region. Like other GCK-III subfamily kinases, MASK does not activate any mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Wild type MASK, but not a form lacking the C terminus, exhibits homophilic binding in the yeast two-hybrid system and in coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Additionally, deletion of this C-terminal region of MASK leads to an increased kinase activity toward itself as well as toward an exogenous substrate, myelin basic protein. A potential caspase 3 cleavage site (DESDS) is present in the C-terminal region of MASK, and we show that MASK is cleaved in vitro by caspase 3. Finally, wild type and C-terminally truncated forms of MASK can both induce apoptosis upon overexpression in mammalian cells that is abrogated by CrmA, suggesting involvement of MASK in the apoptotic machinery in mammalian cells.
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PMID:Cloning of MASK, a novel member of the mammalian germinal center kinase III subfamily, with apoptosis-inducing properties. 1174 93

Increasing data provide support for the hypothesis that inflammatory cytokines mediate inflammation-induced injury to developing white matter. In the present study, roles of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta) in mediating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced brain injury were investigated by co-administration of LPS with IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) or TNFalpha antibody in the 5-day-old rat brain. Intracerebral injection of LPS and other agents was performed in a stereotaxic apparatus at the location of 1.0 mm posterior and 1.0 mm lateral to the bregma, and 2.0 mm deep to the skull surface at the left hemisphere. Brain injury was examined in brain sections 3 and 11 days after LPS injection. LPS-induced inflammatory responses were evidenced by great increases in TNFalpha and IL-1beta concentrations in the neonatal rat brain 6 h after LPS injection. White matter rarefaction was observed in 71% (five out of seven) of the rat brains 3 days after LPS injection and bilateral ventricle dilation was found in 71% (five out of seven) of the P8 rat brains and in 100% of the P16 rat brains (four out of four). These alterations were not found in the control rat brains. No apparent histological changes in gray matter were observed in the LPS-injected rat brains. LPS injection also resulted in injuries to oligodendrocytes (OLs) and hypomyelination, as indicated by reduced immunostaining for O4 and myelin basic protein (MBP). Increased astrogliosis, as indicated by increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunostaining, was also observed in the LPS-injected, but not the control rat brain. Co-administration of LPS with IL-1ra, but not with TNFalpha antibody, significantly attenuated LPS-induced white matter injury, as indicated by decreases in ventricle dilation, white matter rarefaction, GFAP positive staining and by improved O4 and MBP immunostaining. Co-administration of LPS with IL-1ra significantly reduced LPS-induced elevation of caspase-3 activity in the rat brain. While TNFalpha antibody had no effect on LPS-induced elevation of caspase-3 activity, co-administration of LPS with TNFalpha antibody partially, but significantly, decreased LPS-stimulated increase in IL-1beta in the neonatal rat brain. These data suggest that IL-1beta may play an important role in mediating LPS-induced brain injury and TNFalpha may have complicated, probably dual, effects in LPS-induced brain injury.
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PMID:Differential roles of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta in lipopolysaccharide-induced brain injury in the neonatal rat. 1276 91

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) markedly increases myelination and glial numbers in white matter after ischemia in near-term fetal sheep; however, it is unclear whether this is due to reduced cell loss or increased secondary proliferation. Brain injury was induced in near-term fetal sheep by 30 minutes of bilateral carotid artery occlusion. Ninety minutes after the occlusion, fetuses were given, intracerebroventricularly, either a single dose of IGF-1 (either 3 or 30 micro g), or 3 micro g followed by 3 micro g over 24 hours (3 + 3 micro g). White matter was assessed 4 days after reperfusion. Three micrograms, but not 30 micro g of IGF-1 prevented loss of oligodendrocytes and myelin basic protein density (P < 0.001) compared to the vehicle-treated ischemia controls. No additional effect was observed in the 3 + 3 micro g group. IGF-1 treatment was associated with reduced caspase-3 activation and increased glial proliferation in a similar dose-dependent manner. Caspase-3 was only expressed in oligodendrocytes that showed apoptotic morphology. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen co-localized with both oligodendrocytes and astrocytes and microglia. Thus, increased oligodendrocyte numbers after IGF-1 treatment is partly due to suppression of apoptosis, and partly to increased proliferation. In contrast, the increase in reactive glia was related only to proliferation. Speculatively, reactive glia may partly mediate IGF-1 white matter protection.
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PMID:Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 suppresses oligodendrocyte caspase-3 activation and increases glial proliferation after ischemia in near-term fetal sheep. 1279 22


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