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)

Sulfur mustard (SM) induces vesication via poorly understood pathways. The blisters that are formed result primarily from the detachment of the epidermis from the dermis at the level of the basement membrane. In addition, there is toxicity to the basal cells, although no careful study has been performed to determine the precise mode of cell death biochemically. We describe here two potential mechanisms by which SM causes basal cell death and detachment: namely, induction of terminal differentiation and apoptosis. In the presence of 100 microM SM, terminal differentiation was rapidly induced in primary human keratinocytes that included the expression of the differentiation-specific markers K1 and K10 and the cross-linking of the cornified envelope precursor protein involucrin. The expression of the attachment protein, fibronectin, was also reduced in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Features common to both differentiation and apoptosis were also induced in 100 microM SM, including the rapid induction of p53 and the reduction of Bcl-2. At higher concentrations of SM (i.e., 300 microM), formation of the characteristic nucleosome-sized DNA ladders, TUNEL-positive staining of cells, activation of the cysteine protease caspase-3/apopain, and cleavage of the death substrate poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, were observed both in vivo and in vitro. Both the differentiation and the apoptotic processes appeared to be calmodulin dependent, because the calmodulin inhibitor W-7 blocked the expression of the differentiation-specific markers, as well as the apoptotic response, in a concentration-dependent fashion. In addition, the intracellular Ca2+ chelator, BAPTA-AM, blocked the differentiation response and attenuated the apoptotic response. These results suggest a strategy for designing inhibitors of SM vesication via the Ca2+-calmodulin or caspase-3/PARP pathway.
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PMID:Sulfur mustard induces markers of terminal differentiation and apoptosis in keratinocytes via a Ca2+-calmodulin and caspase-dependent pathway. 966 88

Intact fibronectin (FN) protects cells from apoptosis. When FN is fragmented, specific domains induce proteinase expression in fibroblasts. However, it is not known whether specific domains of FN can also regulate apoptosis. We exposed fibroblasts to four recombinant FN fragments and then assayed for apoptosis using criteria of cellular shape change, condensed nuclear morphology, and DNA fragmentation. The fragments extended from the RGD-containing repeat III10 to III15; they included (V(+)) or excluded (V(-)) the alternatively spliced V region and contained either a mutated (H(-)) or an unmutated (H(+)) heparin binding domain. Only the V(+)H(-) fragment triggered decreases in pp125(FAK) levels and apoptosis, which was rescued by intact FN and inhibitors of caspase-1 and caspase-3. This apoptotic mechanism was mediated by a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, since treating cells with chondroitin sulfate or chondroitinase reversed the apoptotic cell shape changes. The alpha4 integrin receptor may also be involved, since using a blocking antibody to alpha4 alone induced apoptotic cell shape changes, whereas co-treatment with this antibody plus V(+)H(+) reversed these effects. These results demonstrate that the V and heparin binding domains of FN modulate pp125(FAK) levels and regulate apoptosis through a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan- and possibly alpha4 integrin-mediated pathway, which triggers a caspase cascade.
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PMID:Mutations in the heparin binding domain of fibronectin in cooperation with the V region induce decreases in pp125(FAK) levels plus proteoglycan-mediated apoptosis via caspases. 1052 84

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, occurs because of the activation of a protease cascade amplification circuit that includes the critical effector caspase-3. Previously, we identified the widely expressed actin modulatory protein gelsolin as a prominent substrate of caspase-3 and demonstrated that the N-terminal gelsolin cleavage product promotes apoptosis. Here we show that phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3, 4-bisphosphate in pure micelles or mixed vesicles prevent caspase-3 cleavage of gelsolin. Moreover, phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate-gelsolin strongly inhibits caspase-3 and -9 activity through the formation of a stable phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate-gelsolin-caspase complex. In addition, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate-gelsolin prevents apoptotic progression mediated by caspase-3 in a cell-free system, and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate-gelsolin-caspase-9 and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate-gelsolin-caspase-3 complexes form in mouse embryonic fibroblasts during apoptosis induction when stimulated with fibronectin, to delay cell death. The results suggest that gelsolin can act as both an effector and an inhibitor of caspase-3, the latter in concert with phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate, and other membrane phospholipids to regulate the onset and progression of apoptosis.
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PMID:Gelsolin in complex with phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate inhibits caspase-3 and -9 to retard apoptotic progression. 1066 May 24

We investigated intracellular signaling events involved in fibronectin-accelerated TNF-alpha-mediated PMN apoptosis by means of 2-D gel electrophoresis and western blotting. Proteins were sequenced with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Apoptosis was quantitated by flow cytometry. We detected a cluster of acidic, high molecular-weight proteins that were only tyrosine phosphorylated when TNF-alpha-treated PMN interacted with fibronectin. Sequence analysis revealed that one of these proteins was Ly-GDI, a regulator of Rho GTPases. Fibronectin increased the TNF-alpha-induced Ly-GDI cleavage, yielding a 23-kD fragment. At 8 h, intact Ly-GDI was decreased to 33% on fibronectin, compared with 69% on PolyHema (P<0.05). Inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation prevented phosphorylation of Ly-GDI, fibronectin-accelerated Ly-GDI cleavage, and fibronectin-accelerated apoptosis in TNF-alpha-treated PMN. We found that Ly-GDI cleavage was dependent on caspase-3 activation and that caspase-3 inhibition decreased apoptosis. We conclude that tyrosine phosphorylation of Ly-GDI, followed by increased caspase-3-mediated Ly-GDI cleavage, is a signaling event associated with accelerated TNF-alpha-mediated apoptosis on fibronectin.
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PMID:TNF-alpha-mediated neutrophil apoptosis involves Ly-GDI, a Rho GTPase regulator. 1094 73

Primary biliary cirrhosis is characterized by the immune-mediated, progressive destruction of interlobular bile ducts. Lymphoid cells migrate into the biliary epithelial layer through integrin alpha(4)/fibronectin interaction and are responsible for chronic destructive cholangitis. The bile ducts express intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and infiltrating lymphocytes express LFA1 and VLA4, facilitating their interaction. Epithelioid granulomas contain foamy cells ingesting biliary lipids, and CD1d was detectable in epithelioid granulomas, suggesting that the biliary substance(s) which are leaked is a trigger for chronic destructive cholangitis. Apoptotic biliary destruction is brought about by antigen-specific and non-specific reactions. Shrunken biliary epithelial cells with pyknotic nuclei positive for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labelling (TUNEL) may reflect apoptotic processes. Increased expression of caspase-3 and -8 with DNA fragmentation factor on the bile ducts may reflect molecular events during apoptosis, and down-regulation of Bcl-2 of biliary epithelial cells seems to facilitate apoptosis. Multiple factors, particularly the Fas system, are stimuli of apoptosis. Anoikis with decreased biliary expression of integrin 6, a ligand for laminin, may also be involved in biliary epithelial apoptosis.
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PMID:Destruction of bile ducts in primary biliary cirrhosis. 1097 14

In the Xenopus laevis embryo, the overexpression of the Xl-FLI protein, a transcription factor of the ETS family, provokes severe developmental anomalies, which affect anteroposterior and dorsoventral polarities, optic cup formation, head cartilage morphogenesis, and erythrocyte differentiation. It has been proposed that these effects could be correlated to modifications of cell adhesion properties and/or to an increased engagement of cells in the apoptotic pathway during early development (Remy et al., Int. J. Dev. Biol. 40, 577-589, 1996). To address these questions, we have first analyzed the behavior of cells overexpressing the protein in both aggregation and adhesion assays. We observe perturbations of cell-cell interactions as well as perturbations of cell adhesion and spreading on fibronectin and extracellular matrix (ECM). Second, we have analyzed apoptosis of cells overexpressing the Xl-FLI protein, by testing DNA fragmentation, caspase-3 activity and by performing TUNEL assay. We show that Xl-Fli overexpression results in the appearance of hallmarks of apoptosis, including exclusion of cells from the interior of the embryo, internucleosomal fragmentation of DNA and dose-dependent induction of caspase-3, resulting in the hydrolysis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. In addition, a dominant-negative mutation of BMPs receptors decreases the effects of Xl-Fli overexpression, suggesting that a modification of the BMP signalling could be responsible for increased apoptosis. The latter appears to affect predominantly ventral and ventrolateral regions of the embryo.
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PMID:Heterotopic expression of the Xl-Fli transcription factor during Xenopus embryogenesis: modification of cell adhesion and engagement in the apoptotic pathway. 1103 18

The mechanism by which transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) induces apoptosis of prostate epithelial cells was studied in the NRP-154 rat prostate epithelial cell line. TGF-beta 1 down-regulates expression of Bcl-xL and poly(ADP-ribosyl)polymerase (PARP), promotes cytochrome c release, up-regulates expression of latent caspase-3, and activates caspases 3 and 9. We tested the role of Bcl-xL in this cascade by stably overexpressing Bcl-xL to prevent loss by TGF-beta 1. Clones overexpressing Bcl-xL are resistant to TGF-beta 1 with respect to induction of apoptosis, cytochrome c release, activation of caspases 9 and 3, and cleavage of PARP; yet they remain sensitive to TGF-beta 1 by cell cycle arrest, induction of both fibronectin and latent caspase-3 expression, and loss of PARP expression. We show that Bcl-xL associates with Apaf-1 in NRP-154 cells; but this association does not inhibit the activation of caspases 9 and 3 by cytochrome c. Together, our data suggest that TGF-beta1 induces apoptosis through loss of Bcl-xL, leading to cytochrome c release and the subsequent activation of caspases 9 and 3. Moreover, our data demonstrate that the antiapoptotic effect of Bcl-xL occurs by inhibition of mitochondrial cytochrome c release and not through antagonizing Apaf-1-dependent processing of caspases 9 and 3.
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PMID:Bcl-xL blocks transforming growth factor-beta 1-induced apoptosis by inhibiting cytochrome c release and not by directly antagonizing Apaf-1-dependent caspase activation in prostate epithelial cells. 1132 89

Fibronectin (FN) is known to transduce signal(s) to rescue cells from detachment-induced apoptosis (anoikis) through an integrin-mediated survival pathway. However, the functions of individual FN domains have not been studied in detail. In the present study we investigated whether the interaction of the cell-binding domain of FN with integrin is sufficient to rescue rat embryo fibroblasts (REFs) from detachment-induced apoptosis. REFs attached and spread normally after plating on substrates coated with either intact FN or a FN fragment, FN120, that contains the cell-binding domain but lacks the C-terminal heparin-binding domain, HepII. REFs on FN maintained a well-spread fibroblastic shape and even proliferated in serum-free medium at 20 h after plating. In contrast, previously well-spread REFs on FN120 started losing fibroblastic shape with time and detached from FN120-coated plates after approx. 8 h. Nuclear condensation indicated apototic cell death. This was due to the decreased activity/stability of focal adhesion kinase (pp125FAK) in the absence of HepII domain. A peptide in the HepII domain [peptide V, WQPPRARI (single-letter amino acid codes)], which has previously been implicated in cytoskeletal organization, rescued apoptotic changes. Consistently, pp125FAK phosphorylation was increased, and both cleavage of pp125FAK and activation of caspase 3 on FN120 were partly blocked by peptide V. Thus the interaction of the cell-binding domain with integrin has a major role in cell survival but is itself not sufficient for cell survival. One or more additional survival signals come from the HepII domain to regulate pp125FAK activity/stability.
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PMID:Rat embryo fibroblasts require both the cell-binding and the heparin-binding domains of fibronectin for survival. 1136 82

We describe two pathways by which the vesicating agent sulfur mustard (HD) may cause basal cell death and detachment: induction of terminal differentiation and apoptosis. Following treatment of normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) with 10 or 100 microM HD, the differentiation-specific keratin pair K1/K10 was induced and the cornified envelope precursor protein, involucrin, was cross-linked by epidermal transglutaminase. Fibronectin levels were reduced in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The rapid increase in p53 and decrease in Bcl-2 levels was consistent not only with epidermal differentiation but with apoptosis as well. Further examination of biochemical markers of apoptosis following treatment of either NHEK or human papillomavirus (HPV)-immortalized keratinocytes revealed a burst of poly(ADP-ribose) synthesis, specific cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) in vivo and in vitro into characteristic 89 and 24 kDa fragments, processing of caspase-3 into its active form and the formation of DNA ladders. The intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA suppressed the differentiation markers, whereas antisense oligonucleotides and chemical inhibitors specific for calmodulin blocked both markers of differentiation and apoptosis. Modulation of p53 levels utilizing retroviral constructs expressing the E6, E7 or E6 + E7 genes of HPV-16 revealed that HD-induced apoptosis was partially p53-dependent. Finally, immortalized fibroblasts derived from PARP -/- 'knockout mice' were exquisitely sensitive to HD-induced apoptosis. These cells became HD resistant when wild-type PARP was stably expressed in these cells. These results indicate that HD exerts its effects via calmodulin, 3 and PARP-sensitive pathways.
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PMID:Calmodulin, poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase and p53 are targets for modulating the effects of sulfur mustard. 1142 42

Members of the Src family of tyrosine kinases function to phosphorylate focal adhesion (FA) proteins. To explore the overlapping functions of Src kinases, we have targeted Csk, a negative regulator of the Src family, to FA structures. Expression of FA-targeted Csk (FA-Csk) effectively reduced the active form (nonphosphorylated at the C-terminal regulatory tyrosine) of Src members in the cell. We found that fibroblasts expressing FA-Csk lost integrin-mediated adhesion. Activated Src (SrcY529F) as well as activation of putative Src signaling mediators (Fak, Cas, Crk/CrkL, C3G, and Rap1) blocked the effect of FA-Csk in a manner dependent on Rap1. SrcY529F also inhibited activated Ras-induced cell detachment but failed to rescue detachment caused by an activated mutant of Raf1 (Raf-BXB) that Rap1 cannot inhibit. Although normal spreading onto fibronectin was restored by the beta(1) integrin affinity-activating antibody TS2/16 in cells expressing FA-Csk or Raf-BXB, FAs were lost in these cells. On the other hand, Rap1 activation could restore FAs in cells expressing FA-Csk. Activation of the executioner caspase, caspase 3, is essential for many forms of apoptosis. While a caspase 3 inhibitor (Z-DEVD-FMK) inhibited cell detachment triggered by activation of caspase 8, this inhibitor had no effect on cell detachment caused by FA-Csk. Likewise, overexpression of an activated Akt made cells resistant to the effect of caspase 8 activation, but not to the effect of FA-Csk. It is therefore likely that the primary cause of cell rounding and detachment induced by FA-Csk involves dysfunction of FAs rather than caspase-mediated apoptosis that may result from possible loss of survival signals mediated by Src family kinases. We suggest that endogenous Src family kinases are essential for FAs through activation of Rap1 in fibroblasts.
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PMID:Focal adhesions require catalytic activity of Src family kinases to mediate integrin-matrix adhesion. 1180 11


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