Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P42574 (caspase-3)
45,978 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Tyrosine kinase oncoproteins cause simultaneous activation of multiple intracellular signaling pathways. However, the precise mechanisms by which individual pathways induce oncogenesis are not well understood. We have investigated the roles of individual signaling pathways in v-Src-dependent cell growth and survival by inhibiting one particular pathway. v-Src induced constitutive activation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and Ras in murine Ba/F3 cells and led to factor-independent proliferation. Dominant-negative mutants of STAT3 (STAT3D) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (Deltap85) inhibited v-Src-dependent growth by approximately 60 and approximately 40%, respectively. Moreover, dominant-negative Ras (N17) induced severe apoptosis, which was accompanied by down-regulation of Bcl-2 and activation of caspase-3. Although cells overexpressing Bcl-2 or caspase-3 inhibitors remained viable even when N17 was expressed, the growth was reduced by approximately 85%. During N17- and STAT3D-induced growth suppression, expression of cyclin D2, cyclin D3, c-myc, and c-fos was suppressed by N17, whereas that of cyclin D2, cyclin E, and c-myc was suppressed by STAT3D. Thus, v-Src-activated Ras and STAT3 are involved in distinct but partly overlapping transcriptional regulation of cell cycle regulatory molecules. These results suggest that the full oncogenic activity of v-Src requires simultaneous activation of multiple signalings, in which Ras is particularly required for survival.
...
PMID:Full oncogenic activities of v-Src are mediated by multiple signaling pathways. Ras as an essential mediator for cell survival. 1091 73

Peripheral negative selection of cycling T cells after TCR engagement and deletion of activated T cells after an immune response occur by an apoptotic process termed activation-induced cell death (AICD). The cross-linking of TCR-CD3 complex with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody led to significant apoptotic cell death in peripheral blood T cells. To further define cell cycle restriction points for triggering AICD in T cells, we evaluated the association between cell cycle progression and death signal transduction. Simultaneous DNA / RNA quantification analysis revealed that T cells entering G1A phase of the cell cycle may acquire sensitivity to AICD. The activation of caspase-3 was induced when T cells entered G1A phase. Up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk4 and Cdk6) and cyclin D3 was initiated in TCR-stimulated T cells entering G1A phase and expression of these markers steadily increased as T cells progressed from G1A into G1B phase. Interestingly, caspase-3 inhibitors could inhibit the up-regulation of these G1 cell cycle regulators and induce G0 / G1A arrest as well as the inhibition of AICD. On the basis of these results, AICD signals are most likely transduced into TCR-stimulated T cells entering G1A phase. T cells that fail to progress from G1A into G1B phase undergo AICD.
...
PMID:Activation-induced T cell death occurs at G1A phase of the cell cycle. 1109 49

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) is well known for its cytotoxic effect on malignant cells. Its role in cell cycle control is relatively less known. In this study, we found that TNF induced G(1) arrest of TF-1 and MV4-11 cells while simultaneously causing apoptosis. Treatment of the cells with TNF for 48 h caused cell cycle arrest, accompanied by dephosphorylation of pRb and reduction in D-type cyclin expression. The down-regulation of the D-type cyclins resulted in approximately 50-80% decrease of the cyclin-dependent kinase activities. Cells treated with calpain-dependent inhibitor ALLN and apoptosis inhibitor zVAD-FMK suppressed degradation of IkappaBalpha and activation of caspase 3, respectively. However, treatment of cells with these two inhibitors was not able to prevent TNF-induced down-regulation of the D-type cyclins. In contrast, proteasome inhibitor MG-132 and lactacystin blocked both TNF-induced degradation of IkappaBalpha and down-regulation of D-type cyclins. These data suggest that down-regulation of D-type cyclins by TNF may be proteasome-proteolysis dependent. Additional support for this conclusion was obtained from experiments showing an increase of proteasome activity in TNF-treated cells and in vitro degradation of cyclin D3 by 26 S proteasome.
...
PMID:Ubiquitin/proteasome-dependent degradation of D-type cyclins is linked to tumor necrosis factor-induced cell cycle arrest. 1186 73

IL-12 is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays an important role in innate and adaptive immunity. IL-12 induces T cell proliferation and IFN-gamma secretion from activated T cells. It was also reported that IL-12 prevents apoptosis of CD4(+) T cells. However, the signaling mechanism that regulates these IL-12-induced responses is poorly understood yet. In this study, we demonstrated that IL-12 activates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway in murine CD4(+) T cells, and that this signaling pathway is required for IL-12-induced T cell proliferation and antiapoptotic function, but not for IFN-gamma induction. Through PI3K/Akt pathway, IL-12 up-regulates the expression of cell cycle-related molecule such as cyclin D3, and antiapoptotic molecules such as Bcl-2 and cellular inhibitors of apoptosis proteins-2, followed by down-regulation of active caspase-3. These results suggest that PI3K/Akt pathway is critical for mediating IL-12-induced CD4(+) T cell responses such as T cell proliferation and survival.
...
PMID:IL-12 provides proliferation and survival signals to murine CD4+ T cells through phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway. 1224 55

The majority of human neoplasms have aberrations in the retinoblastoma pathway due to hyperactivation of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK). Based on this observation, novel small molecules, such as flavopiridol and UCN-01, are being developed and are currently being tested in the clinic. Efforts to develop CDK modulators led us to the discovery of a novel class of CDK inhibitors, the paullones [Cancer Res 1999;59:2566]. Initial studies demonstrated that paullones inhibit CDKs in vitro, thereby blocking cell-cycle progression. However, the exact mechanism for the antiproliferative effects of paullones was never explored. In this report, we demonstrate for the first time that the most potent paullone, alsterpaullone (Alp), induced apoptosis and promoted loss in clonogenicity in the Jurkat cell line. Alp caused early activation of both caspase-8 and -9, leading to cleavage of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Moreover, apoptosis by Alp was not associated with loss in anti-apoptotic proteins such as XIAP or BCL-XL. Pre-incubation with cell-permeable inhibitors z-Asp(OMe)-Glu(OMe)-Val-Asp(Ome)-fluoromethylketone and benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp (OMe)-fluoromethylketone (ZVAD) blocked Alp-induced apoptosis. Moreover, the general caspase inhibitor ZVAD blocked the cleavage and activation of most caspases tested except caspase-9. Studies of mitochondrial membrane potential also demonstrated that Alp is able to disrupt mitochondrial potential in the presence of ZVAD, suggesting that the activation of caspase-9 by Alp follows mitochondrial perturbation. Pre-incubation of Jurkat cells with ZVAD did not prevent the depletion of cyclin D3, loss of CDK, or cell-cycle arrest by Alp. In summary, these experiments suggest that Alp activates caspase-9 via mitochondrial perturbation. Active caspase-9 cleaves and activates caspase-8 and caspase-3, leading to apoptosis. In the presence of the general caspase inhibitor ZVAD, the cell-cycle effects of Alp are unaltered while apoptosis is blocked, suggesting that the CDK effects of Alp are not sufficient for Alp-induced apoptosis. Additional studies with paullones are warranted to further characterize their preclinical effects and to explore their potential use in the clinical setting.
...
PMID:Alsterpaullone, a novel cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, induces apoptosis by activation of caspase-9 due to perturbation in mitochondrial membrane potential. 1266 10

DBM (dibenzoylmethane) is a minor constituent of licorice that has antimutagenic activity. However, its other biological activities are not well-known. The structurally related beta-diketones hydroxydibenzoylmethane (HDB) and hydroxymethyldibenzoylmethane (HMDB) were able to induce apoptosis in colorectal carcinoma COLO 205 cells. Thus, the effect of structurally related beta-diketones on cell viability, DNA fragmentation, and caspase activity was assessed. The potency of these compounds on these features of apoptosis were in the order of HDB > HMDB > DBM in colorectal carcinoma COLO 205 cells. Here, we found that HDB-induced apoptotic cell death was accompanied by upregulation of cyclin D3, Bax, and p21 and down-regulation of Bcl-X(L), while HDB had no effect on the levels of Bcl-2 and Bad protein. These results indicate that HDB allows caspase-activated deoxyribonuclease to enter the nucleus and degrade chromosomal DNA and induces DFF-45 degradation. It is suggested that HDB-induced apoptosis is triggered by the release of cytochrome c into cytosol, procaspase-9 processing, activation of caspase-3 and caspase-2, degradation of PARP, and DNA fragmentation caused by the caspase-activated deoxyribonuclease through the digestion of DFF-45. The induction of apoptosis by HDB may provide a pivotal mechanism for its cancer chemopreventive action.
...
PMID:Induction of apoptosis by hydroxydibenzoylmethane through coordinative modulation of cyclin D3, Bcl-X(L), and Bax, release of cytochrome c, and sequential activation of caspases in human colorectal carcinoma cells. 1282 33

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), normally activated by Janus kinase (JAK) in response to cytokine stimulation, has been shown to have oncogenic potential. In addition to JAK, recent data suggest that STAT3 can also be activated by other proteins such as the aberrant fusion protein, NPM-ALK, which is expressed in a subset of systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). In this study, we investigated the possible role of JAK in activating STAT3 in ALCL using two ALK-positive ALCL cell lines, Karpas 299 and SU-DHL-1. At the steady state, JAK3 showed detectable tyrosine phosphorylation by immunoprecipitation. Treatment with AG490, a JAK inhibitor, decreased but did not completely abrogate tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK3 and STAT3 in a concentration-dependent manner. Similar results were obtained using two other inhibitors of JAK3, WHI-P131 and WHI-P154. These biochemical changes were associated with apoptosis in both cell lines that was coupled with activation of caspase 3 and decreased bcl-xL and bcl-2. Cell cycle analysis revealed a decrease in the S phase, which may be attributed to cyclin D3 downregulation and p21(waf1) upregulation. Importantly, the tyrosine kinase activity of NPM-ALK, as assessed by an in vitro assay, decreased with increasing concentrations of AG490. Our findings highlight the importance of JAK3 in activating STAT3 in ALCL, and that NPM-ALK-mediated activation of STAT3 is influenced by the functional status of JAK3.
...
PMID:Inhibition of JAK3 induces apoptosis and decreases anaplastic lymphoma kinase activity in anaplastic large cell lymphoma. 1293 99

Completion of the human genome project has focused scientific attention on the development of methods that permit rapid characterization of proteins that are encoded by the genome. Recent improvements in two-dimensional separation techniques in combination with protein identification software/databases and mass spectrometry (MS) now permit rapid comprehensive large-scale analysis of individual proteins within complex protein mixtures. We have performed pairwise comparisons of low-grade and transformed follicular lymphomas (FLs) in order to identify proteins that may be involved in FL progression using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometer (ProteinChip, Ciphergen Biosystems). This system utilizes preactivated differential binding surfaces to achieve multidimensional chromatography. The protein-bound chips were then analyzed by a SELDI-TOF mass spectrometer to generate protein profiles. In preliminary experiments, we established that the MS data obtained from SELDI-TOF MS were reproducible, and that reduction in sample complexity improved the ability to detect lower abundance proteins. With specific regard to FL transformation, we rapidly identified a number of potential candidate proteins involved in this process. These included an upregulated 32 kDa protein and a down-regulated 11.8 kDa protein. Protein database searches revealed several candidates, among them cyclin D3 (32.5 kDa) and caspase 3 (11.8 kDa) whose differential expression were confirmed by immunoblotting and/or immunohistochemical analysis on the primary tissue specimens. Our studies demonstrate the utility of SELDI-TOF-MS for the rapid discovery of differentially expressed proteins using femtomolar quantities of crude protein derived from biopsy material. The versatility of this methodology supports its application to the rapid discovery of potential biomarkers in a variety of cellular systems.
...
PMID:Application of SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry for the identification of differentially expressed proteins in transformed follicular lymphoma. 1509 7

Nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM-ALK) is an aberrant fusion gene product expressed in a subset of cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). It has been shown that NPM-ALK binds to and activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in vitro, and that STAT3 is constitutively active in ALK(+) ALCL cell lines and tumors. In view of the oncogenic potential of STAT3, we further examined its biological significance in ALCL using two ALK(+) ALCL cell lines (Karpas 299 and SU-DHL-1) and an adenoviral vector that carries dominant-negative STAT3 (AdSTAT3DN). Infection by AdSTAT3DN led to the expression of STAT3DN in both ALK(+) ALCL cell lines at a similar efficiency. Subcellular fractionation studies showed that a significant proportion of the expressed STAT3DN protein translocated to the nucleus, despite the fact that STAT3DN has a mutation at residue 705(tyrosine --> phenylalanine), a site that is believed to be crucial for STAT3 activation and nuclear translocation. Introduction of STAT3DN induced apoptosis and G(1) cell cycle arrest. Western blot studies showed that expression of STAT3DN resulted in caspase-3 cleavage, downregulation of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, cyclin D3, survivin, Mcl-1, c-Myc and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3. These results support the concept that STAT3 activation is pathogenetically important in ALCL cells by deregulating the expression of multiple target proteins that are involved in the control of apoptosis and cell cycle progression.
...
PMID:Selective inhibition of STAT3 induces apoptosis and G(1) cell cycle arrest in ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma. 1518 87

Familial breast cancers that are associated with BRCA1 or BRCA2 germline mutations differ in both their morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics. To further characterize the molecular difference between genotypes, the authors evaluated the expression of 37 immunohistochemical markers in a tissue microarray (TMA) containing cores from 20 BRCA1, 14 BRCA2, and 59 sporadic age-matched breast carcinomas. Markers analyzed included, amog others, common markers in breast cancer, such as hormone receptors, p53 and HER2, along with 15 molecules involved in cell cycle regulation, such as cyclins, cyclin dependent kinases (CDK) and CDK inhibitors (CDKI), apoptosis markers, such as BCL2 and active caspase 3, and two basal/myoepithelial markers (CK 5/6 and P-cadherin). In addition, we analyzed the amplification of CCND1, CCNE, HER2 and MYC by FISH. Unsupervised cluster data analysis of both hereditary and sporadic cases using the complete set of immunohistochemical markers demonstrated that most BRCA1-associated carcinomas grouped in a branch of ER-, HER2-negative tumors that expressed basal cell markers and/or p53 and had higher expression of activated caspase 3. The cell cycle proteins associated with these tumors were E2F6, cyclins A, B1 and E, SKP2 and Topo IIalpha. In contrast, most BRCA2-associated carcinomas grouped in a branch composed by ER/PR/BCL2-positive tumors with a higher expression of the cell cycle proteins cyclin D1, cyclin D3, p27, p16, p21, CDK4, CDK2 and CDK1. In conclusion, our study in hereditary breast cancer tumors analyzing 37 immunohistochemical markers, define the molecular differences between BRCA1 and BRCA2 tumors with respect to hormonal receptors, cell cycle, apoptosis and basal cell markers.
...
PMID:Phenotypic characterization of BRCA1 and BRCA2 tumors based in a tissue microarray study with 37 immunohistochemical markers. 1577 May 21


1 2 3 4 Next >>