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)

Recent studies have suggested that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a reactive compound formed endogenously in the breakdown of superoxide, may mediate the induction of apoptosis in various cell types in response to external stimuli. However, the role of H2O2 in the apoptotic pathway has not been clearly established. The purpose of this study was to determine if H2O2 treatment could induce apoptosis through the activation of caspases. Doses of H2O2 ranging from 10 microM to 100 microM, when added to HL-60 cells, resulted in the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) from its native 113 Kd form to a processed 89 Kd fragment, indicative of cells undergoing apoptosis. PARP was predominantly in the fragmented form when doses of 20 microM and greater were used. A time course study of changes in PARP processing in H2O2-treated cells revealed that 10 and 50 microM H2O2 required 6 and 3 h, respectively, to specifically degrade PARP, suggesting that the H2O2-induced PARP cleavage is both time and concentration dependent. Since PARP is cleaved by CPP32 (caspase-3), we next determined if H2O2 was capable of effecting changes in CPP32 activity. The caspase activity was assayed using a colorimetric substrate, DEVD-pNa. Results of these experiments showed that H2O2 increased caspase activity at 3 h, corresponding to the time of appearance of fragmented PARP. Also, CPP32 activity and PARP processing were both significantly suppressed by caspase-3 inhibitors. Taken together, these results suggest that H2O2 mediates specific cleavage of PARP and possibly apoptosis by activating caspase 3.
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PMID:Activation of caspase 3 in HL-60 cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide. 1004 34

Amplification of the MYCN gene is found in a large proportion of neuroblastoma and considered as an adverse prognostic factor. To investigate the effect of ectopic MycN expression on the susceptibility of neuroblastoma cells to cytotoxic drugs we used a human neuroblastoma cell line harboring tetracycline-controlled expression of MycN. Neither conditional expression of MycN alone nor low drug concentrations triggered apoptosis. However, when acting in concert, MycN and cytotoxic drugs efficiently induced cell death. Apoptosis depended on mitochondrial permeability transition and activation of caspases, since the mitochondrion-specific inhibitor bongkrekic acid and the caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk almost completely abrogated apoptosis. Loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and release of cytochrome c from mitochondria preceded activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3 and cleavage of PARP. CD95 expression was upregulated by treatment with cytotoxic drugs, while MycN cooperated with cytotoxic drugs to increase sensitivity to CD95-induced apoptosis and enhancing CD95-L expression. MycN overexpression and cytotoxic drugs also synergized to induce p53 and Bax protein expression, while Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) protein levels remained unchanged. Since amplification of MYCN is usually associated with a poor prognosis, these findings suggest that dysfunctions in apoptosis pathways may be a mechanism by which MycN-induced apoptosis of neuroblastoma cells is inhibited.
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PMID:MycN sensitizes neuroblastoma cells for drug-induced apoptosis. 1005 Aug 84

We have previously demonstrated that calpain is responsible for the cleavage of Bax, a proapoptotic protein, during drug-induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells (Wood, D. E., Thomas, A., Devi, L. A., Berman, Y., Beavis, R. C., Reed, J. C., and Newcomb, E. W. (1998) Oncogene 17, 1069-1078). Here we show the sequential activation of caspases and calpain during drug-induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells. Time course experiments using the topoisomerase I inhibitor 9-amino-20(S)-camptothecin revealed that cleavage of caspase-3 substrates poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the retinoblastoma protein as well as DNA fragmentation occurred several hours before calpain activation and Bax cleavage. Pretreatment with the calpain inhibitor calpeptin blocked calpain activation and Bax cleavage but did not inhibit PARP cleavage, DNA fragmentation, or 9-amino-20(S)-camptothecin-induced morphological changes and cell death. Pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-fmk) inhibited PARP cleavage, DNA fragmentation, calpain activation, and Bax cleavage and increased cell survival by 40%. Interestingly, Z-VAD-fmk-treated cells died in a caspase- and calpain-independent manner that appeared morphologically distinct from apoptosis. Our results suggest that excessive or uncontrolled calpain activity may play a role downstream of and distinct from caspases in the degradation phase of apoptosis.
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PMID:Caspase-dependent activation of calpain during drug-induced apoptosis. 1007 37

In hepatocytes the DNA repair enzyme poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) is not proteolytically cleaved during apoptosis. The reason for this was investigated using a cell-free system that consisted of isolated nuclei from hepatocytes or thymocytes and cytosolic extracts from hepatocytes or thymocytes undergoing apoptosis. It was found that liver PARP is resistant to proteolytic cleavage by the caspases present in the cytosolic extracts. Furthermore, liver PARP was not cleaved by recombinant human caspase-3. It is concluded that PARP proteolysis cannot be used as a marker for hepatocyte apoptosis.
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PMID:Liver poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase is resistant to cleavage by caspases. 1007 3

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents (NSAIA) have been shown to exert potent chemopreventive activity against colon, lung, and breast cancers. In this study, we show that at pharmacological concentrations (1 to 3 mmol/L) sodium salicylate (Na-Sal) can potently induce programmed cell death in several human myeloid leukemia cell lines, including TF-1, U937, CMK-1, HL-60, and Mo7e. TF-1 cells undergo rapid apoptosis on treatment with Na-Sal, as indicated by increased annexin V binding capacity, cpp-32 (caspase-3) activation, and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and gelsolin. In addition, the expression of MCL-1, an antiapoptotic member of the BCL-2 family, is downregulated during Na-Sal-induced cell death, whereas the expression of BCL-2, BAX, and BCL-XL is unchanged. Z-VAD, a potent caspase inhibitor, prevents the cleavage of PARP and gelsolin and rescues cells from Na-Sal-induced apoptosis. In addition, we show that Na-Sal accelerates growth factor withdrawal-induced apoptosis and synergizes with daunorubicin to induce apoptosis in TF-1 cells. Thus, our data provide a potential mechanism for the chemopreventive activity of NSAIA and suggest that salicylates may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of human leukemia.
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PMID:Sodium salicylate activates caspases and induces apoptosis of myeloid leukemia cell lines. 1009 Sep 50

The microtubule-disrupting agent colchicine is known to be neurotoxic toward certain neuronal populations including cerebellar granule cells (CGCs). In this study we investigated the involvement of cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation during colchicine-induced CGC apoptosis. Treatment of rat CGCs with 1 micrometer colchicine (for up to 24 h) caused high molecular weight DNA fragmentation and nuclear condensation. An involvement of group II caspases (which includes caspase-3) was demonstrated by the proteolytic degradation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) after 18 h exposure to colchicine. Colchicine induced a time-dependent increase in Ac-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-alpha-(4-methyl-coumaryl-7-amide) (DEVD-MCA) cleavage activity in CGCs, which was blocked with a specific, peptide-based, aldehyde inhibitor of group II caspases, i. e. DEVD-CHO. We also observed a time-dependent proteolysis of caspase-3 as judged by the appearance of p17 which is one of the subunits of active caspase-3. Activation of caspase-3 during colchicine-induced apoptosis may be mediated by cytochrome c since there was a close correlation between the time courses of cytochrome c release from the mitochondria and of caspase-3 activation. Furthermore, colchicine-induced apoptosis, as assessed by propidium iodide visualization of the nuclei, could be blocked by the caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp (O-methyl) fluoromethyl ketone.
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PMID:Cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation during colchicine-induced apoptosis of cerebellar granule cells. 1010 99

We here report involvement of caspases in NO-induced neuronal apoptosis. Our experiments were designed to elucidate how NO induces neuronal cell death using NOC18, a new type of NO donor that spontaneously releases NO alone, without enzymatic metabolization. NOC18 induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner estimated with DNA fragmentation assay, FACScan analysis, and nuclear morphology. In this study, oxyhemoglobin, an NO trapper, suppressed NOC18-triggered DNA fragmentation, indicating that NO from NOC18 is an apoptosis-inducer. An increase in caspase-3-like protease activity was observed in parallel with the induction of apoptosis, but no caspase-1-like protease activity was detected. The level of pro-caspase-2 protein, a precursor of caspase-2, was decreased dramatically. In addition, NOC18 also caused the cleavage of PARP, yielding an 85 kDa protein, a typical fragment of the caspases reaction. Oxyhemoglobin blocked the decrease in pro-caspase-2 and the cleavage of PARP by NOC18. Moreover, NO elicited the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol from mitochondria during apoptosis. These results suggest that activation of caspases by cytochrome c released from mitochondria is involved in neuronal apoptosis induced by NO.
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PMID:[Possible involvement of caspase activation in nitric oxide-induced neuronal apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells]. 1019 Jan 47

Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent endonucleases have been implicated in DNA fragmentation during apoptosis. We have demonstrated that particular nucleases of this type are inhibited by poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and suggested that subsequent cleavage of PARP by caspase-3 might release these nucleases from poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation-induced inhibition. Hence, we purified and partially sequenced such a nuclease isolated from bovine seminal plasma and identified human, rat and mouse homologs of this enzyme. The extent of sequence homology among these nucleases indicates that these four proteins are orthologous members of the family of DNase I-related enzymes. We demonstrate that the activation of the human homolog previously specified as DNAS1L3 can induce Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent DNA fragmentation in vitro and in vivo. RT-PCR analysis failed to detect DNAS1L3 mRNA in HeLa cells and nuclei isolated from these cells did not exhibit internucleosomal DNA fragmentation when incubated in the presence of Ca2+and Mg2+. However, nuclei isolated from HeLa cells that had been stably transfected with DNAS1L3 cDNA underwent such DNA fragmentation in the presence of both ions. The Ca2+ionophore ionomycin also induced internucleosomal DNA degradation in transfected but not in control HeLa cells. Transverse alternating field electrophoresis revealed that in nuclei from transfected HeLa cells, but not in those from control cells, DNA was cleaved into fragments of >1000 kb in the presence of Mg2+; addition of Ca2+in the presence of Mg2+resulted in processing of the >1000 kb fragments into 50 kb and oligonucleosomal fragments. These results demonstrate that DNAS1L3 is necessary for Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent cleavage of DNA into both oligonucleosomal and high molecular mass fragments in specific cell types.
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PMID:Role of DNAS1L3 in Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent cleavage of DNA into oligonucleosomal and high molecular mass fragments. 1019 33

Teratogen-induced cell death is a common event in the pathogenesis associated with tissues destined to be malformed. Although the importance of this cell death is recognized, little information is available concerning the biochemistry of teratogen-induced cell death. We show that three teratogens, hyperthermia, cyclophosphamide and sodium arsenite induce an increase in cell death in day 9.0 mouse embryos with concurrent induction of DNA fragmentation, activation of caspase-3 and the cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Teratogen-induced cell death is also selective, i. e., some cells within a tissue die while others survive. In addition, cells within some tissues die when exposed to teratogens while cells in other tissues are relatively resistant to teratogen-induced cell death. An example of the latter selectivity is seen in the cells of the developing heart, which are resistant to the cytotoxic potential of many teratogens. We show that the absence of cell death in the heart is accompanied by the complete lack of DNA fragmentation, activtion of caspase-3 and the cleavage of PARP.
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PMID:Teratogen-induced cell death in postimplantation mouse embryos: differential tissue sensitivity and hallmarks of apoptosis. 1020 May 14

The mechanism of cell death caused by cytokine deprivation remains largely unknown. FL5.12 cells (a murine prolymphocytic cell line), following interleukin-3 (IL-3) withdrawal, undergo a decrease in intracellular glutathione (GSH) that precedes the onset of apoptosis. In the present study, the induction of apoptosis following IL-3 withdrawal or GSH depletion with DL-buthionine-[S,R,]-sulfoximine (BSO) was examined. Both conditions caused time-dependent increases in phosphatidylserine externalization, acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining, decreases in mitochondrial membrane potential, processing and activation of caspase-3 and proteolysis of the endogenous caspase substrate poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose)polymerase (PARP). Apoptosis induced by IL-3 deprivation but not BSO also caused lamin B1 cleavage, suggesting activation of caspase-6. Despite a more profound depletion of GSH after BSO than withdrawal of IL-3, the extent of apoptosis was somewhat lower. Benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)fluoromethyl ketone (z-VAD.fmk) blocked this caspase activity and prevented cell death after BSO exposure but not after IL-3 deprivation. Following IL-3 withdrawal, the caspase inhibitors z-VAD.fmk and boc-asp(OMe)fluoromethylketone (boc-asp.fmk) prevented the cleavage and activation of caspase-3, the breakdown of lamin B1 and partially mitigated PARP degradation. However, the externalization of phosphatidylserine, the fall in mitochondrial membrane potential and subsequent apoptotic cell death still occurred. These results suggest that IL-3 withdrawal may mediate cell death by a mechanism independent of both caspase activation and the accompanying loss of GSH.
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PMID:Apoptosis in hematopoietic cells (FL5.12) caused by interleukin-3 withdrawal: relationship to caspase activity and the loss of glutathione. 1020 May 49


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