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Query: UNIPROT:Q86TM3 (cage)
 29,987 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Defects in apoptosis signaling pathways are common in cancer cells. Such defects may play an important role in tumor initiation because apoptosis normally eliminates cells with damaged DNA or dysregulated cell cycle, i.e., cells with increased malignant potential. Moreover, impaired apoptosis may enhance tumor progression and promote metastasis by enabling tumor cells to survive the transit in the bloodstream and to grow in ectopic tissue sites lacking the otherwise required survival factors. Finally, raised apoptosis threshold may have deleterious consequences by rendering cancer cells resistant to various forms of therapy. The intensive apoptosis research during the past decade has resulted in the identification of several proteins which may promote tumorigenesis by inhibiting apoptosis. Of special relevance in human cancer are those commonly expressed in primary tumors and functioning at the common part of the signaling pathway leading to apoptosis. Proteins fulfilling these criteria include antiapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 protein family, heat shock proteins, Hsp70 and Hsp27, as well as survivin, the novel cancer-associated member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of action of these proteins may offer novel modes of rationally and selectively manipulating the sensitivity of cancer cells to therapy.
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PMID:Escaping cell death: survival proteins in cancer. 1009 11

Part 2 of this review discusses DNA damage in biliary epithelial cells in the development of cholangiocarcinoma, alterations in cell kinetics of biliary epithelial cells, biliary epithelial mitoinhibition, and apoptosis that includes the role of Bcl-2, transforming growth factor-beta, telomerase activities and deregulation of Ras and p53, cancer-associated antigens in cholangiocarcinoma, precancerous lesions, stroma formation and angiogenesis, cancer invasion, cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, and the mechanism of evasion from immune surveillance. These discussions are followed briefly by treatments such as photodynamic therapy, and surgical approaches comparing resection and liver transplantation.
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PMID:Cholangiocarcinoma: recent progress. Part 2: molecular pathology and treatment. 1220 64

We previously reported that prostate derived Ets transcription factor (PDEF) is a breast tumor-associated molecule. To obtain further insights into PDEF expression in other human tumor types, a cDNA library database from human adult normal and tumor tissues was compiled and searched for PDEF distribution. The results showed that PDEF is present at relative higher frequencies in the cDNA libraries from brain, breast, lung and ovarian tumors in comparison to those from the corresponding normal tissues. RT/PCR analysis of PDEF expression in ovarian tumors confirmed that PDEF is expressed in 36 out of 51 (71%) ovarian tumors. Further comparison of the distribution of PDEF with other widely recognized cancer-associated molecules showed that PDEF has more restricted distributions than Her-2/neu, Bcl-2, survivin or telomerase in cDNA libraries from normal human tissues and more increased distribution than Her-2/neu, CA-125, Bcl-2, survivin and telomerase in cDNA libraries from brain (except survivin), breast, lung and ovarian tumors. These data together show a better tumor-association for PDEF and suggest that PDEF is a more suitable target for developing specific cancer therapies.
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PMID:Prostate derived Ets transcription factor shows better tumor-association than other cancer-associated molecules. 1471 83

Various chemotherapeutic agents have been shown to sensitize cancer cells to members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family. However, it is unclear whether sensitization by chemotherapeutic agents involves the transcriptional regulation of apoptosis-related genes. In this study, we investigated mRNA regulation of TNF family receptors and Bcl-2 family members after treating the murine colon cancer cell line, CT26, with various apoptosis inducers. We found that treatment with cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, remarkably increased CD40 mRNA levels by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Other protein synthesis inhibitors, such as anisomycin and emetine, also enhanced CD40 mRNA expression, which was significantly blocked by a NF-kappaB antagonist and a p38 MAP kinase antagonist. After treatment with cycloheximide, and further cultivation in fresh medium, CD40 protein levels were found to increase by flow cytometry. Additionally, we found that cycloheximide treatment appeared to downregulate the Bcl-xL mRNA level but not the Bax mRNA level by RNase protection assay. Because the upregulation of CD40 mRNA and the downregulation of Bcl-xL correlated with CT26 cell death, our results suggest that chemotherapeutic agents, including cycloheximide, may exert their synergistic effects on the TNF family treatment of cancer cells by regulating the mRNA levels of apoptosis-related genes.
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PMID:Transcriptional regulation of TNF family receptors and Bcl-2 family by chemotherapeutic agents in murine CT26 cells. 1474 99

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common form of sudden death in young competitive athletes. However, exercise has also been shown to be beneficial in the setting of other cardiac diseases. We examined the ability of voluntary exercise to prevent or reverse the phenotypes of a murine model of HCM harboring a mutant myosin heavy chain (MyHC). No differences in voluntary cage wheel performance between nontransgenic (NTG) and HCM male mice were seen. Exercise prevented fibrosis, myocyte disarray, and induction of "hypertrophic" markers including NFAT activity when initiated before established HCM pathology. If initiated in older HCM animals with documented disease, exercise reversed myocyte disarray (but not fibrosis) and "hypertrophic" marker induction. In addition, exercise returned the increased levels of phosphorylated GSK-3beta to those of NTG and decreased levels of phosphorylated CREB in HCM mice to normal levels. Exercise in HCM mice also favorably impacted components of the apoptotic signaling pathway, including Bcl-2 (an inhibitor of apoptosis) and procaspase-9 (an effector of apoptosis) expression, and caspase-3 activity. Remarkably, there were no differences in mortality between exercised NTG and HCM mice. Thus, not only was exercise not harmful but also it was able to prevent and even reverse established cardiac disease phenotypes in this HCM model.
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PMID:Exercise can prevent and reverse the severity of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 1651 74

Tetraploidy can result in cancer-associated aneuploidy. As shown here, freshly generated tetraploid cells arising due to mitotic slippage or failed cytokinesis are prone to undergo Bax-dependent mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and subsequent apoptosis. Knockout of Bax or overexpression of Bcl-2 facilitated the survival of tetraploid cells at least as efficiently as the p53 or p21 knockout. When tetraploid cells were derived from diploid p53 and Bax-proficient precursors, such cells exhibited an enhanced transcription of p53 target genes. Tetraploid cells exhibited an enhanced rate of spontaneous apoptosis that could be suppressed by inhibition of p53 or by knockdown of proapoptotic p53 target genes such as BBC3/Puma, GADD45A and ferredoxin reductase. Unexpectedly, tetraploid cells were more resistant to DNA damaging agents (cisplatin, oxaliplatin and camptothecin) than their diploid counterparts, and this difference disappeared upon inhibition of p53 or knockdown of p53-inducible ribonucleotide reductase. Tetraploid cells were also more resistant against UVC and gamma-irradiation. These data indicate the existence of p53-dependent alterations in apoptosis regulation in tetraploid cells.
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PMID:Apoptosis regulation in tetraploid cancer cells. 1667 48

BHRF1, an early gene product of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), is structurally and functionally homologous to Bcl-2, a cellular anti-apoptotic protein. BHRF1 has been shown to protect cells from apoptosis induced by numerous external stimuli. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is an epithelial cancer associated closely with EBV infection. Specific proteins that might interact with and modulate the BHRF1 anti-apoptotic activity in normal epithelial cells are of interest. Therefore, a cDNA library derived from normal human foreskin keratinocytes was screened by the yeast two-hybrid system and a cellular gene encoding human vaccinia virus B1R kinase-related kinase 2 (VRK2) was isolated. Interaction between the cellular VRK2 and viral BHRF1 proteins was further demonstrated by glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays, confocal laser-scanning microscopy and co-immunoprecipitation. Analyses of VRK2-deletion mutants revealed that a 108 aa fragment at the C terminus was important for VRK2 to interact with BHRF1. For BHRF1, aa 1-18 and 89-142 were crucial in interacting with VRK2 and these two regions are counterparts of Bcl-2 homology domains 4 and 1. Overexpressed VRK2 alone showed a modest effect in anti-apoptosis and appeared to enhance cell survival in the presence of BHRF1. However, this enhancement was not observed when VRK2 was co-expressed with Bcl-2. The results indicate that human VRK2 interacts specifically with EBV BHRF1 and that the interaction is involved in protecting cells from apoptosis.
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PMID:Human cellular protein VRK2 interacts specifically with Epstein-Barr virus BHRF1, a homologue of Bcl-2, and enhances cell survival. 1696 44

Several tumor immunotherapy approaches result in a low percentage of durable responses in selected cancers. We hypothesized that the insensitivity of cancer cells to immunotherapy may be related to an anti-apoptotic cancer cell milieu, which could be pharmacologically reverted through the inhibition of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins in cancer cells. ABT-737, a small molecule inhibitor of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-w and Bcl-x(L), was tested for the ability to increase antitumor immune responses in two tumor immunotherapy animal models. The addition of systemic therapy with ABT-737 to the immunization of BALB/c mice with tumor antigen peptide-pulsed dendritic cells (DC) resulted in a significant delay in CT26 murine colon carcinoma tumor growth and improvement in survival. However, the addition of ABT-737 to either a vaccine strategy involving priming with TRP-2 melanoma antigen peptide-pulsed DC and boosting with recombinant Listeria monocytogenes expressing the same melanoma antigen, or the adoptive transfer of TCR transgenic cells, did not result in superior antitumor activity against B16 murine melanoma. In vitro studies failed to demonstrate increased cytotoxic lytic activity when testing the combination of ABT-737 with lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells, or the death receptor agonists Fas, TRAIL-ligand or TNF-alpha against the CT26 and B16 cell lines. In conclusion, the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-737 sensitized cancer cells to the antitumor effect of antigen-specific immunotherapy in a vaccine model for the CT26 colon carcinoma in vivo but not in two immunotherapy strategies against B16 melanoma.
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PMID:Immunosensitization with a Bcl-2 small molecule inhibitor. 1880 35

Bcl-2 can be converted into a proapoptotic molecule by nuclear receptor Nur77. However, the development of Bcl-2 converters as anticancer therapeutics has not been explored. Here we report the identification of a Nur77-derived Bcl-2-converting peptide with 9 amino acids (NuBCP-9) and its enantiomer, which induce apoptosis of cancer cells in vitro and in animals. The apoptotic effect of NuBCPs and their activation of Bax are not inhibited but rather potentiated by Bcl-2. NuBCP-9 and its enantiomer bind to the Bcl-2 loop, which shares the characteristics of structurally adaptable regions with many cancer-associated and signaling proteins. NuBCP-9s act as molecular switches to dislodge the Bcl-2 BH4 domain, exposing its BH3 domain, which in turn blocks the activity of antiapoptotic Bcl-X(L).
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PMID:A short Nur77-derived peptide converts Bcl-2 from a protector to a killer. 1883 31

Peroxiredoxin II, a cytosolic isoform of the antioxidant enzyme family, has been implicated in cancer-associated cell death and apoptosis, but its functional role in the heart remains to be elucidated. Interestingly, the expression levels of peroxiredoxin II were decreased in mouse hearts upon ischemia-reperfusion, while they were elevated in two genetically modified hyperdynamic hearts with phospholamban ablation or protein phosphatase 1 inhibitor 1 overexpression. To delineate the functional significance of altered peroxiredoxin II expression, adenoviruses encoding sense or antisense peroxiredoxin II were generated; cardiomyocytes were infected, and then subjected to H(2)O(2) treatment to mimic oxidative stress-induced cell death and apoptosis. H(2)O(2) stimulation resulted in a significant decrease of endogenous peroxiredoxin II expression, along with reduced cell viability in control cells. However, overexpression of peroxiredoxin II significantly protected from H(2)O(2)-induced apoptosis and necrosis, while downregulation of this enzyme promoted the detrimental effects of oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes. The beneficial effects of peroxiredoxin II were associated with increased Bcl-2 expression, decreased expression of Bax and attenuated activity of caspases 3, 9 and 12. Furthermore, there were no significant alterations in the expression levels of the other five isoforms of peroxiredoxin, as well as active catalase or glutathione peroxidase-1 after ischemia-reperfusion or H(2)O(2) treatment. These findings suggest that peroxiredoxin II may be a unique antioxidant in the cardiac system and may represent a potential target for cardiac protection from oxidative stress-induced injury.
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PMID:Protection of peroxiredoxin II on oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocyte death and apoptosis. 1903 Sep 11


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