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Dhage PA, Sharbidre AA, Magdum SM. Interlacing the relevance of caspase activation in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Brain Res Bull 2023; 192:83-92. [PMID: 36372374 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Caspases, a family of cysteine proteases is a renowned regulator of apoptosis. Members of this family are responsible for the proteolytic dismantling of numerous cellular structures. Apart from apoptosis, caspases remarkably contribute to a diverse range of molecular processes. Being the imperative members of several cellular cascades their abnormal activation/deactivation has severe implications and also leads to various diseased conditions. Similar aberrant activation of caspases is one of the several causes of neuropathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), a form of dementia severely affecting neuropsychiatric and cognitive functions. Emerging studies are providing deeper insights into the mechanisms of caspase action in the progression of AD. Current article is an attempt to review these studies and present the action mechanisms of different mammalian caspases in the advancement of AD associated neuropathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prajakta A Dhage
- Department of Zoology, K.R.T. Arts, B.H. Commerce and A.M. Science College (KTHM College), Nashik 422002, MS, India.
| | - Archana A Sharbidre
- Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, MS, India.
| | - Sujata M Magdum
- Department of Zoology, K.R.T. Arts, B.H. Commerce and A.M. Science College (KTHM College), Nashik 422002, MS, India.
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Caspase-2 is a mediator of apoptotic signaling in response to gemtuzumab ozogamicin in acute myeloid leukemia. Cell Death Dis 2022; 8:284. [PMID: 35690610 PMCID: PMC9188552 DOI: 10.1038/s41420-022-01071-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The antibody conjugate gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO; Mylotarg®) provides targeted therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with recent approvals for patients with CD33-positive disease at diagnosis or relapse, as monotherapy or combined with chemotherapeutics. While its clinical efficacy is well documented, the molecular routes by which GO induces AML cell death warrant further analyses. We have earlier reported that this process is initiated via mitochondria-mediated caspase activation. Here we provide additional data, focusing on the involvement of caspase-2 in this mechanism. We show that this enzyme plays an important role in triggering apoptotic death of human AML cells after exposure to GO or its active moiety calicheamicin. Accordingly, the caspase-2 inhibitor z-VDVAD-fmk reduced GO-induced caspase-3 activation. This finding was validated with shRNA and siRNA targeting caspase-2, resulting in reduced caspase-3 activation and cleavage of poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1). We previously demonstrated that GO-induced apoptosis included a conformational change of Bax into a pro-apoptotic state. Present data reveal that GO-treatment also induced Bid cleavage, which was partially reduced by caspase-2 specific inhibition while the effect on GO-induced Bax conformational change remained unaltered. In mononuclear cells isolated from AML patients that responded to GO treatment in vitro, processing of caspase-2 was evident, whereas in cells from an AML patient refractory to treatment no such processing was seen. When assessing diagnostic samples from 22 AML patients, who all entered complete remission (CR) following anthracycline-based induction therapy, and comparing patients with long versus those with short CR duration no significant differences in baseline caspase-2 or caspase-3 full-length protein expression levels were found. In summary, we demonstrate that GO triggers caspase-2 cleavage in human AML cells and that the subsequent apoptosis of these cells in part relies on caspase-2. These findings may have future clinical implications.
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BCL(X)L and BCL2 increase the metabolic fitness of breast cancer cells: a single-cell imaging study. Cell Death Differ 2021; 28:1512-1531. [PMID: 33328572 PMCID: PMC8166899 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-020-00683-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The BCL2 family of proteins regulate apoptosis by controlling mitochondrial outer membrane permeability. However, the effects on mitochondrial structure and bioenergetics have also been reported. Here we comprehensively characterized the effects of BCL2 and BCL(X)L on cellular energetics in MCF7 breast cancer cells using time-lapse confocal single-cell imaging and mitochondrial and cytosolic FRET reporters. We found that BCL2 and BCL(X)L increase the metabolic robustness of MCF7 cells, and that this was associated with increased mitochondrial NAD(P)H and ATP levels. Experiments with the F1F0 synthase inhibitor oligomycin demonstrated that BCL2 and in particular BCL(X)L, while not affecting ATP synthase activity, more efficiently coupled the mitochondrial proton motive force with ATP production. This metabolic advantage was associated with an increased resistance to nutrient deprivation and enhanced clonogenic survival in response to metabolic stress, in the absence of profound effects on cell death. Our data suggest that a primary function of BCL(X)L and BCL2 overexpression in tumor cells is to increase their resistance to metabolic stress in the tumor microenvironment, independent of cell death signaling.
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Yu HH, Qiu YX, Li B, Peng CY, Zeng R, Wang W. Kadsura heteroclita stem ethanol extract protects against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice via suppression of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2021; 267:113496. [PMID: 33091494 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Kadsura heteroclita stem (KHS) is a well-known hepatoprotective Tujia ethnomedicine (folk named Xuetong), has long been used for the prevention and treatment of hepatitis and liver diseases. AIM OF THE STUDY To explore the protective effects of KHS against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury and the underlying mechanism, particularly antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic potentials. MATERIALS AND METHODS The acute toxicity of KHS was measured by the method of maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Liver injury in mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 25% carbon tetrachloride (olive oil solubilization) 2 times every week. After modeling, mice in KHS groups were treated with KHS at 100, 200, 400 mg/kg/d, mice in positive control group were treated with bifendate (30 mg/kg/d), and mice in normal and model groups were given ultrapure water. After 4 weeks of treatment, blood of mice was taken from the orbital venous plexus before mice euthanized, the liver, spleen, and thymus of mice were weighed by dissecting the abdominal cavity after mice euthanized. Moreover, the liver of mice was selected for histological examination. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities in mice serum were measured using the automatic biochemical analyzer. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), myeloperoxidase (MPO), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPX-2), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), Bcl-2-associated X (Bax), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Caspase-3, and Caspase-8 in mice liver were measured by Elisa kits. Furthermore, the protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in mice liver tissue was detected by Western blot. RESULTS The MTD of KHS was determined to be 26 g/kg in both sexes of mice. Treatment with KHS dose-dependently protected the liver and other main organs against CCl4-induced liver injury in mice. The ALT and AST levels in mice liver were significantly reduced after treatment with KHS at the dose of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg. In addition, the liver histopathological analyses revealed that KHS markedly alleviated inflammatory cell infiltration, hepatic fibrosis, hepatocyte ballooning, necrosis and severe apoptosis of hepatocytes induced by CCl4. Further assay indicated that KHS significantly suppressed the production of MDA and MPO, while markedly increased the level of SOD and GPx-2. The TNF-α and IL-6 level in mice liver tissue were decreased by KHS, whereas the IL-10 level was increased. KHS also inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis by significantly reducing the expression of Bax, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, as well as increasing the expression of Bcl-2. Besides, the Western blot results strongly demonstrated that KHS inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis, as evidenced by reducing the expression of Bax protein and increasing the expression of Bcl-2 protein in liver injury tissues. CONCLUSIONS This research firstly clarified that KHS has a significant protective effect against CCl4-induced liver injury, which might be closely related to alleviating oxidative stress, reducing inflammatory response, and inhibiting hepatocyte apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huang-He Yu
- TCM and Ethnomedicine Innovation & Development International Laboratory, And Innovative Materia Medica Research Institute, School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, 410208, PR China
| | - Yi-Xing Qiu
- TCM and Ethnomedicine Innovation & Development International Laboratory, And Innovative Materia Medica Research Institute, School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, 410208, PR China
| | - Bin Li
- TCM and Ethnomedicine Innovation & Development International Laboratory, And Innovative Materia Medica Research Institute, School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, 410208, PR China
| | - Cai-Yun Peng
- TCM and Ethnomedicine Innovation & Development International Laboratory, And Innovative Materia Medica Research Institute, School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, 410208, PR China
| | - Rong Zeng
- TCM and Ethnomedicine Innovation & Development International Laboratory, And Innovative Materia Medica Research Institute, School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, 410208, PR China.
| | - Wei Wang
- TCM and Ethnomedicine Innovation & Development International Laboratory, And Innovative Materia Medica Research Institute, School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, 410208, PR China.
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Lucantoni F, Düssmann H, Llorente-Folch I, Prehn JHM. BCL2 and BCL(X)L selective inhibitors decrease mitochondrial ATP production in breast cancer cells and are synthetically lethal when combined with 2-deoxy-D-glucose. Oncotarget 2018; 9:26046-26063. [PMID: 29899841 PMCID: PMC5995245 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.25433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells display differences regarding their engagement of glycolytic vs. mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway. Triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of breast cancer, is characterized by elevated glycolysis, while estrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells rely predominantly on OXPHOS. BCL2 proteins control the process of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization during apoptosis, but also regulate cellular bioenergetics. Because BCL2 proteins are overexpressed in breast cancer and targetable by selective antagonists, we here analysed the effect of BCL2 and BCL(X)L selective inhibitors, Venetoclax and WEHI-539, on mitochondrial bioenergetics and cell death. Employing single cell imaging using a FRET-based mitochondrial ATP sensor, we found that MCF7 breast cancer cells supplied with mitochondrial substrates reduced their mitochondrial ATP production when treated with Venetoclax or WEHI-539 at concentrations that per se did not induce cell death. Treatments with lower concentrations of both inhibitors also reduced the length of the mitochondrial network and the dynamics, as evaluated by quantitative confocal microscopy. We next tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial ATP production inhibition with BCL2 or BCL(X)L antagonists was synthetically lethal when combined with glycolysis inhibition. Treatment with 2-deoxy-D-glucose in combination with Venetoclax or WEHI-539 synergistically reduced the cellular bioenergetics of ER+ and TNBC breast cancer cells and abolished their clonogenic potential. Synthetic lethality was also observed when cultures were grown in 3D spheres. Our findings demonstrate that BCL2 antagonists exert potent effects on cancer metabolism independent of cell death-inducing effects, and demonstrate a synthetic lethality when these are applied in combination with glycolysis inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Lucantoni
- Department of Physiology & Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland.,Center for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Heiko Düssmann
- Department of Physiology & Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland.,Center for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Irene Llorente-Folch
- Department of Physiology & Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland.,Center for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Jochen H M Prehn
- Department of Physiology & Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland.,Center for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Cytotoxicity and Proapoptotic Effects of Allium atroviolaceum Flower Extract by Modulating Cell Cycle Arrest and Caspase-Dependent and p53-Independent Pathway in Breast Cancer Cell Lines. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2017; 2017:1468957. [PMID: 29250124 PMCID: PMC5698829 DOI: 10.1155/2017/1468957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women and despite significant advances in therapy, it remains a critical health problem worldwide. Allium atroviolaceum is an herbaceous plant, with limited information about the therapeutic capability. We aimed to study the anticancer effect of flower extract and the mechanisms of action in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. The extract inhibits the proliferation of the cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The underlying mechanism involved the stimulation of S and G2/M phase arrest in MCF-7 and S phase arrest in MDA-MB-231 associated with decreased level of Cdk1, in a p53-independent pathway. Furthermore, the extract induces apoptosis in both cell lines, as indicated by the percentage of sub-G0 population, the morphological changes observed by phase contrast and fluorescent microscopy, and increase in Annexin-V-positive cells. The apoptosis induction was related to downregulation of Bcl-2 and also likely to be caspase-dependent. Moreover, the combination of the extract and tamoxifen exhibits synergistic effect, suggesting that it can complement current chemotherapy. LC-MS analysis displayed 17 major compounds in the extract which might be responsible for the observed effects. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential applications of Allium atroviolaceum extract as an anticancer drug for breast cancer treatment.
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Ding GC, Chen M, Wang YX, Rui C, Xu W, Ding HJ, Shi ZH. MicroRNA-128a-induced apoptosis in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cells contributes to pre-eclampsia. Biomed Pharmacother 2016; 81:63-70. [PMID: 27261578 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2016.03.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2015] [Revised: 03/26/2016] [Accepted: 03/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Pre-eclampsia (PE) can endanger the survival of the mother and fetus. Currently, the pathogenesis of PE is not completely understood and no fundamental therapeutics are available. The present study was performed to determine the function of miR-128a in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cells and to ascertain its underlying role in the pathogenesis of PE. METHODS We investigated the function of miR-128a in HTR-8/SVneo cells by overexpressing. We analyzed the apoptosis of HTR-8/SVneo cells by performing apoptosis assays and measured the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δym), the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and caspase activity. In addition, miR-128a target genes were predicted. RESULTS Using computer-based programs, we identified Bax as a direct target of miR-128a. In the apoptosis assays of HTR-8/SVneo cells, miR-128a decreased the Δψm, depleted ATP levels and increased ROS generation, cytochrome c release as well as caspase activation. Further studies showed that miR-128a induced the apoptosis of HTR-8/SVneo cells by down-regulating Bax through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. CONCLUSIONS miR-128a is an up-regulated miRNA in patient with PE. Our study demonstrated that the miR-128a-induced apoptosis of HTR-8/SVneo cells may contribute to PE and miR-128a may be a novel potential therapeutic target for PE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gui-Chun Ding
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yangzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated with Yangzhou Medical University, China
| | - Min Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated with Nanjing Medical University, China
| | - Yi-Xiong Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yangzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated with Yangzhou Medical University, China
| | - Can Rui
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated with Nanjing Medical University, China
| | - Wen Xu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yangzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated with Yangzhou Medical University, China
| | - Hong-Juan Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated with Nanjing Medical University, China.
| | - Zhong-Hua Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated with Nanjing Medical University, China.
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Abstract
Caspases are proteases that are essential components of apoptotic cell death pathways. There are approximately one dozen apoptotic caspases found in organisms where cells die via apoptosis. These caspases are responsible for initiation or execution of apoptosis through the proteolytic cleavage of specific substrates. These substrates contain specific motifs that are recognized and cleaved by caspases that result in alterations of substrate function that promotes the apoptotic phenotype. Analysis of caspase involvement, much like any other protease, can be followed using peptides corresponding to cleavage motifs of these substrates, which can be used as substrates, inhibitors, or affinity-based probes.Different caspases have different substrates and therefore different motifs are recognized by each different caspase. However, these different caspases have a common amino acid recognition pattern containing an aspartic acid residue at the amino-side of the cleavage site. Therefore, caspase substrates have a certain overlap in the cleavage motif as this aspartic acid is found in almost every one. This means that certain peptide motifs are not exclusively cleaved by one single caspase. This lack of exclusive cleavage has brought the use of these motif-based probes into question and spurred the development of truly caspase-specific motifs. This chapter describes the use of peptide-based probes to measure caspase activity while highlighting the limitations of these reagents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin P McStay
- Department of Life Sciences, New York Institute of Technology, 432 Theobald Science Center, Northern Boulevard, Old Westbury, NY, 11568, USA.
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Jacob SF, Würstle ML, Delgado ME, Rehm M. An Analysis of the Truncated Bid- and ROS-dependent Spatial Propagation of Mitochondrial Permeabilization Waves during Apoptosis. J Biol Chem 2015; 291:4603-13. [PMID: 26699404 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.689109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that is essential for the efficient elimination of surplus, damaged, and transformed cells during metazoan embryonic development and adult tissue homeostasis. Situated at the interface of apoptosis initiation and execution, mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) represents one of the most fundamental processes during apoptosis signal transduction. It was shown that MOMP can spatiotemporally propagate through cells, in particular in response to extrinsic apoptosis induction. Based on apparently contradictory experimental evidence, two distinct molecular mechanisms have been proposed to underlie the propagation of MOMP signals, namely a reaction-diffusion mechanism governed by anisotropies in the production of the MOMP-inducer truncated Bid (tBid), or a process that drives the spatial propagation of MOMP by sequential bursts of reactive oxygen species. We therefore generated mathematical models for both scenarios and performed in silico simulations of spatiotemporal MOMP signaling to identify which one of the two mechanisms is capable of qualitatively and quantitatively reproducing the existing data. We found that the explanatory power of each model was limited in that only a subset of experimental findings could be replicated. However, the integration of both models into a combined mathematical description of spatiotemporal tBid and reactive oxygen species signaling accurately reproduced all available experimental data and furthermore, provided robustness to spatial MOMP propagation when mitochondria are spatially separated. Our study therefore provides a theoretical framework that is sufficient to describe and mechanistically explain the spatiotemporal propagation of one of the most fundamental processes during apoptotic cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selma F Jacob
- From the Department of Physiology & Medical Physics and Centre for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Maximilian L Würstle
- From the Department of Physiology & Medical Physics and Centre for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - M Eugenia Delgado
- From the Department of Physiology & Medical Physics and Centre for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Markus Rehm
- From the Department of Physiology & Medical Physics and Centre for Systems Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Moghadamtousi SZ, Kadir HA, Paydar M, Rouhollahi E, Karimian H. Annona muricata leaves induced apoptosis in A549 cells through mitochondrial-mediated pathway and involvement of NF-κB. BMC COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2014; 14:299. [PMID: 25127718 PMCID: PMC4246449 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 08/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Annona muricata leaves have been reported to have antiproliferative effects against various cancer cell lines. However, the detailed mechanism has yet to be defined. The current study was designed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms of A. muricata leaves ethyl acetate extract (AMEAE) against lung cancer A549 cells. METHODS The effect of AMEAE on cell proliferation of different cell lines was analyzed by MTT assay. High content screening (HCS) was applied to investigate the suppression of NF-κB translocation, cell membrane permeability, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and cytochrome c translocation from mitochondria to cytosol. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and activation of caspase-3/7, -8 and -9 were measured while treatment. The western blot analysis also carried out to determine the protein expression of cleaved caspase-3 and -9. Flow cytometry analysis was used to determine the cell cycle distribution and phosphatidylserine externalization. Quantitative PCR analysis was performed to measure the gene expression of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins. RESULTS Cell viability analysis revealed the selective cytotoxic effect of AMEAE towards lung cancer cells, A549, with an IC50 value of 5.09 ± 0.41 μg/mL after 72 h of treatment. Significant LDH leakage and phosphatidylserine externalization were observed in AMEAE treated cells by fluorescence analysis. Treatment of A549 cells with AMEAE significantly elevated ROS formation, followed by attenuation of MMP via upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2, accompanied by cytochrome c release to the cytosol. The incubation of A549 cells with superoxide dismutase and catalase significantly attenuated the cytotoxicity caused by AMEAE, indicating that intracellular ROS plays a pivotal role in cell death. The released cytochrome c triggered the activation of caspase-9 followed by caspase-3. In addition, AMEAE-induced apoptosis was accompanied by cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Moreover, AMEAE suppressed the induced translocation of NF-κB from cytoplasm to nucleus. CONCLUSIONS Our data showed for the first time that the ethyl acetate extract of Annona muricata inhibited the proliferation of A549 cells, leading to cell cycle arrest and programmed cell death through activation of the mitochondrial-mediated signaling pathway with the involvement of the NF-kB signalling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soheil Zorofchian Moghadamtousi
- />Biomolecular Research Group, Biochemistry Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Habsah Abdul Kadir
- />Biomolecular Research Group, Biochemistry Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mohammadjavad Paydar
- />Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Elham Rouhollahi
- />Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Hamed Karimian
- />Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Song W, Hu P, Shan Y, Du M, Liu A, Ye R. Cartilage polysaccharide induces apoptosis in K562 cells through a reactive oxygen species-mediated caspase pathway. Food Funct 2014; 5:2486-93. [PMID: 25112602 DOI: 10.1039/c4fo00476k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In this study, a polysaccharide (PS) was successfully extracted from porcine cartilage and its effect on chronic myeloid leukemia was examined using human K562 cells. The results of cell proliferation assays indicated that the PS inhibited cancer cell growth at different concentrations. Morphological and biochemical changes characteristic of apoptosis were observed and confirmed by PI staining and TUNEL assay. The nuclear DNA, RNA and proteins of the cancer cells subjected to PS treatment were irreversibly destroyed by reactive oxygen species (ROS), additionally, the ROS effected on the cells directly. The apoptotic signals altered the permeability of the mitochondrial outer membrane, thereby resulted in the release of apoptotic factors into the cytoplasm that induced apoptosis. As caspase-3/7, 8 and 9 were expressed, it was speculated that both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways were involved in the PS-induced apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Song
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
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12
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Allon I, Ofir M, Vered H, Hirshberg A. Metallothionein, a marker of antiapoptosis, is associated with clinical forms of oral lichen planus. J Oral Pathol Med 2014; 43:728-33. [PMID: 24931220 DOI: 10.1111/jop.12188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the expression of anti- and proapoptosis markers, metallothionein (MT), and caspase-2, in the epithelial and inflammatory cells of oral lichen planus (OLP) patients, and to investigate the association with clinical parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS Included were biopsies of 70 OLP patients. The clinical data were collected from patients' charts. The expression of MT and caspase-2 was immunomorphometrically analyzed in the epithelial and inflammatory cells, and the results were correlated with the clinical presentation. RESULTS The epithelial and inflammatory cells expressed MT (10.2 ± 5.75 and 0.68 ± 0.86) and caspase-2 (1.54 ± 2.6 and 0.98 ± 1.15) which show a trend toward an inverse expression. The expression of MT in the epithelium was significantly higher in patients presenting with keratotic lichen planus than in patients with the atrophic and erosive forms (P = 0.0008). In the inflammatory cells, the expression of MT was inversely correlated with increasing age (R = 0.34, P = 0.0069). CONCLUSIONS The pattern of expression of MT and caspase-2 in OLP suggests an extensive antiapoptotic response in the keratotic form of the disease. Symptomatic patients may benefit from therapy targeted to apoptosis in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irit Allon
- Department of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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13
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Analysis of the minimal specificity of caspase-2 and identification of Ac-VDTTD-AFC as a caspase-2-selective peptide substrate. Biosci Rep 2014; 34:BSR20140025. [PMID: 27919034 PMCID: PMC3966047 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20140025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2014] [Revised: 02/12/2014] [Accepted: 02/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Caspase-2 is an evolutionarily conserved but enigmatic protease whose biological role remains poorly understood. To date, research into the functions of caspase-2 has been hampered by an absence of reagents that can distinguish its activity from that of the downstream apoptotic caspase, caspase-3. Identification of protein substrates of caspase-2 that are efficiently cleaved within cells may also provide clues to the role of this protease. We used a yeast-based transcriptional reporter system to define the minimal substrate specificity of caspase-2. The resulting profile enabled the identification of candidate novel caspase-2 substrates. Caspase-2 cleaved one of these proteins, the cancer-associated transcription factor Runx1, although with relatively low efficiency. A fluorogenic peptide was derived from the sequence most efficiently cleaved in the context of the transcriptional reporter. This peptide, Ac-VDTTD-AFC, was efficiently cleaved by purified caspase-2 and auto-activating caspase-2 in mammalian cells, and exhibited better selectivity for caspase-2 relative to caspase-3 than reagents that are currently available. We suggest that this reagent, used in parallel with the traditional caspase-3 substrate Ac-DEVD-AFC, will enable researchers to monitor caspase-2 activity in cell lysates and may assist in the determination of stimuli that activate caspase-2 in vivo.
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Quan H, Ma T, Zhao X, Zhao B, Liu Y, Li H. Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) induces high occurrence of neural tube defects in embryonic mouse brain during neurulation. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2014; 34:619-30. [PMID: 24664314 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-014-0049-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2014] [Accepted: 03/12/2014] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the direct embryonic teratogenicity of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), especially the toxic effects on the early development of the nervous system and its underlying mechanisms. Pregnant mice at embryonic day 6.5 (E6.5) were injected with different doses of VCM (200, 400 and 600 mg/kg) and embryos were harvested at E10.5. Our results showed that doses higher than 400 mg/kg of VCM increased the incidence of malformed embryos, especially the neural tube defects (NTDs). In addition, high-dose of VCM decreased mitotic figure counts in the neuroepithelium and enhanced the percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase, while they were reduced in S phase. The more VCM was injected into mice, the fewer positive PCNA cells were seen and the more positive TUNEL cells were observed in the neuroepithelium. Moreover, significant increases in the levels of caspase-3 protein were observed in NTD embryos. Our results demonstrate that during early pregnancy, exposure to doses higher than 400 mg/kg of VCM increases the incidence of malformations and particularly the rate of NTDs. High-dose of VCM inhibits the proliferation of neural cells and induces cell apoptosis, leading to an imbalance in the ratio of proliferation and apoptosis. Meanwhile, the apoptosis of neuroepithelial cells might be accelerated by the activation of the caspase-3 pathway, and it might be a reason for NTDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyu Quan
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Third Military Medical University, Gaotanyan St 30#, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400038, People's Republic of China
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Sipieter F, Ladik M, Vandenabeele P, Riquet F. Shining light on cell death processes - a novel biosensor for necroptosis, a newly described cell death program. Biotechnol J 2014; 9:224-40. [DOI: 10.1002/biot.201300200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2013] [Revised: 10/03/2013] [Accepted: 11/20/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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