The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
The high miscarriage rates observed in women smokers raises the possibility that chemicals in cigarette smoke could be detrimental to embryo development. Previous studies have established that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), transactivate the arylhydrocarbon receptor (AhR), leading to cell death. Herein we show that PAH exposure results in murine embryo cell death, acting as a potential mechanism...
Adipose tissue mass is determined by the volume and the number of adipocytes and is subjected to homeostatic regulation involving cell death mechanisms. We investigated the effects of esculetin, a coumarin compound, on apoptotic signaling in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Esculetin treatment induced an increase in expression of Bax with a concomitant decrease of Bcl-2 in a time-dependent manner. Esculetin treatment...
DFF40/CAD, the major apoptotic nuclease, is specific for double-stranded DNA. However, RNA and single-stranded DNA, though not substrates for the enzyme, compete with double-stranded DNA and inhibit its cleavage by the nuclease. In addition, other anionic polymers, like poly-glutamic acid and heparin also inhibit DFF40/CAD, the latter one being highly effective at nanomolar concentrations. The inhibitory...
It is well known that mild hypothermia prevents neuronal cell death following cerebral ischemia, although it can also cause apoptosis in other cell types. Thus, incubation at room temperature (RT) has been shown to induce apoptosis in hematopoietic cells, including Jurkat T leukemia cells. To further understand the apoptotic events that can be activated at RT, we compared the induction of apoptosis...
Apoptosis of keratinocytes is a key mechanism required for epidermal homeostasis and the renewal of damaged cells. Its dysregulation has been implicated in many skin diseases including cancer and hyperproliferative disorders. In the present study, the effect of sodium butyrate, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on keratinocyte apoptosis was investigated using the HaCaT human keratinocyte cell line...
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors augment ionizing radiation (IR)-induced apoptosis in several cancer cells by undefined mechanism(s). We recently found that the HDAC inhibitors induce a BH3-only protein Bmf in human squamous carcinoma SAS cells. We extended this study and found that 2.5 nM FK228 pretreatment could not induce apoptosis but augmented IR-induced death. The FK228 pretreatment increased...
The antiapoptotic BCL2 family member MCL1 is rapidly upregulated upon exposure of ML-1 myeloid leukemia cells to either differentiation-inducing phorbol 12′-myristate 13′-acetate (PMA) or chemotherapeutic microtubule disrupting agents (MTDAs). This report examined how signaling for MCL1 upregulation is coupled to these two different phenotypic changes, and tested for upregulation in other hematopoietic...
A sequence of intermittent interruptions of oxygen supply (i.e., postconditioning, Postcon) at reoxygenation reduces oxidant-induced cardiomyocyte loss. This study tested the hypothesis that prevention of cardiomyocyte apoptosis by Postcon is mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinases pathways. Primary cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were exposed to 3 h hypoxia followed by 6 h of reoxygenation...
The deficiency of upstream regulators of the mitochondrial death pathway has been recently shown to trigger in vitro a cellular process of self-clearance with features of autophagy. We show here that, when Apaf1 (responsible for apoptosome formation) is downregulated in vivo in cortical precursors, cells express markers of neuronal differentiation, accumulate in ectopic cortical masses and show hallmarks...
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is important in supporting neuronal development. BDNF imbalance due to excessive neuronal inhibition can result in the apoptotic degeneration of developing neurons. Since general anesthetics cause profound depression of neuronal activity and are known to induce widespread degeneration in the developing brain, we studied their potential to activate BDNF-mediated...
While the apoptotic and necrotic cell death pathways have been well studied, there lacks a comprehensive understanding of the molecular events involving autophagic cell death. We examined the potential roles of the apoptosis-linked caspase-3 and the necrosis/apoptosis-linked calpain-1 after autophagy induction under prolonged amino acid (AA) starvation conditions in PC-12 cells. Autophagy induction...
In the present study, the toxicity of yperite, SM, and its structural analogue mechlorethamine, HN2, was investigated in a human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE. Cell detachment was initiated by caspase-2 activation, down-regulation of Bcl-2 and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Only in detached cells, mustards induced apoptosis associated with increase in p53 expression, Bax activation,...
Induction of apoptosis by the death ligand TRAIL might be a promising therapeutic approach in cancer therapy. However, since not all tumor cells are sensitive to TRAIL, there is a need for the development of strategies to overcome TRAIL-resistance. The results of the present study show that the anti-diabetic drug troglitazone sensitizes human glioma and neuroblastoma cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis...
Apoptosis is a genetically determined cell suicide program. Mitochondria play a central role in this process and various molecules have been shown to regulate apoptosis in this organelle. In the present study, we firstly identified that protein tyrosine phosphatase interacting protein 51 (PTPIP51) is a novel mitochondrial protein, which may induce apoptosis in HEK293T and HeLa cell lines. PTPIP51...
The mosquito Culex pipiens pipiens is a documented vector of West Nile virus (WNV, Flaviviridae, Flavivirus). Our laboratory colony of C. p. pipiens, however, was repeatedly refractory to experimental transmission of WNV. Our goal was to identify if a cellular process was inhibiting virus infection of the midgut. We examined midguts of mosquitoes fed control and WNV-infected blood meals. Three days...
We reported previously that vitamin K2 selectively induces apoptosis in human ovary cancer cells (TYK-nu cells) and pancreatic cancer cells (MIA PaCa-2 cells) through a mitochondrion-dependent pathway. In the present study, we examined the details of the mechanism of vitamin K2-induced apoptosis in TYK-nu cells. We found that superoxide (O2•−) was produced by TYK-nu cells between 2 and 3 days after...
The cytokeratin 8/18 (CK8/18) cytoskeleton network is an early target for caspase cleavage during apoptosis. Recent reports suggest that the highly conserved and ubiquitous death effector domain containing DNA binding protein (DEDD) plays a role in the recruitment of procaspase-9 and -3 at this CK8/18 scaffold. DEDD interacts with both the CK8/18 intermediate filament network and procaspase-3 and...
Triterpenoids are a novel class of compounds being investigated as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of prostate cancer and other malignancies. Asiatic acid (AA) is a member of the ursane family of triterpenoids and has anticancer activity, but its mechanism of action is not completely understood. To investigate its mechanism of action, PPC-1 prostate cancer cells were treated with AA...
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.