Search results for "Caspase"
showing 10 items of 390 documents
Selective p38α MAP kinase/MAPK14 inhibition in enzymatically modified LDL-stimulated human monocytes: implications for atherosclerosis.
2016
The first ATP-competitive p38α MAPK/MAPK14 inhibitor with excellent in vivo efficacy and selectivity, skepinone-L, is now available. We investigated the impact of selective p38α MAPK/MAPK14 inhibition on enzymatically modified LDL (eLDL) stimulated human monocytes with its implications for atherosclerosis. Among the different p38 MAPK isoforms, p38α/MAPK14 was the predominantly expressed and activated isoform in isolated human peripheral blood monocytes. Moreover, eLDL colocalized with macrophages positive for p38α MAPK/MAPK14 in human carotid endarterectomy specimens. Using the human leukemia cell line THP-1 and/or primary monocyte-derived macrophages, skepinone-L inhibited eLDL-induced ac…
Endothelial cell damage is the central part of COVID-19 and a mouse model induced by injection of the S1 subunit of the spike protein☆
2021
Neurologic complications of symptomatic COVID-19 are common. Brain tissues from 13 autopsies of people who died of COVID-19 were examined. Cultured endothelial and neuronal cells were incubated with and wild type mice were injected IV with different spike subunits. In situ analyses were used to detect SARS-CoV-2 proteins and the host response. In 13/13 brains from fatal COVID-19, pseudovirions (spike, envelope, and membrane proteins without viral RNA) were present in the endothelia of microvessels ranging from 0 to 14 positive cells/200× field (mean 4.3). The pseudovirions strongly co-localized with caspase-3, ACE2, IL6, TNFα, and C5b-9. The surrounding neurons demonstrated increased NMDAR2…
Electrical activity controls area-specific expression of neuronal apoptosis in the mouse developing cerebral cortex
2017
Programmed cell death widely but heterogeneously affects the developing brain, causing the loss of up to 50% of neurons in rodents. However, whether this heterogeneity originates from neuronal identity and/or network-dependent processes is unknown. Here, we report that the primary motor cortex (M1) and primary somatosensory cortex (S1), two adjacent but functionally distinct areas, display striking differences in density of apoptotic neurons during the early postnatal period. These differences in rate of apoptosis negatively correlate with region-dependent levels of activity. Disrupting this activity either pharmacologically or by electrical stimulation alters the spatial pattern of apoptos…
Characterization of NO-Induced Nitrosative Status in Human Placenta from Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
2017
Dysregulation of NO production is implicated in pregnancy-related diseases, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The role of NO and its placental targets in GDM pregnancies has yet to be determined. S-Nitrosylation is the NO-derived posttranslational protein modification that can modulate biological functions by forming NO-derived complexes with longer half-life, termed S-nitrosothiol (SNO). Our aim was to examine the presence of endogenous S-nitrosylated proteins in cysteine residues in relation to antioxidant defense, apoptosis, and cellular signal transduction in placental tissue from control (n=8) and GDM (n=8) pregnancies. S-Nitrosylation was measured using the biotin-switch …
Theabrownin triggersDNAdamage to suppress human osteosarcoma U2OScells by activating p53 signalling pathway
2018
Abstract Osteosarcoma becomes the second leading cause of cancer death in the younger population. Current outcomes of chemotherapy on osteosarcoma were unsatisfactory to date, demanding development of effective therapies. Tea is a commonly used beverage beneficial to human health. As a major component of tea, theabrownin has been reported to possess anti‐cancer activity. To evaluate its anti‐osteosarcoma effect, we established a xenograft model of zebrafish and employed U2OS cells for in vivo and in vitro assays. The animal data showed that TB significantly inhibited the tumour growth with stronger effect than that of chemotherapy. The cellular data confirmed that TB‐triggered DNA damage an…
Total coumarins of Hedyotis diffusa induces apoptosis of myelodysplastic syndrome SKM-1 cells by activation of caspases and inhibition of PI3K/Akt pa…
2016
Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance Hedyotis diffusa is an ethno-medicine used for anti-cancer treatment in the clinic of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The total coumarins of Hedyotis diffusa (TCHD) was a selected extract with observed antiproliferative activity, which has not been tested in treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Aim of the study This study aimed to evaluate the apoptosis-inducing effect of TCHD on human MDS cell line (SKM-1) and explore its action mechanism in association with caspase family and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Materials and methods The chemical constituents and total coumarins content of TCHD were determined by …
Gene Expression and Apoptosis Levels in Cumulus Cells of Patients with Polymorphisms of FSHR and LHB Undergoing in Vitro Fertilization Program
2017
Background/Aims: FSH receptor (FSHR) Ala307Thr and Asn680Ser and LHβ chain (LHB) Trp28Arg and Ile35Thr polymorphisms affect the response to pharmacological ovarian stimulation with r-FSH in women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (ART). Here, we evaluated the expression level of selected genes involved in follicle maturation and the possible onset of apoptosis in cumulus cells of patients with single and double FSHR and LHB polymorphisms, as potential markers of oocyte competence. Methods: Cumulus cells from 36 stimulated patients were collected and SNP genotyping performed by PCR. Gene expression was evaluated through real-time PCR, and apoptosis estimated via TUNEL assay, and cle…
Marine Actinomycetes-Derived Secondary Metabolites Overcome TRAIL-Resistance via the Intrinsic Pathway through Downregulation of Survivin and XIAP
2020
Resistance of cancer cells to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis represents the major hurdle to the clinical use of TRAIL or its derivatives. The discovery and development of lead compounds able to sensitize tumor cells to TRAIL-induced cell death is thus likely to overcome this limitation. We recently reported that marine actinomycetes&rsquo
PPAR gamma agonist leriglitazone improves frataxin-loss impairments in cellular and animal models of Friedreich Ataxia
2020
Friedreich ataxia (FRDA), the most common autosomal recessive ataxia, is characterized by degeneration of the large sensory neurons and spinocerebellar tracts, cardiomyopathy, and increased incidence in diabetes. The underlying pathophysiological mechanism of FRDA, driven by a significantly decreased expression of frataxin (FXN), involves increased oxidative stress, reduced activity of enzymes containing iron‑sulfur clus-ters (ISC), defective energy production, calcium dyshomeostasis, and impaired mitochondrial biogenesis, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a ligand-activated transcriptional factor playing a key role in mito…
Activation of silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 by human chorionic gonadotropin exerts a therapeutic effect on hepatic injury and…
2017
Incidence and prevalence of inflammatory liver diseases has increased over the last years, but therapeutic options are limited. Pregnancy induces a state of immune tolerance, which can result in spontaneous improvement of clinical symptoms of certain autoimmune diseases including autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). We investigated the immune-suppressive mechanisms of the human pregnancy hormone, chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), in the liver. hCG signaling activates silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1), which deacetylates forkhead box o3 (FOXO3a), leading to repression of proapoptotic gene expression, because the immunosuppressive consequence attributed to the absence of caspas…