Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting in selective neuronal loss and dysfunction in the striatum and cortex. The molecular pathways ...leading to the selectivity of neuronal cell death in HD are poorly understood. Proteolytic processing of full-length mutant huntingtin (Htt) and subsequent events may play an important role in the selective neuronal cell death found in this disease. Despite the identification of Htt as a substrate for caspases, it is not known which caspase(s) cleaves Htt in vivo or whether regional expression of caspases contribute to selective neuronal cells loss. Here, we evaluate whether specific caspases are involved in cell death induced by mutant Htt and if this correlates with our recent finding that Htt is cleaved in vivo at the caspase consensus site 552. We find that caspase-2 cleaves Htt selectively at amino acid 552. Further, Htt recruits caspase-2 into an apoptosome-like complex. Binding of caspase-2 to Htt is polyglutamine repeat-length dependent, and therefore may serve as a critical initiation step in HD cell death. This hypothesis is supported by the requirement of caspase-2 for the death of mouse primary striatal cells derived from HD transgenic mice expressing full-length Htt (YAC72). Expression of catalytically inactive (dominant-negative) forms of caspase-2, caspase-7, and to some extent caspase-6, reduced the cell death of YAC72 primary striatal cells, while the catalytically inactive forms of caspase-3, -8, and -9 did not. Histological analysis of post-mortem human brain tissue and YAC72 mice revealed activation of caspases and enhanced caspase-2 immunoreactivity in medium spiny neurons of the striatum and the cortical projection neurons when compared to controls. Further, upregulation of caspase-2 correlates directly with decreased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the cortex and striatum of 3-month YAC72 transgenic mice and therefore suggests that these changes are early events in HD pathogenesis. These data support the involvement of caspase-2 in the selective neuronal cell death associated with HD in the striatum and cortex.
The development of colonic carcinoma is associated with the mutation of a specific set of genes. One of these, DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer), is a candidate tumour-suppressor gene, and encodes a ...receptor for netrin-1, a molecule involved in axon guidance. Loss of DCC expression in tumours is not restricted to colon carcinoma, and, although there is no increase in the frequency of tumour formation in DCC hemizygous mice, re-establishment of DCC expression suppresses tumorigenicity,. However, the mechanism of action of DCC is unknown. Here we show that DCC induces apoptosis in the absence of ligand binding, but blocks apoptosis when engaged by netrin-1. Furthermore, DCC is a caspase substrate, and mutation of the site at which caspase-3 cleaves DCC suppresses the pro-apoptotic effect of DCC completely. These results indicate that DCC may function as a tumour-suppressor protein by inducing apoptosis in settings in which ligand is unavailable (for example, during metastasis or tumour growth beyond local blood supply) through functional caspase cascades by a mechanism that requires cleavage of DCC at Asp 1,290.
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DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The proto-oncogene bcl-2 inhibits apoptotic and necrotic neural cell death. Expression of Bcl-2 in the GT1-7 neural cell line prevented death as a result of glutathione depletion. Intracellular ...reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides rose rapidly in control cells depleted of glutathione, whereas cells expressing Bcl-2 displayed a blunted increase and complete survival. Modulation of the increase in reactive oxygen species influenced the degree of cell death. Yeast mutants null for superoxide dismutase were partially rescued by expression of Bcl-2. Thus, Bcl-2 prevents cell death by decreasing the net cellular generation of reactive oxygen species.
Among the pathological factors known to be associated with Alzheimer disease (AD), oxidative stress induced by the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) has been demonstrated to play a key role in human brain and ...animal models of AD. Recently, we reported elevated levels of oxidative damage in the brain of a transgenic (Tg) AD mouse model with Swedish and Indiana familial AD mutations in human amyloid precursor protein (APP) PDAPP mice, line J20, as evidenced by increased levels of protein carbonyls, 3-nitrotyrosine, and protein-bound 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. This oxidative damage was dependent on the methionine 35 residue within the Aβ peptide. Further insight into the molecular pathways affected in this Tg model of AD may be gained with discovery-based proteomics studies; therefore, two-dimensional gel-based expression proteomics was performed to compare differences in brain protein levels of J20 Tg mice with non-transgenic (NTg) littermate controls. Based on our studies, we identified six proteins that had significantly increased levels in J20 Tg relative to NTg mice: calcineurin subunit B type 1, ρ GDP-dissociation inhibitor 1, T-complex protein 1 subunit α A, α-enolase, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (Pin-1), and ATP synthase subunit α mitochondrial. Several of these proteins have previously been implicated in in vitro and in vivo models and subjects with AD. Additionally, using redox proteomics analyses we identified two oxidatively-modified proteins: phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 1 and Pin-1 with decreased levels of protein 3-nitrotyrosine in J20 Tg mice relative to NTg. Western blotting and immunoprecipitation analyses were used to validate proteomics results. Overall, these studies provide information about changes in the brain proteome as a result of Aβ deposition and clues with which to further direct studies on elucidating AD pathogenesis.
It is unclear how polyglutamine expansion is associated with the pathogenesis of Huntington disease (HD). Here, we provide evidence that polyglutamine expansion leads to the formation of large ...intracellular aggregates in vitro and in vivo. In vitro these huntingtin-containing aggregates disrupt normal cellular architecture and increase in frequency with polyglutamine length. Huntingtin truncated at nucleotide 1955, close to the caspase-3 cleavage site, forms perinuclear aggregates more readily than full-length huntingtin and increases the susceptibility of cells to death following apoptotic stimuli. Further truncation of huntingtin to nucleotide 436 results in both intranuclear and perinuclear aggregates. For a given protein size, increasing polyglutamine length is associated with increased cellular toxicity. Asymptomatic transgenic mice expressing full-length huntingtin with 138 polyglutamines form exclusively perinuclear aggregates in neurons. These data support the hypothesis that proteolytic cleavage of mutant huntingtin leads to the development of aggregates which compromise cell viability, and that their localization is influenced by protein length.
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the site of assembly of polypeptide chains destined for secretion or routing into various subcellular compartments. It also regulates cellular responses to stress ...and intracellular Ca(2+) levels. A variety of toxic insults can result in ER stress that ultimately leads to apoptosis. Apoptosis is initiated by the activation of members of the caspase family and serves as a central mechanism in the cell death process. The present study was carried out to determine the role of caspases in triggering ER stress-induced cell death. Treatment of cells with ER stress inducers such as brefeldin-A or thapsigargin induces the expression of caspase-12 protein and also leads to translocation of cytosolic caspase-7 to the ER surface. Caspase-12, like most other members of the caspase family, requires cleavage of the prodomain to activate its proapoptotic form. Caspase-7 associates with caspase-12 and cleaves the prodomain to generate active caspase-12, resulting in increased cell death. We propose that any cellular insult that causes prolonged ER stress may induce apoptosis through caspase-7-mediated caspase-12 activation. The data underscore the involvement of ER and caspases associated with it in the ER stress-induced apoptotic process.
A subset of individuals with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) possesses dominantly inherited mutations in the gene that encodes copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD). A4V and G93A, ...two of the mutant enzymes associated with FALS, were shown to catalyze the oxidation of a model substrate (spin trap 5,5′-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide) by hydrogen peroxide at a higher rate than that seen with the wild-type enzyme. Catalysis of this reaction by A4V and G93A was more sensitive to inhibition by the copper chelators diethyldithiocarbamate and penicillamine than was catalysis by wild-type CuZnSOD. The same two chelators reversed the apoptosis-inducing effect of mutant enzymes expressed in a neural cell line. These results suggest that oxidative reactions catalyzed by mutant CuZnSOD enzymes initiate the neuropathologic changes in FALS.
Cells exposed to sustained endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress undergo programmed cell death and display features typical of apoptosis, such as cysteine aspartyl protease (caspase) activation, ...cytochrome c release, and DNA fragmentation. Here, we show that the execution of cell death induced by ER stress is mediated via the proteasome. Inhibition of the proteasome by lactacystin prevented ER stress-induced degradation of Bcl-2, release of cytochrome c, processing of effector caspase-3, and exposure of phosphatidylserine. Owing to the ability of lactacystin to inhibit cytochrome c release, we propose that the pro-apoptotic activity of the proteasome lies upstream of mitochondrial activation. Thus, the proteasome serves as a principal mediator of ER stress-induced cell death in this system.
The RET (rearranged during transfection) proto‐oncogene encodes a tyrosine kinase receptor involved in both multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2), an inherited cancer syndrome, and Hirschsprung ...disease (HSCR), a developmental defect of enteric neurons. We report here that the expression of RET receptor induces apoptosis. This pro‐apoptotic effect of RET is inhibited in the presence of its ligand glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Furthermore, we present evidence that RET induces apoptosis via its own cleavage by caspases, a phenomenon allowing the liberation/exposure of a pro‐apoptotic domain of RET. In addition, we report that Hirschsprung‐associated RET mutations impair GDNF control of RET pro‐apoptotic activity. These results indicate that HSCR may result from apoptosis of RET‐expressing enteric neuroblasts.
Cells depend for their survival on stimulation by trophic factors and other prosurvival signals, the withdrawal of which induces apoptosis, both via the loss of antiapoptotic signaling and the ...activation of proapoptotic signaling via specific receptors. These receptors, dubbed dependence receptors, activate apoptotic pathways following the withdrawal of trophic factors and other supportive stimuli. Such receptors may feature in developmental cell death, carcinogenesis (including metastasis), neurodegeneration, and possibly subapoptotic events such as neurite retraction and somal atrophy. Mechanistic studies of dependence receptors suggest that these receptors form ligand-dependent complexes that include specific caspases. Complex formation in the absence of ligand leads to caspase activation by a mechanism that is typically dependent on caspase cleavage of the receptor itself, releasing proapoptotic peptides. Cellular dependence receptors, considered in the aggregate, may thus form a system of molecular integration, analogous to the electrical integration system provided by dendritic arbors in the nervous system.
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