• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.1226-1232
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• 2007

Phellinus linteus is a well-known Oriental medicinal fungus that has various biological activities, including immunomodulatory and anti-tumor activities, the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the anti-proliferative activity of the methanol extract of P. linteus-Barley corn (MEPLB) in human lekemic U937 cells. It was found that exposure of U937 cells to MEPLB resulted morphological change and growth inhibition in a dose-dependent manner as measured by trypan blue count and MTT assay. Upon treatment with MEPLB, U937 cells developed many of the hallmark features of apoptosis, including condensation of chromatin and an increase in the sub-G1 population suggesting that the anti-proliferative effect of MEPLB is associated with the induction of apoptosis. The anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of MEPLB were connected with a marked induction of the pro-apoptotic Bax and cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p21 in a p53-independent manner. Additionally, MEPLB treatment significantly induced the caspase-3 activity in U937 cells. Taken together, the present results suggest that apoptotic signals evoked by MEPLB in human leukemic U937 cells may converge caspase-3 activation through an up-regulation of Bax rather than a down-regulation of Bcl-2 or Bel-xL.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.485-487
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• 2002

Cells receive signals for survival as well as death, and the balance between the two ultimately determines the fate of the cells. UV-triggered apoptotic signaling has been well documented, whereas UV-induced survival effects have received little attention. We have reported previously that UVB irradiation prevented apoptosis, which was partly dependent on activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase)/ Akt pathway. In this study, anti-apoptotic effects of UV with different wavelength ranges, UVA, UVB and UVC, were examined. NIH3T3 cells showed apoptotic cell death by detachment from the extracellular matrix under serum-free conditions, which was prevented by all wavelengths. However, the effect of UVA was less than those of UVB and UVC. Reduction of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and activation of caspase-9 and -3 were suppressed by all three wavelengths of UV, showing wavelength-dependent effects as mentioned above. The PI3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin partially inhibittrl the UVB and UVC-induced suppression of apoptosis, but not the inhibitoty effect of UVA. The Akt phosphotylation by UVB and UVC was completely inhibittrl by addition of wortmannin, but that by UVA was not P38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB203580 partially inhibited the UVB and UVC-induced suppression of apoptosis and Akt phosphotylation, and completely inhibited UVA-induced those. These results suggested the existence of two different survival pathways leading to suppression of apoptosis, one for UVA that is independent of the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway and dependent on p38 MAP kinase, and the other for UVB and UVC that is dependent on both pathways.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.562-570
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• 2018

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. In this study, we used a bioactivity-guided isolation technique to identify constituents of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) with antiproliferative activity against human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Methods: Bioactivity-guided fractionation and preparative/semipreparative HPLC purification were used with LC/MS analysis to separate the bioactive constituents. Cell viability and apoptosis in human lung cancer cell lines (A549, H1264, H1299, and Calu-6) after treatment with KRG extract fractions and constituents thereof were assessed using the water-soluble tetrazolium salt (WST-1) assay and terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, respectively. Caspase activation was assessed by detecting its surrogate marker, cleaved poly adenosine diphosphate (ADP-ribose) polymerase, using an immunoblot assay. The expression and subcellular localization of apoptosis-inducing factor were assessed using immunoblotting and immunofluorescence, respectively. Results and conclusion: Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the KRG extract revealed that its ethyl acetate-soluble fraction exerts significant cytotoxic activity against all human lung cancer cell lines tested by inducing apoptosis. Chemical investigation of the ethyl acetatesoluble fraction led to the isolation of six ginsenosides, including ginsenoside Rb1 (1), ginsenoside Rb2 (2), ginsenoside Rc (3), ginsenoside Rd (4), ginsenoside Rg1 (5), and ginsenoside Rg3 (6). Among the isolated ginsenosides, ginsenoside Rg3 exhibited the most cytotoxic activity against all human lung cancer cell lines examined, with $IC_{50}$ values ranging from $161.1{\mu}M$ to $264.6{\mu}M$. The cytotoxicity of ginsenoside Rg3 was found to be mediated by induction of apoptosis in a caspase-independent manner. These findings provide experimental evidence for a novel biological activity of ginsenoside Rg3 against human lung cancer cells.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제17권10호
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• pp.1447-1451
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• 2007

해양생물 유래 항암활성을 가지는 천연물의 탐색과정에서 해면동물에서 유래된 PTX-2는 p53 결손 암세포에서 세포독성 효과가 높은 것으로 보고된 바 있다. 본 연구에서는 인체 간암세포 모델을 이용하여 PTX-2의 효능을 조사한 결과는 p53 결손 Hep3B 세포에서 p53 정상 HepG2에 비하여 항암활성이 매우 높았으며, 이는 apoptosis 유발과 연관성이 있음을 확인하였다. PTX-2에 의한 Hep3B 세포의 apoptosis 유발은 DFF family의 발현 변화, pro-apoptotic Bax 및 Bcl-xS 단백질의 발현 증가, caspases (-3, -8 및 -9)의 활성화 등이 관여함을 알 수 있었다. PTX-2는 또한 Hep3B 세포에서 AKT 및 ERK1/2의 활성화를 유도하였으며, caspase-3, AKT 및 ERK1/2의 특이적 저해제에 의하여 PTX-2에 의한 세포증식 억제 효능이 유의적으로 감소되었다. 본 연구는 PTX-2에 의한 Hep3B 세포에서의 apoptosis 유도에 AKT 및 ERK1/2 신호 전달 경로가 중요한 역할을 하고 있음을 보여주는 결과이다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제46권9호
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• pp.545-557
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• 2023

Sphingomyelinase (SMase) catalyzes ceramide production from sphingomyelin. Ceramides are critical in cellular responses such as apoptosis. They enhance mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) through self-assembly in the mitochondrial outer membrane to form channels that release cytochrome c from intermembrane space (IMS) into the cytosol, triggering caspase-9 activation. However, the SMase involved in MOMP is yet to be identified. Here, we identified a mitochondrial Mg²⁺-independent SMase (mt-iSMase) from rat brain, which was purified 6,130-fold using a Percoll gradient, pulled down with biotinylated sphingomyelin, and subjected to Mono Q anion exchange. A single peak of mt-iSMase activity was eluted at a molecular mass of approximately 65 kDa using Superose 6 gel filtration. The purified enzyme showed optimal activity at pH of 6.5 and was inhibited by dithiothreitol and Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Fe³⁺ ions. It was also inhibited by GW4869, which is a non-competitive inhibitor of Mg²⁺-dependent neutral SMase 2 (encoded by SMPD3), that protects against cytochrome c release-mediated cell death. Subfractionation experiments showed that mt-iSMase localizes in the IMS of the mitochondria, implying that mt-iSMase may play a critical role in generating ceramides for MOMP, cytochrome c release, and apoptosis. These data suggest that the purified enzyme in this study is a novel SMase.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.376-386
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• 2016

에폽토시스에 의한 세포자멸사는 암세포에 대한 항암제 효능의 핵심적 기전이다. 항암제의 대표적인 두 종류로 알려진 DNA-손상 약제(DNA-damaging agents, DDAs)와 미세소관-손상 약제(microtubule-damaging agents, MDAs)가 암세포에 야기하는 초기 항암신호전달 기전은 다르지만, 최종적으로는 대부분 미토콘드리아 의존-에폽토시스를 통해 암세포를 사멸시킨다. 한편, DDAs에 의한 에폽토시스 유도에는 wild-type 종양억제 단백질 p53의 역할이 매우 중요하다. 그러나 인체 암의 약 50% 이상이 p53유전자의 돌연변이 때문에 종양억제 단백질로서의 p53 기능이 불활성화 되어 있다. 따라서 p53과 무관하게 에폽토시스를 유도할 수 있는 MDAs를 이용한 항암치료는 돌연변이 p53을 지닌 암세포에 대해 유리한 화학요법으로 이해된다. 최근 본 연구진은 인체 급성 백혈병 세포주인 Jurkat T 세포를 모델로 하여, MDAs (nocodazole, 17-α-estradiol, 혹은 2-methoxyestradiol)의 항암작용과 관련된 세포주기 정지 및 에폽토시스 유도 기전을 구명하였다. 그 결과, Jurkat T 세포를 MDAs로 처리할 경우, 유사분열방추사의 결함에 의한 세포주기(전중기, prometaphase) 정지, 장시간에 걸친 Cdk1의 활성화, 활성화된 Cdk1에 의한 에폽토시스 조절인자들(Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Mcl-1 및 Bim)의 인산화, 이에 따른 Bak 활성화, 미토콘드리아막 손상 및 카스파아제 연쇄 활성화에 의해 에폽토시스가 유도됨을 밝혔다. 또한 동일한 MDA 처리 조건하에서 Bcl-2 혹은 Bcl-xL의 과발현시켜 에폽토시스 진행을 차단할 경우, Jurkat T 세포는 약제처리 후에 전중기 정지된 4N 상태에 도달하지만, 이어서 유사분열 불이행(mitotic slippage) 및 내재복제(endoreduplication)가 진행되어 다배수체들(polyploids; 8N, 16N)을 생성하게 됨을 확인하였다. 이러한 결과는 MDAs처리에 따른 다배수체들의 생성을 차단하는 세포 내 기전으로서, 전중기 정지된 4N 세포의 에폽토시스에 의한 제거가 매우 중요함을 보여준다. 특히, 다배수체는 유전적으로 매우 불안정하여 암세포의 항암제 내성 획득 및 암 재발과 직접 연관되는 것으로 알려져 있으므로, 에폽토시스 기전에 결함이 있는 암세포를 대상으로 MDAs를 이용한 항암 화학요법을 시행할 경우에는 다배수체 세포의 생성을 차단하기 위한 새로운 수단이 반드시 병행되어야 할 것으로 사료된다.