Sequential Caspase-2 and Caspase-8 Activation Upstream of Mitochondria during Ceramideand Etoposide-induced Apoptosis

Sequential caspase-2 and caspase-8 activation upstream of mitochondria during ceramideand etoposide-induced apoptosis.

Recently, caspase-2 was shown to act upstream of mitochondria in stress-induced apoptosis. Activation of caspase-8, a key event in death receptor-mediated apoptosis, also has been demonstrated in death receptor-independent apoptosis. The regulation of these initiator caspases, which trigger the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, is unclear. Here we report a potential regulatory role of caspase-2 ...

Lithium Inhibits Ceramide- and Etoposide-induced PP2A Methylation, Bcl-2 Dephosphorylation, Caspase-2 Activation and Apoptosis

Caspase-8 acts as a key upstream executor of mitochondria during justicidin A-induced apoptosis in human hepatoma cells.

Justicia procumbens is a traditional Taiwanese herbal remedy used to treat fever, pain, and cancer. Justicidin A, isolated from Justicia procumbens, has been reported to suppress in vitro growth of several tumor cell lines as well as hepatoma cells. In this study, justicidin A activated caspase-8 to increase tBid, disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential (Delta psi(m)), and caused the release...

Fenretinide-Induced Caspase-8 Activation and Apoptosis in Metastatic Neuroblasts

1. Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8126, Institut Fédératif de Recherche 54, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France. 2. University Hospital CHUV, Pediatric Oncology Research, Department of Pediatrics, Lausanne, Switzerland. § Current address: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Rd., MS-977-225A, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA 3....

Differential Regulation and ATP Requirement for Caspase-8 and Caspase-3 Activation during CD95- and Anticancer Drug–induced Apoptosis

Apoptosis is induced by different stimuli, among them triggering of the death receptor CD95, staurosporine, and chemotherapeutic drugs. In all cases, apoptosis is mediated by caspases, although it is unclear how these diverse apoptotic stimuli cause protease activation. Two regulatory pathways have been recently identified, but it remains unknown whether they are functionally independent or lin...