Flavonoids are a broadly distributed class of plant pigments, universally present in vascular plants and responsible for much of the coloring in nature. They are strong antioxidants that occur naturally in foods and can inhibit carcinogenesis in rodents. In this study, we examined acacetin (5,7-dihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone), a flavonoid compound, for its effect on proliferation in a human liver ...

The orphan nuclear receptor Nur77/N10 has recently been demonstrated to be involved in apoptosis of T cell hybridomas. We report here that chronic expression of Nur77/N10 in thymocytes of transgenic mice results in a dramatic reduction of CD4+CD8+ double-positive as well as CD4+CD8and CD4-CD8+ single-positive cell populations due to an early onset ofapoptosis. CD4-CD8double-negative and CD25+ p...

BACKGROUND The killing of vascular cells by activated macrophages is an important step in the process of destabilization of the arterial wall. The death receptor Fas is implicated in vascular cell death. Hence, we extended our studies in a rat aortic allograft model, using adenovirus-mediated overexpression of soluble Fas (sFas) to block Fas binding to Fas ligand (Fas-L). The contribution of Fa...

PURPOSE To investigate whether Fas ligand (FasL) and the Fas receptor system mediates apoptosis in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (hRPE) cells and contributes to oxidant-induced death of hRPE cells. METHODS Expression of FasL and Fas in cultured hRPE cells was examined by Western blot analysis and flow cytometry. The susceptibility of hRPE cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis was determ...

Silicosis patients not only suffer from respiratory disorders but also from autoimmune diseases. To clarify the mechanisms involved in the occurrence of the dysregulation of autoimmunity found in silicosis patients, we have been focusing on investigation of the Fas and Fas-related molecules in the Fas-mediated apoptotic pathway, since Fas is one of the most important molecules regulating autoim...

The death-inducing receptor Fas is activated when cross-linked by the type II membrane protein Fas ligand (FasL). When human soluble FasL (sFasL, containing the extracellular portion) was expressed in human embryo kidney 293 cells, the three N-linked glycans of each FasL monomer were found to be essential for efficient secretion. Based on the structure of the closely related lymphotoxin alpha-t...

Fas (APO-1, CD95) is a type I integral membrane protein initially identified by mAbs that induce apoptotic cell death upon binding to certain tumor cells and its belongs to the TNFR family. Fas is expressed on activated lymphocytes and in various tissues including the liver, lung, intestine, and skin. Molecular cloning of Fas ligand (FasL) revealed that it is a type II integral membrane protein...

The counterattack hypothesis, suggesting that cancer cells express Fas ligand (FasL) and are able to kill Fas-expressing tumor-infiltrating activated T cells, was supported by reports of the killing of Jurkat cells by FasL-expressing human colon cancer cell lines. Through the use of an improved cytotoxic assay in which soluble FasL and FasL-transfected KFL9 cells were used as positive controls,...

Fas transduces not only apoptotic signals through various pathways but also angiogenic and proinflammatory responses in vivo. Human glioma cells express Fas although sensitivity to Fas-mediated cell death is variable, suggesting that Fas may have functions other than apoptosis in these cells. In this study, we addressed alternative functions of Fas expressed on human gliomas by Fas ligation in ...