Introduction: Evidence suggests that neuronal apoptosis in neurodegenerative diseases is correlated with inflammatory reactions. The beneficial or detrimental role of apoptosis in neuroinflammation is unclear. Elucidating this question may be helpful in management of neurodegenerative diseases. Since TNF-α is able to induce apoptosis as well as increased viability of the cells by activation ...

Conway et al recently reported that alternatively spliced forms of mouse survivin exhibit different antiapoptotic properties.1 This was inferred from inhibition of recombinant caspase-3 catalytic activity using a standard chromogenic assay in the presence of increasing concentrations of mammalian-expressed murine survivin isoforms of 140, 121, and 40 amino acids, respectively.1 If confirmed, th...

Several studies have suggested that high dietary fat intake, particularly essential fatty acids, is associated with pancreatic cancer development and growth. Our previous studies have demonstrated that blockade of either the 5-lipoxygenase (LOX) or 12-LOX pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism inhibited pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. This study investigated the unde...

We examined the degeneration of post-mitotic ganglion cells in ex-vivo neonatal retinal explants following axon damage. Ultrastructural features of both apoptosis and autophagy were detected. Degenerating cells reacted with antibodies specific for activated caspase-3 or -9, consistent with the presence of caspase activity. Furthermore, peptidic inhibitors of caspase-9, -6 or -3 prevented cell d...

We examined the influence of sepsis on the expression and activity of the calpain and caspase systems in skeletal muscle. Sepsis was induced in rats by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Control rats were sham operated. Calpain activity was determined by measuring the calcium-dependent hydrolysis of casein and by casein zymography. The activity of the endogenous calpain inhibitor calpastatin wa...

Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) gene products play an evolutionarily conserved role in regulating programmed cell death in diverse species ranging from insects to humans. Human XIAP, cIAP1 and cIAP2 are direct inhibitors of at least two members of the caspase family of cell death proteases: caspase-3 and caspase-7. Here we compared the mechanism by which IAPs interfere with activation of caspase-3...

Interleukin-11 (IL-11) displays epithelial cytoprotective effects during intestinal injury. Antiapoptotic effects of IL-11 have been described, yet mechanisms remain unclear. Fas/CD95 death receptor signaling is upregulated in ulcerative colitis, leading to mucosal breakdown. We hypothesized that IL-11 inhibits Fas ligand (FasL)-mediated apoptosis in intestinal epithelia. Cell death was monitor...

The mechanisms by which infections induce diaphragm dysfunction remain poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to determine which caspase pathways (i.e., the extrinsic, death receptor-linked caspase-8 pathway, and/or the intrinsic, mitochondrial-related caspase-9 pathway) are responsible for endotoxin-induced diaphragm contractile dysfunction. We determined 1) whether endotoxin adminis...

In this research, we investigated the cytotoxic mechanisms of one of the widely used pharmaceuticals that are regularly associated with the adverse effects on the liver, sometimes leading to acute liver failure, diclofenac. Diclofenac liver cytotoxicity was associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and lipid peroxidation which were inhibited by antioxidants and ROS scavengers, fer...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of anti-apoptotic agents on cartilage degradation after a single impact to ankle cartilage. DESIGN Ten human normal tali were impacted with the impulse of 1 Ns generating peak forces in the range of 600 N using a 4 mm diameter indenter. Eight millimeter cartilage plugs containing the 4 mm diameter impacted core and a 4 mm adjacent ring were removed and cul...