Mitochondria are highly dynamic and undergo constant fusion and fission that are essential for maintaining physiological functions of cells. Recently, we have reported that increased mitochondrial fission promotes autophagy and apoptosis resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell through ROS-mediated coordinated regulation of NF-κB and p53 pathways. However, little is known about the rol...

Abieslactone is a triterpenoid lactone isolated from Abies plants. Previous studies have demonstrated that its derivative abiesenonic acid methyl ester possesses anti-tumor-promoting activity in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, cell viability assay demonstrated that abieslactone had selective cytotoxicity against human hepatoma cell lines. Immunostaining experiments revealed that abiesl...

Hypoxia stimulates hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell growth via hexokinase (HK) II induction, and alternatively, HK II inhibition induces apoptosis by activating mitochondrial signaling. This study was to investigate whether the induction of HK II by hypoxia is associated with enhanced mitochondrial stability and to confirm the apoptosis-inducing efficacy of HK II inhibitor in an in vivo mode...

Cephalostatin 1 is a bis-steroidal marine natural product with a unique cytotoxicity profile in the in vitro screen system of the National Cancer Institute, suggesting that it may affect novel molecular target(s). Here we show that cephalostatin 1 induces a novel pathway of receptor-independent apoptosis that selectively uses Smac/DIABLO (second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases/direct...

Gli transcription factors of the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway have been reported to be drivers of malignant mesothelioma (MMe) cell survival. The Gli inhibitor GANT61 induces apoptosis in various cancer cell models, and has been associated directly with Gli inhibition. However various chemotherapeutics can induce cell death through generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) but whether ROS mediates G...

Oxidative stress and apoptosis serve an essential role in cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity, which limits its clinical use, and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. As a natural drug, the antioxidant and antitumor effects of cyanidin have been recognized, but its protective effect on cisplatin-induced cardiomyocyte cytotoxicity remains unclear. H9c2 cells were treated with cisplatin (1-...

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of in children, comprising 75–85% cases. Aggressive treatment leukemias includes chemotherapy and antibiotics that often disrupt host microbiota. Additionally, gut microbiota may play a role development progression acute leukemia. Prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics are considered beneficial to health. The prebiotics not well understood...

mitochondria are unique organelles with major role in cellular function, not only as a major site of atp production, but also by regulating energy expenditure, apoptosis signaling, and production of reactive oxygen species. they play a central role in determining the point-of-no-return for the apoptotic process. there is accumulating evidence supporting a direct link between mitochondria, oxida...

The functional significance of disruption of p21(WAF1/CIP1) induction by flavopiridol (FP) in human leukemia cells (Jurkat) exposed to the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor sodium butyrate (SB) was investigated. Coexposure of leukemic cells to FP blocked SB-mediated induction of p21(WAF1/CIP1) and resulted in a marked increase in mitochondrial injury, activation of procaspases-3 and -8, Bid ...

The Bcl-2 family protein Bax is a key effector of apoptosis. Lovell et al. (2008) now describe the reconstitution and regulation in liposomes of tBid-mediated membrane penetration and oligomerization of Bax. These and other recent studies shed new light on the control of permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane during apoptosis.