• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1547-1552
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• 2022

β-Amyrin is a pentacyclic triterpene widely distributed in leaves and stems worldwide. The ability of β-amyrin to induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in microorganisms suggests its potential as an antimicrobial agent. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the antibacterial mode of action of β-amyrin. We treated Escherichia coli cells with β-amyrin and found that it triggered ROS accumulation. Excessive stress caused by ROS, particularly hydroxyl radicals, induces glutathione (GSH) dysfunction. GSH protects cells from oxidative and osmotic stresses; thus, its dysfunction leads to membrane depolarization. The resultant change in membrane potential leads to the release of apoptotic proteins, such as caspases. The activated caspases-like protein promotes the cleavage of DNA into single strands, which is a hallmark of apoptosis-like death in bacteria. Apoptotic cells usually undergo events such as DNA fragmentation and phosphatidylserine exposure, differentiating them from necrotic cells, and the cells treated with β-amyrin in this study were positive for annexin V and negative for propidium iodide, indicating apoptosis-like death. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the antibacterial mode of action of β-amyrin involves the induction of ROS, which resulted in apoptosis-like death in E. coli.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 1999

Reduced thiols were important compounds for the maintenance of leukemia and lymphoma cell survival (and growth). In the course of examining the microenvirn-mental effects on lymphoma and leukemia cell growth, we found that cysteine suppressed apoptosis in these cells. In a present study, in order to investigate the role of cystein on the suppression of apoptotic cell death, we used CS21, P388, and L1210 cell lines. The addition of BSO, an inhibitor of glutathione synthase, induced apoptosis of these cells by blocking the cellular uptake of cysteine in CS21 cells. Although L1210 cells underwent apoptosis without thiol compounds, the addition of these compounds suppressed the apoptosis and promoted the growth or L1210 cells. When specific inhibitors of caspase3-like proteases, but not caspase1-like proteases, were activated during the L1210 cell apoptosis but the addition of thiol compounds suppressed the activation of caspase3-like proteases. These results suggest that reduced thiols including cysteine play an important role in the suppression of cell apoptosis by inhibiting the activation of caspase3-like proteases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.21-26
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• 2000

Cytokine deprivation-induced apoptosis can abrogate by the appropriate survival factors. Because the mechanism of Interleukin (IL)-2 deprived apoptotic cell death remains unclear, we here show the apoptosis in CTLL2 cells correlates with an increase of the activity of caspase3-like protease(s). Inhibition of caspase3-like protease(s) with caspase protease inhibitors (Z-VAD, Z-EVD, and Z-LPD) blocks typical apoptotic morphological abnormalities in CTLL2 cells. Interestingly, Bcl-{TEX}$X_{L}${/TEX} protein was decreased by IL-2 deprivation in the cells. These results suggest that caspase3-like protease(s), not caspase1, plays an important role in apoptosis execution of CTLL2 cell death.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.2129-2140
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• 2017

Silibinin is the major active component of silymarin, extracted from the medicinal plant Silybum marianum. Silibinin has potent antibacterial activity; however, the exact mechanism underlying its activity has not been elucidated. Here, we investigated the novel mechanism of silibinin against Escherichia coli. Time-kill kinetic assay showed that silibinin possess a bactericidal effect at minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and higher concentrations (2-and 4-fold MIC). At the membrane, depolarization and increased intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ levels were observed, considered as characteristics of bacterial apoptosis. Additionally, cells treated with MIC and higher concentrations showed apoptotic features like DNA fragmentation, phosphatidylserine exposure, and caspase-like protein expression. Generally, apoptotic death is closely related with ROS generation; however, silibinin did not induce ROS generation but acted as a scavenger of intracellular ROS. These results indicate that silibinin dose-dependently induces bacterial apoptosis-like death, which was affected by ROS depletion, suggesting that silibinin is a potential candidate for controlling bacteria.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.426-430
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• 2001

Cells are eliminated in a variety of physiological settings by apoptosis, a genetically encoded process of cellular suicide. Bak, a member of the Bcl-2 protein family, accelerates apoptosis by an unknown mechanism. We have found a novel cDNA encoding a 101 amino acid protein possessing a Bak-like in our full-length cDNA bank. Bak-like shares the conserved domains BHI and 2 with other proapoptotic proteins but lacks the BH3 domain. Bak-like is expressed in a wide variety of tissues. Like Bak, Bak-like gene product primarily enhances apoptotic cell death following an appropriate stimulus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1014-1021
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• 2019

In the bacterial community, unicellular organisms act together as a multicellular being. Bacteria interact within the community and programmed cell death (PCD) in prokaryotes is a sort of altruistic action that enables the whole population to thrive. Genetically, encoded cell death pathways are triggered by DNA damage or nutrient starvation. Given the environmental and bacterial diversity, different PCD mechanisms are operated. Still, their biochemical and physiological aspects remain unrevealed. There are three main pathways; thymineless death, apoptosis-like death, and toxin-antitoxin systems. The discovery of PCD in bacteria has revealed the possibility of developing new antibiotics. In this review, the molecular and physiological characteristics of the three types of PCD and their development potential as antibacterial agents are addressed.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.139-148
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• 2009

Cell death has been traditionally classified in apoptosis and necrosis. Apoptosis, known as programmed cell death, is an active form of cell death mechanism that is tightly regulated by multiple cellular signaling pathways and requires ATP for its appropriate process. Apoptotic death plays essential roles for successful development and maintenance of normal cellular homeostasis in mammalian. In contrast to apoptosis, necrosis is classically considered as a passive cell death process that occurs rather by accident in disastrous conditions, is not required for energy and eventually induces inflammation. Regardless of different characteristics between apoptosis and necrosis, it has been well defined that both are responsible for a wide range of human diseases. Glycogen storage disease type I (GSD-I) is a kind of human genetic disorders and is caused by the deficiency of a microsomal protein, glucose-6-phosphatase-${\alpha}$ ($G6Pase-{\alpha}$) or glucose-6-phosphate transporter (G6PT) responsible for glucose homeostasis, leading to GSD-Ia or GSD-Ib, respectively. This review summarizes cell deaths in GSD-I and mostly focuses on current knowledge of the neutrophil apoptosis in GSD-Ib based upon ER stress and redox signaling.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2000

This study was designed to evaluate the mechanism by which reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) induced the cytotoxicity of human doparminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. 3-Morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-l), a donor of peroxynitrite (ONOO) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a donor of nitric oxide (NO) induced cell detachment and apoptotic death, as characterized by chromatin condensation, the ladder pattern fragmentation of genomic DNA and morphological nuclear changes. SIN-l also induced the activation of caspase 3-like protease in a time-dependent manner. Exogenous antioxidants, such as reduced glutathione (GSH), N-acetylcysteine (NAC), and selenium protected the cells from apoptotic death and reduced the activation of caspase 3-like protease by SIN-1. Furthermore, SIN-l directly reduced the intracellular levels of glutathione. Taken together, these data suggested that RNI including NO and peroxynitrite decrease the concentration of intracellular antioxidant such as GSH, which lead to the apoptotic death of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.937-942
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• 2003

Nitric oxide(NO) induces apoptosis in human osteoblasts. Treatment with exogenous NO donors, SNAP (S-Nitroso-N-acelylpenicillamine) and SNP (sodium nitroprusside), to MG-63 osteoblasts resulted in apoptotic morphological changes, as shown by a bright blue-fluorescent condensed nuclei and chromatin fragmentation by fluorescence microscope of Hoechst 33258-staining. The activities of caspase-9 and the subsequent caspase-3-like cysteine proteases were increased during NO-induced cell death. Pretreatment with Z-VAD-FMK (a pancaspase inhibitor) or Ac-DEVD-CHO (a specific caspase-3 inhibitor) abrogated the NO-induced cell death. The NO donor markedly activated JNK, a stress-activated protein kinase in the human osteoblasts. This study showed that the inhibition of the JNK pathway markedly reduced NO-induced cell death. But neither PD98059 (MEK inhibitor) nor SB203580 (p38 MAPK inhibitor) had any effect on NO-induced death. Taken together, these results suggest that JNK/SAPK may be related to NO-induced apoptosis in MG-63 human osteoblasts.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 1999

Highly metastatic mouse T-lymphoma CS21 cells can grow in vitro when cocultured with CA12 lymph node stromal cells, but they undergo apoptotic cell death when separated from CA12 stromal cells. It has been found that cysteine and interleukin-7(IL-7) as antiapoptotic soluble factors that produced by CA12 stromal cells. In this study, we report that an ICE family protease is activated in CS21 cells when separated from CA12 stromal cells and cultured alone. Enzyme purification using an avidin affinity column revealed that the involved cysteine protease possessed caspase3-like death protease activity. In addition, when IL-7 was added to CS21 cell culture, the protease activity could not be detected during partial purification of the enzyme. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that the caspase3-like protease activation is suppressed by IL-7 as an antiapoptotic factor that leads to abrogation of apoptosis execution.