Endoplasmic reticulum stress and proteasomal system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Protein processing including folding, unfolding and degradation is involved in the mechanisms of many diseases. Unfolded protein response and/or endoplasmic reticulum stress are accepted to be the first steps which should be completed via protein degradation. In this direction, proteasomal system and autophagy play important role as the degradation pathways and controlled via complex mechanisms. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease which is also known as the most catastrophic one. Mutation of many different genes are involved in the pathogenesis such as superoxide dismutase 1, chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 and ubiquilin 2. These genes are mainly related to the antioxidant defense systems, endoplasmic reticulum stress related proteins and also protein aggregation, degradation pathways and therefore mutation of these genes cause related disorders.This review focused on the role of protein processing via endoplasmic reticulum and proteasomal system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis which are the main players in the pathology. In this direction, dysfunction of endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation and related cell death mechanisms that are autophagy/apoptosis have been detailed. © 2015 Elsevier Inc.All rights reserved

Resveratrol induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma cells

Abstract Background: Resveratrol is a natural anti-carcinogenic polyphenol. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis. In this study, we investigated the effects of resveratrol on epithelioid MPM. Material and methods: Human epithelioid MPM cell line (NCI-H2452) was exposed to resveratrol (5–200 μM) for 24 or 48 h. Cell viability was assessed by WST-1 assay. Flow cytometry analyses were performed to evaluate the effects of resveratrol on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. Western blot analysis was used to determine protein expression levels of antioxidant enzymes, cyclin D1 and p53. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured using H2DCFDA. Results: Resveratrol reduced cell viability of the cells in a concentration and time dependent manner. After treatment, the cells accumulated in G0/G1 phase and the percentage of cells in G2/M phase was reduced. Resveratrol decreased cyclin D1 and increased p53 expression in cell lysates. Treated cells exhibited increased apoptotic activity. ROS were elevated with resveratrol treatment, but there was no change in the expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD)-1, SOD-2 and glutathione peroxidase. Conclusion: Our results revealed that resveratrol exhibits anti-cell viability effect on epithelioid MPM cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Resveratrol may become a potential therapeutic agent for epithelioid MPM.</jats:sec

Synergistic Effects of Methotrexate and Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid in Triggering Apoptosis of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells

In this study, we have investigated the effects of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells in combination studies with methotrexate (MTX), which is a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor used in combination therapy with other agents or alone. Combination of synergistic ratios of MTX and SAHA led to apoptotic cell death of CML cells via PARR cleavage, cytochrome c release and ROS increase in vitro. We suggest that combination of MD( and SAHA may minimize the toxicity and side effects of SAHA treatment, thus providing lower amounts of each drug in CML treatment