title: p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase mediates bid cleavage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and caspase-3 activation during apoptosis induced by singlet oxygen but not by hydrogen peroxide.
abstract: p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase is activated and involved in cleavage of caspase-3 during apoptosis induced by a number of stimuli. However, the signaling events triggered by p38 that result in caspase-3 activation are still unknown. In human leukemia cells, two reactive oxygen species, singlet oxygen and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), selectively stimulated the phosphorylation of p38. Preincubation of cells with SB203580, a specific inhibitor of p38, dose dependently inhibited DNA fragmentation induced by singlet oxygen but not by H(2)O(2). Protection from apoptosis by SB203580 correlated with inhibition of caspase-3, and several events that are associated with caspase-3 activation, including Bid cleavage, decrease in mitochondrial transmembrane potential and release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, whereas caspase-8 cleavage was not affected by this inhibitor. In contrast, blockade of caspase-8 with Ile-Glu-Thr-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone is sufficient to prevent formation of DNA fragments and to inhibit all the above signaling events, with exception of p38 phosphorylation, in both singlet oxygen- and H(2)O(2)-treated cells. These data suggest that caspase-3 activation is regulated through redundant signaling pathways that involve p38 and caspase-8 acting upstream of Bid during singlet oxygen-induced apoptosis, whereas the activation of caspase-3 by H(2)O(2) is only governed by a caspase-8-mediated apoptotic pathway.
authors.affiliation: Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Demirs
authors.forename: I E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Kochevar
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D026082:Singlet Oxygen; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007093:Imidazoles; D011725:Pyridines; D026082:Singlet Oxygen; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; C093642:SB 203580; D010100:Oxygen