title: Inhibition of caspase 3 abrogates lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production by preventing activation of NF-kappaB and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase in RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells.
abstract: The effect of caspase inhibitors on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 267.4 murine macrophage cells was investigated. Pretreatment of RAW cells with a broad caspase inhibitor, benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-FMK), resulted in a striking reduction in LPS-induced NO production. Z-VAD-FMK inhibited LPS-induced NF-kappaB activation. Furthermore, it blocked phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) but not that of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases. Similarly, a caspase 3-specific inhibitor, Z-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethylketone, inhibited NO production, NF-kappaB activation, and JNK/SAPK phosphorylation in LPS-stimulated RAW cells. The attenuated NO production was due to inhibition of the expression of an inducible-type NO synthase (iNOS). The overexpression of the dominant negative mutant of JNK/SAPK and the addition of a JNK/SAPK inhibitor blocked iNOS expression but did not block LPS-induced caspase 3 activation. It was therefore suggested that the inhibition of caspase 3 might abrogate LPS-induced NO production by preventing the activation of NF-kappaB and JNK/SAPK. The caspase family, especially caspase 3, is likely to play an important role in the signal transduction for iNOS-mediated NO production in LPS-stimulated mouse macrophages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Division of Bacterial Toxin, Research Center for Infectious Disease, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1195, Japan.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chakravortty
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokochi
mesh_terms: D000590:Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D053148:Caspase 3; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D009579:Nitrobenzoates / Q000494:pharmacology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D020239:Receptor Cross-Talk; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000590:Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D016328:NF-kappa B; D009579:Nitrobenzoates; C096713:benzyloxycarbonylvalyl-alanyl-aspartyl fluoromethyl ketone; D009569:Nitric Oxide; C058176:5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; C496317:Nos2 protein, mouse; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; C505409:Casp3 protein, mouse; D053148:Caspase 3