Potentiated caspase-3 in Ras-transformed 10T1/2 cells.
Procaspase-3 protein content is highly elevated in fully Ras-transformed mouse embryo fibroblast 10T1/2 cells in which ectopic expression of oncogenic H-Ras is induced by a tetracycline-regulated expression system. Blockage of the ERK pathway results in profound reduction of transcript and protein content of procaspase-3 in both Ras-transformed and non-transformed counterpart 10T1/2 cells, indicating that the ERK pathway is involved in procaspase-3 gene expression. The elevated procaspase-3 protein content appears to facilitate the proteolytic production of active caspase-3 during selective induction of apoptosis of Ras-transformed cells by a discriminating anticancer agent, FR901228, whereas it induces growth arrest of non-transformed counterpart cells. The evidence indicates a potential role of the elevated procaspase-3 protein content and an essential role of the ERK pathway for procaspase-3 expression in the increased susceptibility of Ras-transformed 10T1/2 cells to anticancer agent FR901228.
Anticancer Molecular Oncology Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
Ping
P
Song
Jinxiong
J
Wei
Howard
H
Plummer
Hwa-Chain Robert
HC
Wang
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005347:Fibroblasts; D051379:Mice; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013752:Tetracycline; D018631:ras Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
C505409:Casp3 protein, mouse; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D018631:ras Proteins; D013752:Tetracycline