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How does staurosporine cause apoptosis?

How does staurosporine cause apoptosis?

Staurosporine treatment resulted in an early cell death (within 3 h) in L1210/S cells, while in L1210/0 cells, death occurred only after 12 h. Thus, staurosporine induces apoptotic cell death through at least two redundant parallel pathways. These two pathways normally coexist in L1210/S cells.

Can cancer cells go through apoptosis?

There are many signals that can occur in cancer cells that quickly lead to apoptosis despite their typical evasion of apoptosis. Cancer cells are ‘primed for death’ meaning that they are closer to triggering the apoptotic pathway than normal cells [17].

How do cancer cells evade apoptosis?

In some cases, cancer cells may escape apoptosis by increasing or decreasing expression of anti- or pro-apoptotic genes, respectively. Alternatively, they may inhibit apoptosis by stabilizing or de-stabilizing anti- or pro-apoptotic proteins, respectively.

Are MCF 7 cells metastatic?

MCF-7 cells, a human breast carcinoma line, forms tumors when injected into athymic nude mice. These tumors are able to metastasize to lungs, liver and spleen. 17β-estradiol treatment increases both the growth rate and frequency of metastases.

What is staurosporine used for?

Staurosporine is a broad-spectrum protein kinase inhibitor that has been used extensively to induce apoptosis in a variety of cells including tumor cells, lymphocytes, neurons and other primary and transformed cell types (Bertrand et al., 1994; Jacobson et al., 1994, 1996; Krohn et al., 1998; Han et al., 2000).

What are apoptosis inducers?

Apoptosis inducers exhibit pro-apoptotic effects through a variety of mechanisms, including DNA cross-linking, inhibition of antiapoptotic proteins and activation of caspases. These inducers may target a specific cellular process in order to induce antitumor or antineoplastic effects.

How is apoptosis related to cancer development?

The apoptotic response is one that acts to cull cells that are proliferating aberrantly or that have suffered DNA damage, such as through checkpoint or repair defects. Cells with such lesions that also lack p53 proliferate or survive inappropriately, propelling the development of cancer.

What are MCF-7 cells used for?

MCF-7 cells are useful for in vitro breast studies because they retained several ideal characteristics particular to mammary epithelium, such as the processing of estrogen, in the form of estradiol, via estrogen receptors (ER) in the cell cytoplasm [28]. It is the first hormone responding breast cancer cell line.

How does staurosporine activate caspase-3?

Consistently, it has been shown that staurosporine-induced cell death is inhibited by Bcl-2 overexpression, involves the release of cytochrome c and results in caspase activation (Jacobson et al., 1994, 1996).

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Ruth Doyle