Actinomycin D: Classical anti-neoplastic drug. Cytotoxic inducer of apoptosis against tumor cells. A DNA dependent inhibitor of RNA synthesis, actinomycin promotes induction of apoptosis by some specific stimuli, for example, TRAIL and Fas (CD95). Actinomycin D can also alleviate or block the apoptotic process and decrease the cytotoxicity induced by several stimuli such as the dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor aminopterin and the prostaglandin derivative 15-deoxy-D12,14-prostaglandin J2, thus it can have both pro and ant-apoptotic activities in some systems. Camptothecin: Powerful anti-tumor agent. Camptoethecin is an inhibitor of DNA-topoisomerase I. The drug activates the p53 resulting in upregulated expression of TRAIL-R2 (DR5) and Bak to overcome TRAIL resistance in Bax-deficient human colon carcinoma cancer cells. In addition, Camptoethecin induced apoptosis can be increased by the presence of cytokines such as TNF via its subsequent inhibition of NFkappa B {Valente P et al Eur J Cancer (2003) 39:1468-77}. Cycloheximide: A potent protein translation inhibitor which results in the inhibition of protein synthesis and subsequent arrest of cell growth and induction of cell death. Cycloheximide also facilitates apoptosis induction via FasL, however, cycloheximide can also prevent apoptosis in some systems, such as thalassemic serum induction of HUVEC cells {Banjerdpong, R. (1998) Ph.D Thesis Mahidol Univ. Bangkok, Thailand}. Dexamethasone: Classic inducer of apoptosis in thymocytes; a glucocorticoid anti-inflammatory agent. Regulates T cell survival, growth and differientiation; modulator of nitric oxide synthase. Induces apoptosis in thymocytes as well as other immune cells like microglia. However, like other apoptotic inducers, dexamethasone can suppress apoptosis in certain systems through the activation of anti-apoptotic proteins such as bcl-X {Chang, et al (1997) FEBS Letter 415:11-15}. Etoposide: Potent topoisomerase II inhibitor. An anti-tumor agent that enhances dsDNA & ssDNA cleavage and inhibits DNA religation. Inhibits the cell cycle in the S-phase and induces apoptosis in normal and tumor cell lines, but can be modulated by intracellular levels of cAMP and other factors {Bermejo, L et al (1998) J. Cell Sci 111:637-644;Solovyyan, V et al. (1998) Brain Res Mol Brain Res 62:43-55}
Application: Research CategoryApoptosis & Cancer
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