Regulation of death receptors-Relevance in cancer therapies
- Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku, PO Box 123, FIN-20521 Turku (Finland)
- Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku, PO Box 123, FIN-20521 Turku (Finland) and Department of Biology, University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku (Finland)
Apoptosis is an essential non-inflammatory mechanism for cell removal, which occurs during both physiological and pathological conditions. Apoptosis is characteristically executed by cysteine proteases, termed caspases. The most specific way to activate the caspases machinery is through death receptors (DRs), such as the tumor necrosis factor (TNFR), Fas receptor (FasR), and TRAIL (TRAIL-R). The apoptotic signaling is tightly regulated by the balance of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins and an imbalance between cell death and proliferation may cause numerous diseases, including cancers. The intensive research during the past decade has delineated the basic mechanisms of apoptosis and outlined many important molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of apoptosis. There is also a better understanding of how the regulation of apoptosis can be disturbed in human cancer cells. The interplay between DRs signaling and anticancer drugs has offered new concepts for the development of highly specific therapeutical agents. Here we review the current understanding of the different molecular mechanisms that regulate DR-mediated apoptosis and the defects in apoptotic signaling discovered in cancer cells. In light of this knowledge, new promising target-based agents for future cancer therapies have been developed.
- OSTI ID:
- 20721899
- Journal Information:
- Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 207, Issue 2,suppl.1; Conference: ICT X 2004: 10. international congress of toxicology: Living in a safe chemical world, Tampere (Finland), 11-15 Jul 2004; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2005.03.032; PII: S0041-008X(05)00331-5; Copyright (c) 2005 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0041-008X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Antihypertensive drug-candesartan attenuates TRAIL resistance in human lung cancer via AMPK-mediated inhibition of autophagy flux
α-Hispanolol sensitizes hepatocellular carcinoma cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis via death receptor up-regulation