Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.10.1 (ERK)
95,504 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The role of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 2 and FGF9 as mediators of cell-cell interactions between Sertoli cells (SCs) and peritubular cells (PCs) was investigated. Using RT-PCR, we demonstrated that SCs and PCs recovered from 20-day-old rats expressed several of the seven FGF receptors (FGFRs), and more specifically the FGFR1 IIIc. FGF2 and FGF9 did not elicit any morphological changes in primary cultures of SCs, nor did they alter the number of SCs in culture. By contrast, changes in shape were observed in FGF2- and FGF9-treated PCs. In addition, FGF2 but not FGF9 enhanced significantly and dose-dependently the number of PCs in culture, indicating that FGF2 was a survival factor for these cells. It was also mitogenic because it enhanced the [3H]thymidine labeling index in PCs. We next examined the effects of FGF2 and FGF9 in a coculture system using 20-day-old rat SCs and PCs, and in an organotypic culture system using XY rat embryonic gonads. In both models, FGF2 and FGF9 were found to promote cellular interactions as evidenced by the extent of cellular reorganization in the coculture system, and cord morphogenesis and growth in the organotypic culture system. A key feature in SC-PC interactions is the synthesis and remodeling of the basement membrane which is co-elaborated by the two cell types. Since basement membrane homeostasis depends upon the coordinated activity of proteinases and inhibitors, the proteinases and inhibitors produced by PCs and SCs degrading or opposing degradation of the major components of the basement membrane were further studied. Specifically, we monitored the metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and -9 and the tissue inhibitors -1, -2 and -3, the plasminogen activators (PAs) and the PA inhibitor-1, using zymography for the proteinases and Western blots for the cognate inhibitors. Cocultures received FGF or an analog of cAMP in order to prevent cellular reorganization. We found that FGF2 was unique in inducing MMP-9 in coculture. Also, the enhanced levels of the PA inhibitor-1 and the 30 kDa band glycosylated form of tissue inhibitor-3 correlated with the enhanced SC-PC reorganization. It was concluded that FGF2 and FGF9 are morphogens for the formation of testicular cords.
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PMID:Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 2 and FGF9 mediate mesenchymal-epithelial interactions of peritubular and Sertoli cells in the rat testis. 1621 49

Morphogenesis of the lung is regulated by reciprocal signaling between epithelium and mesenchyme. In previous studies, we have shown that FGF9 signals are essential for lung mesenchyme development. Using Fgf9 loss-of-function and inducible gain-of-function mouse models, we show that lung mesenchyme can be divided into two distinct regions: the sub-mesothelial and sub-epithelial compartments, which proliferate in response to unique growth factor signals. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 9 signals from the mesothelium (the future pleura) to sub-mesothelial mesenchyme through both FGF receptor (FGFR) 1 and FGFR2 to induce proliferation. FGF9 also signals from the epithelium to the sub-epithelial mesenchyme to maintain SHH signaling, which regulates cell proliferation, survival and the expression of mesenchymal to epithelial signals. We further show that FGF9 represses peribronchiolar smooth muscle differentiation and stimulates vascular development in vivo. We propose a model in which FGF9 and SHH signals cooperate to regulate mesenchymal proliferation in distinct submesothelial and subepithelial regions. These data provide a molecular mechanism by which mesothelial and epithelial FGF9 directs lung development by regulating mesenchymal growth, and the pattern and expression levels of mesenchymal growth factors that signal back to the epithelium.
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PMID:FGF9 and SHH signaling coordinate lung growth and development through regulation of distinct mesenchymal domains. 1654 May 13

Comprehensive gene networks in Ciona intestinalis embryos provide a foundation for characterizing complex developmental processes, such as the initial phases of chordate heart development. The basic helix-loop-helix regulatory gene Ci-Mesp is required for activation of cardiac transcription factors. Evidence is presented that Ci-Ets1/2, a transcriptional effector of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling, acts downstream from Mesp to establish the heart field. Asymmetric activation of Ets1/2, possibly through localized expression of FGF9, drives heart specification within this field. During gastrulation, Ets1/2 is expressed in a group of four cells descended from two Mesp-expressing founder cells (the B7.5 cells). After gastrulation, these cells divide asymmetrically; the smaller rostral daughters exhibit RTK activation (phosphorylation of ERK) and form the heart lineage while the larger caudal daughters form the anterior tail muscle lineage. Inhibition of RTK signaling prevents heart specification. Targeted inhibition of Ets1/2 activity or FGF receptor function also blocks heart specification. Conversely, application of FGF or targeted expression of constitutively active Ets1/2 (EtsVp16) cause both rostral and caudal B7.5 lineages to form heart cells. This expansion produces an unexpected phenotype: transformation of a single-compartment heart into a functional multicompartment organ. We discuss these results with regard to the development and evolution of the multichambered vertebrate heart.
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PMID:FGF signaling delineates the cardiac progenitor field in the simple chordate, Ciona intestinalis. 1701 27

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling has been implicated in the generation of mesoderm and neural fates in chordate embryos including ascidians and vertebrates. In Ciona, FGF9/16/20 has been implicated in both of these processes. However, in FGF9/16/20 knockdown embryos, notochord fate recovers during later development. It is thus not clear if FGF signalling is an essential requirement for notochord specification in Ciona embryos. We show that FGF-MEK-ERK signals act during two distinct phases to establish notochord fate. During the first phase, FGF signalling is required during an asymmetric cell division to promote notochord at the expense of neural identity. Consistently, ERK1/2 is specifically activated in the notochord precursors following this cell division. Sustained activation of ERK1/2 is then required to maintain notochord fate. We demonstrate that FGF9/16/20 acts solely during the initial induction step and that, subsequently, FGF8/17/18 together with FGF9/16/20 is involved in the following maintenance step. These results together with others' show that the formation of a large part of the mesoderm cell types in ascidian larvae is dependent on signalling events involving FGF ligands.
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PMID:FGF8/17/18 functions together with FGF9/16/20 during formation of the notochord in Ciona embryos. 1702 60

The alpha-2-adrenergic receptor agonist brimonidine has been shown to increase survival of retinal ganglion cells following ischemic injury to the rat retina. Increased expression of growth factors has been suggested to be involved in this action. We investigated expressional changes of growth factors and their receptors following transient retinal ischemia induced by selective ligature of ophthalmic vessels in rats pre-treated with vehicle or 0.5% brimonidine. In addition, analysis of expression in retinal samples following unilateral administration of brimonidine to normal tissue was performed. Tissue samples of retina and superior colliculus were collected at time points between 6h and 14 days of retinal reperfusion. Analysis of mRNA levels of the ligands BDNF, NT3, CNTF, FGF1, FGF2, FGF9 and HGF; as well as the receptors TrkB, TrkC, p75(NTR), CNTFRalpha, FGFR1, FGFR3, FGFR4 and HGFR were performed using qRT-PCR. The cell specific markers Thy1 and GFAP were analysed. We report transiently increased retinal levels of BDNF, NT3, p75(NTR), FGFR1 and HGFR and decreased levels of FGF9, HGF, TrkB, TrkC, FGFR4 and Thy1 following ischemia. The decreases were counteracted by brimonidine. Brimonidine treatment gave an increase in BDNF, NT3 and CNTF levels compared to the vehicle treated group. In superior colliculus increased levels of growth factor mRNA were found. In conclusion, transient ischemia has a profound effect on gene expression in rat retina. Alterations can also be seen in the superior colliculus but are smaller. Brimonidine pre-treatment attenuates an acute injury-induced response by decreasing the expression of several genes, among them p75(NTR). Brimonidine also causes a prolonged increase of several growth factors as well as receptors in retina and superior colliculus compared to the ischemic situation. The increased expression of several growth factors represents a coordinated growth factor system response that differs from the ischemia-induced changes and is likely part of the neuroprotective activity that is elicited by BMD pre-treatment.
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PMID:The growth factor response in ischemic rat retina and superior colliculus after brimonidine pre-treatment. 1711 48

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) are key signaling molecules for pancreas development. Although FGFR3 is a crucial developmental gene, acting as a negative regulator of bone formation, its participation remains unexplored in pancreatic organogenesis. We found that FGFR3 was expressed in the epithelia in both mouse embryonic and adult regenerating pancreata but was absent in normal adult islets. In FGFR3 knockout mice, we observed an increase in the proliferation of epithelial cells in neonates, leading to a marked increase in islet areas in adults. In vitro studies showed that FGF9 is a very potent ligand for FGFR3 and activates extracellular signal-related kinases (ERKs) in pancreatic cell lines. Moreover, FGFR3 blockade or FGFR3 deficiency led to increased proliferation of pancreatic epithelial cells in vivo. This was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of potential islet progenitor cells. Thus, our results show that FGFR3 signaling inhibits the expansion of the immature pancreatic epithelium. Consequently, this study suggests that FGFR3 participates in regulating pancreatic growth during the emergence of mature islet cells.
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PMID:FGFR3 is a negative regulator of the expansion of pancreatic epithelial cells. 1719 70

Nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NS CLP) is a complex birth defect resulting from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Several members of the FGF and FGFR families are expressed during craniofacial development and can rarely harbor mutations that result in human clefting syndromes. We hypothesized that disruptions in this pathway might also contribute to NS CLP. We sequenced the coding regions and performed association testing on 12 genes (FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, FGF2, FGF3, FGF4, FGF7, FGF8, FGF9, FGF10, FGF18, and NUDT6) and used protein structure analyses to predict the function of amino acid variants. Seven likely disease-causing mutations were identified, including: one nonsense mutation (R609X) in FGFR1, a de novo missense mutation (D73H) in FGF8, and other missense variants in FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGFR3. Structural analysis of FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGF8 variants suggests that these mutations would impair the function of the proteins, albeit through different mechanisms. Genotyping of SNPs in the genes found associations between NS CLP and SNPs in FGF3, FGF7, FGF10, FGF18, and FGFR1. The data suggest that the FGF signaling pathway may contribute to as much as 3-5% of NS CLP and will be a consideration in the clinical management of CLP.
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PMID:Impaired FGF signaling contributes to cleft lip and palate. 1736 May 55

Gain-of-function mutations in fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors result in chondrodysplasia and craniosynostosis syndromes, highlighting the critical role for FGF signaling in skeletal development. Although the FGFRs involved in skeletal development have been well characterized, only a single FGF ligand, FGF18, has been identified that regulates skeletal development during embryogenesis. Here we identify Fgf9 as a second FGF ligand that is critical for skeletal development. We show that Fgf9 is expressed in the proximity of developing skeletal elements and that Fgf9-deficient mice exhibit rhizomelia (a disproportionate shortening of proximal skeletal elements), which is a prominent feature of patients with FGFR3-induced chondrodysplasia syndromes. Although Fgf9 is expressed in the apical ectodermal ridge in the limb bud, we demonstrate that the Fgf9-/- limb phenotype results from loss of FGF9 functions after formation of the mesenchymal condensation. In developing stylopod elements, FGF9 promotes chondrocyte hypertrophy at early stages and regulates vascularization of the growth plate and osteogenesis at later stages of skeletal development.
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PMID:FGF9 regulates early hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation and skeletal vascularization in the developing stylopod. 1754 91

Hepatic injury and regeneration of the liver are associated with activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors are important regulators of repair in various tissues. HSC express FGFR3IIIc as well as FGFGR4 and different spliced FGFR1IIIc and FGFR2IIIc isoforms which differ in the presence or absence of the acid box and of the first Ig-like domain. Expression of FGF9, known to be capable to activate the HSC FGFR2/3-isoforms, was increased in HSC in liver slice cultures after exposition to carbon tetrachloride, as an acute liver injury model. FGF9 significantly stimulated 3-H thymidine incorporation of hepatocytes, but failed to induce DNA synthesis in HSC despite the fact that FGF9 induced a sustained activation of extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK) 1/2. FGF9 induced an increased phosphorylation of Tyr436 of the fibroblast growth factor receptor substrate (FRS) 2, while phosphorylation of Tyr196 which is required for efficient Grb2 recruitment remained unchanged. Our findings suggest that HSC FGF9 provide a paracrine mitogenic signal to hepatocytes during acute liver injury, while the autocrine FGF9 signaling appears to be not sufficient to induce cell proliferation.
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PMID:Expression and function of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 9 in hepatic stellate cells and its role in toxic liver injury. 1766 49

Targeted mutagenesis of Fgf9 in mice causes male-to-female sex reversal. Among the four FGF receptors, FGFR2 showed two highly specific patterns based on antibody staining, suggesting that it might be the receptor-mediating FGF9 signaling in the gonad. FGFR2 was detected at the plasma membrane in proliferating coelomic epithelial cells and in the nucleus in Sertoli progenitor cells. This expression pattern suggested that Fgfr2 might play more than one role in testis development. To test the hypothesis that Fgfr2 is required for male sex determination, we crossed mice carrying a floxed allele of Fgfr2 with two different Cre lines to induce a temporal or cell-specific deletion of this receptor. Results show that deletion of Fgfr2 in embryonic gonads phenocopies deletion of Fgf9 and leads to male-to-female sex reversal. Using these two Cre lines, we provide the first genetic evidence that Fgfr2 plays distinct roles in proliferation and Sertoli cell differentiation during testis development.
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PMID:Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 regulates proliferation and Sertoli differentiation during male sex determination. 1794 49


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