Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: 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 effects of vinorelbine and paclitaxel on the activity of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase2 (ERK2), a member of MAP kinase, and its role in the induction of bcl-2 phosphorylation and apoptosis were evaluated in MCF-7 cells. We demonstrated that ERK2 was activated rapidly by vinorelbine, and was inhibited by either paclitaxel or estramustine. A 3-fold increase of ERK2 kinase activity was observed within 30 min when MCF-7 cells were treated with 0.1 microM vinorelbine. In contrast, the same treatment with paclitaxel resulted in a significant decrease of ERK2 kinase activity. We also demonstrated that elevated bcl-2 phosphorylation induced by vinorelbine is paralleled by decrease of a complex formation between bcl-2 and bax, cleavage of poly (ADP) ribose polymerase (PARP) protein, activation of caspase-7, and apoptosis. The levels of bcl-2 phosphorylation, bax, and PARP were not significantly affected by 2'-amino-3'-methoxyflavone (PD 98059), an ERK kinase specific inhibitor. Thus, our data suggest that the apoptosis induced by vinorelbine in MCF-7 cells is mediated through the bcl-2 phosphorylation/bax/caspases pathways, and that activation of ERK2 by vinorelbine does not directly lead to the drug-mediated apoptosis. Since decrease of PARP occurred quickly following the treatment of MCF-7 cells with either 0.1 microM of vinorelbine or paclitaxel, this protein may serve as an early indicator of apoptosis induced not only by DNA damaging agents, but also by antimicrotubule drugs.
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PMID:Differential effect of vinorelbine versus paclitaxel on ERK2 kinase activity during apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. 1172 Apr 82

Heregulins are a group of growth factors that play diverse and critical roles in the signaling network of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER or EGFR) superfamily. Our earlier studies have shown that recombinant heregulinbeta1 (HRG) induces apoptosis in SKBr3 breast cancer cells that overexpress HER2. Here we report molecular mechanisms of HRG-induced apoptosis. HRG treatment of SKBr3 cells for 72 h decreased the level of Bcl-2 protein. HRG treatment led to degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and activated both caspase-9 and caspase-7. No significant activation of caspase-3, -6, or -8 was detected. Expression of exogenous caspase-7 by adenovirus-caspase-7 (Ad-casp-7) in SKBr3 cells resulted in apoptosis, which mimicked the effect of HRG treatment. Expression of exogenous caspase-7 had no impact on Bcl-2 expression, but promoted PARP degradation. Two highly selective inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC), GF109203X (GF) and Ro318425 (Ro), significantly enhanced HRG-induced apoptosis as determined by flow cytometric analysis and DNA fragmentation assay. Accordingly, the PKC inhibitor GF further decreased the level of Bcl-2 protein and further degraded PARP in HRG-treated cells. Assay of PKC activity indicated that HRG activated PKC in SKBr3 cells, predominantly affecting the PKCalpha isoform. To confirm which PKC isoform(s) mediated potentiation of HRG-induced apoptosis, the profile of PKC isoforms was measured in SKBr3 cells. Five PKC isoforms, PKCalpha, PKCiota, PKCzeta, PKClambda, and PKCdelta as well as their receptors (RACK1) were expressed in this cell line. Treatment with PKC inhibitors GF and Ro decreased protein levels of both PKCalpha and PKCdelta at 24 h. PKCalpha levels were still depressed at 72 h. GF and Ro had little effect on the expression of other PKC isoforms. An inhibitor of classical PKC isoforms (Go6976) enhanced HRG-induced apoptosis, whereas the PKCdelta selective inhibitor rottlerin did not. As PKCalpha was the only classical isoform expressed in SKBr3 cells, the effect of Go6976 on HRG-induced apoptosis largely related to inhibition of PKCalpha. Constitutive expression of wild-type PKCalpha attenuated the apoptosis produced by HRG and GF. Consequently, HRG-induced apoptosis in SKBr3 cells appeared to involve down-regulation of Bcl-2 protein, activation of caspase-9 and caspase-7, and degradation of PARP. Inhibition of PKC function enhanced HRG-induced apoptosis, leading to synergistic down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression. Impairment of the PKCalpha isoform alone was sufficient to potentiate HRG-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Heregulin-induced apoptosis is mediated by down-regulation of Bcl-2 and activation of caspase-7 and is potentiated by impairment of protein kinase C alpha activity. 1178 40

The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway plays a critical role in the degradation of cellular proteins related to signal transduction. Cytokine and growth factor-dependent aberrant proliferation has been implicated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We hypothesized that inhibiting the proteasome function might activate a proapoptotic signal transduction by modulating the cytokine and growth factor related signal transduction pathway. We therefore investigated the effectiveness of a proteasome inhibitor in the treatment of RCC regarding the involvement of Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases), because MAP kinases are major signal transduction molecules that are known to play a pivotal role in cancer cell proliferation or apoptosis triggered by extra-cellular cytokines and growth factors. A proteasome inhibitor, MG132 inhibited the proliferation of RCC cell lines, 786-O and KU20-01 in a time and dose-dependent manner. 786-O cells have truncated von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene protein due to a one base pair deletion at exon 1, whereas KU20-01 cells have a wild-type VHL protein. MG132 induced apoptosis in both cell lines. The inhibition of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathways was confirmed by the accumulation of ubiquitin-tagged proteins. MG132 induced the phosphorylation of ERK at 4 h and thereafter persisted for 8 to 16 h. In contrast, JNK and p38 activation persisted for longer periods and remained enhanced until 24 h. The concomitant activation of effector caspases, caspase-3 and caspase-7 was observed in 786-O cells. The inhibition of the proteasome function can induce apoptosis in RCC irrespective of the VHL protein status. The persistence of JNK and p38 activation may therefore be a unique mechanism underlying MG132 induced apoptosis.
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PMID:Inhibition of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway activates stress kinases and induces apoptosis in renal cancer cells. 1528 72

STI571 is a specific inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, such as BCR-ABL, platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and c-KIT, and has recently been approved for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). This study demonstrated that STI571 induces cell death in the gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell line, GIST-T1. In these cells, STI571 induced pro-caspase-12 or pro-caspase-7 cleavage and it affected caspase-3 activity and induced the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident chaperone, glucose-regulated protein 78. The STI571-induced cell death was blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. Together, these results suggest that STI571 induces cell death in GIST-T1 cells, at least in part, via the ER stress response.
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PMID:STI571 (Glivec) induces cell death in the gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell line, GIST-T1, via endoplasmic reticulum stress response. 1659 77

Acrolein, which is a highly reactive alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde generated by lipid peroxidation, can affect cells and tissues and cause various disorders. Increased levels of unsaturated aldehydes play an important role in the pathogenesis of a number of human diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis and diabetes. Acrolein is a highly ubiquitous toxic environmental pollutant. Because of human exposure, there is a need for investigating the mechanisms involved in acrolein toxicity at the cellular and molecular levels. Acrolein can induce cell death by apoptosis, although the mechanisms are not entirely clear. The present study investigates whether mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play a role in activation of apoptosis by acrolein. Our findings show that acrolein-mediated apoptosis is in fact MAPK-dependent in Chinese hamster ovary cells. The MAP family kinases, including ERK and p38 kinase, and the transcription factor c-Jun were all activated by phosphorylation after 1 h exposure to acrolein. Phosphorylation of ERK and p38 kinases and their blockade by an ERK inhibitor, U0126, or a p38 inhibitor, SB203580, respectively, suggested that activation of apoptosis by acrolein is ERK- and p38-dependent. Thus, blockade of ERK and p38 inhibited chromatin condensation, caspase-7 and -9 activation as well as ICAD cleavage induced by acrolein. JNK and AKT kinases seem to be implicated in survival pathways against acrolein insult, since their respective inhibitors, SP600125 and LY294002/Wortmannin switched the mode of cell death from apoptosis to total necrosis. Finally, acrolein induced phosphorylation of the pro-apoptotic factor p53 which is responsible for transcription of pro-apoptotic factors such as Bax and Fas ligand. These results provide new information demonstrating the implication of MAPKs and AKT in acrolein-induced apoptosis, and this information may be useful for understanding the pathogenesis of a number of tissue diseases and environmental toxicity in response to acrolein.
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PMID:P38 and ERK mitogen-activated protein kinases mediate acrolein-induced apoptosis in Chinese hamster ovary cells. 1719 91

Oligonol is a novel catechin-rich biotechnology product. The role of oligonol in modulating intracellular signaling mechanisms was investigated with the view of demonstrating its potential chemopreventive effect and the ability to inhibit cell proliferation using the estrogen-responsive MCF-7 and the estrogen-unresponsive MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell lines. Cell survival assay indicated that Oligonol was cytotoxic to both cells. Oligonol triggered apoptosis as revealed by the morphological features typical of nucleus staining and the accumulation of sub-G1 peak. Treatment with 25 microg/ml Oligonol resulted in an activation of caspase-7 and up-regulation of Bad on MCF-7 cells, while the Oligonol (20 microg/ml) induced up-regulation of Bcl-2 protein in a time-response manner on MDA-MB-231 cells. ERK1/2 in both cells were inactivated after Oligonol treatment in a time-dependent manner, and also inactivated upstream MEK1/2. Oligonol triggers apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells through the modulation of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins and MEK/ERK signaling pathway.
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PMID:Induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by Oligonol is mediated by Bcl-2 family regulation and MEK/ERK signaling. 1755 7

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been shown to induce apoptosis through caspase activation in a number of cancer cell lines while displaying minimal or no toxicity on normal cells, suggesting that this protein may hold potential for development as a new cancer therapeutic agent. Moreover, TRAIL can activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in addition to caspases. However, it has not been clearly understood how MAPKs are activated by TRAIL and the biological significance of their activation. Here we show that TRAIL-induced MAPKs activation is dependent on caspase activation and that mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (Mst1) functions as a mediator between caspase activation and MAPKs activation. Activation of MAPKs (JNK, p38, ERK) is differentially regulated by cleavage size (40 kDa and 36 kDa) of Mst1, which is controlled by caspase-7 and -3.
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PMID:Differential cleavage of Mst1 by caspase-7/-3 is responsible for TRAIL-induced activation of the MAPK superfamily. 1827 9

The TrkA tyrosine kinase is activated by autophosphorylation in response to NGF, and plays an important role in cell survival, differentiation, and apoptosis. To investigate its role in cell fate determination, we produced stable TrkA-inducible SK-N-MC and U2OS cell lines using the Tet-On system. Interestingly, TrkA overexpression induced substantial cell death even in the absence of NGF, by stimulating ERK phosphorylation and caspase-7 activation leading to PARP cleavage. TrkA-mediated cell death was shown by the annexin-V binding assay to be, at least in part, apoptotic in both SK-N-MC and U2OS cells. Furthermore, the truncated form (p18) of Bax accumulated in the TrkA-induced cells, suggesting that TrkA induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. NGF treatment augmented the cell death induced by TrkA overexpression. This TrkA-induced cell death was blocked by the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, K-252a and GW441756. Moreover, TrkA overexpression inhibited long-term proliferation of both the neuronal SK-N-MC cells and the non-neuronal U2OS cells, suggesting a potential role of TrkA as a tumor suppressor.
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PMID:Apoptotic cell death in TrkA-overexpressing cells: kinetic regulation of ERK phosphorylation and caspase-7 activation. 1851 88

Beta-lapachone, an o-naphthoquinone, induces various carcinoma cells to undergo apoptosis, but the mechanism is poorly understood. In the present study, we found that the beta-lapachone-induced apoptosis of DU145 human prostate carcinoma cells was associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as shown by increased intracellular calcium levels and induction of GRP-78 and GADD-153 proteins, suggesting that the endoplasmic reticulum is a target of beta-lapachone. Beta-Lapachone-induced DU145 cell apoptosis was dose-dependent and accompanied by cleavage of procaspase-12 and phosphorylation of p38, ERK, and JNK, followed by activation of the executioner caspases, caspase-7 and calpain. However, pretreatment with the general caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-FMK, or calpain inhibitors, including ALLM or ALLN, failed to prevent beta-lapachone-induced apoptotic cell death. Blocking the enzyme activity of NQO1 with dicoumarol, a known NQO1 inhibitor, or preventing an increase in intracellular calcium levels using BAPTA-AM, an intracellular calcium chelator, substantially inhibited MAPK phosphorylation, abolished the activation of calpain, caspase-12 and caspase-7, and provided significant protection of beta-lapachone-treated cells. These findings show that beta-lapachone-induced ER stress and MAP kinase phosphorylation is a novel signaling pathway underlying the molecular mechanism of the anticancer effect of beta-lapachone.
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PMID:Involvement of endoplasmic reticulum stress and activation of MAP kinases in beta-lapachone-induced human prostate cancer cell apoptosis. 1878 11

Fibroblast-like synovial cells play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as these cells are involved in inflammation and joint destruction. Apigenin, a dietary plant-flavonoid, is known to have many functions in animal cells including anti-proliferative and anticancer activities, but its role in human rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLSs) has not been reported. In this study, we investigated the roles of apigenin in RA-FLSs. The survival rate decreased, and apoptotic cell death was induced by apigenin treatment in RA-FLSs. Apigenin treatment resulted in activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) ERK1/2, and pretreatment with an ERK inhibitor PD98059 dramatically reduced apigenin-induced apoptosis. We found that apigenin-mediated production of a large amount of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused activation of ERK1/2 and apoptosis; treatment with the antioxidant Tiron strongly inhibited the apigenin-induced generation of ROS, phosphorylation of ERK1/2, and apoptotic cell death. Apigenin-induced apoptotic cell death was mediated through activation of the effectors caspase-3 and caspase-7, and was blocked by pretreatment with Z-VAD-FMK (a pan-caspase inhibitor). These results showed that apigenin-induced ROS and oxidative stress-activated ERK1/2 caused apoptotic cell death in apigenin-treated RA-FLSs.
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PMID:Apigenin-induced apoptosis is mediated by reactive oxygen species and activation of ERK1/2 in rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocytes. 1964 29


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