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 described model of experimental pneumocystosis is based on the induction of natural latent infection of P. carinii in Wistar strain laboratory rats. As to pharmacological inducing agents immunosuppresive preparations such as Hydrocortisone sol. inj. (Spofa), Cyclosporin A (Merck) and Dexamethasone (Spofa) were used whereby the latter was effective in up 50%. As to non-pharmacological inducing agents, the authors used in combination with the tested inducers a low protein diet (less than 8% protein in the diet); for suppression of associated bacterial contamination tetracycline was added to drinking water. From the infected lungs by two different methods two types of antigens were prepared 1) PCL antigen (Pneumocystis carinii lavage antigen) isolated by rinsing of the lungs and 2) PCWD antigen (P. carinii whole digest antigen) isolated by digestion of the lungs with collagenase and trypsin. Cysts of P. carinii were detected by staining according to Giemsa (staining of internal structures of nuclear cysts) and by modified staining with toluidine blue O (staining of the cyst wall). For isolation of the antigen and for detection of cysts a combination of the two described methods seems to be best.
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PMID:[Induction of experimental pneumocystosis, detection and primary isolation of Pneumocystis carinii]. 182 70

Neutral endopeptidase (NEP, also known as enkephalinase, CALLA, or EC 3.4.24.11) is a membrane-bound peptidase present in many different cell types. Previous studies have shown that it modulates the actions of a variety of biologically active peptides on several airway responses. More recent studies have demonstrated that reductions in neutral endopeptidase activity in animal airways is associated with increased responses to exogenously applied and endogenously released peptides. To study the regulation of NEP expression, we used human airway epithelial cells transformed in vitro with an origin-defective SV40 plasmid. Enzymatic activity, measured using [3H-Tyr,D-Ala2]leucine enkephalin, increased with cell density (1.4 ng/10(6) cells at 530 cells/cm2 and 21 ng/10(6) cells at confluence, 400 X 10(3) cells/cm2). In both confluent and nonconfluent cultures, the glucocorticoid budesonide increased neutral endopeptidase activity in time- and concentration-dependent fashions. Maximal increases of 10 ng/10(6) cells greater than control were observed after 6 days of incubation at 10(-7) M budesonide. Dexamethasone also increased NEP, suggesting that the effect is due to glucocorticoid receptor effects. Transcription, as assessed by Northern blot analysis of total cellular RNA, showed that NEP-specific RNAs also increased with increasing concentration of glucocorticoid. We conclude that neutral endopeptidase can be increased by cell growth or density and by glucocorticoids and that the effects of glucocorticoids are mediated by increased NEP gene expression.
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PMID:Glucocorticoids induce neutral endopeptidase in transformed human tracheal epithelial cells. 184 94

Supraphysiological levels of glucocorticoids, whether endogenous (Cushing's syndrome) or exogenous (glucocorticoid therapy), inhibit growth in children and immature animals. This effect has long been suspected to be due to glucocorticoid antagonism of GH action at the level of peripheral tissues. In the present study we demonstrate direct antagonism of GH action at the cellular level by the artificial glucocorticoid dexamethasone. Dexamethasone was found to inhibit the ability of GH to elicit several early events in GH signaling in 3T3-F442A fibroblasts. Dexamethasone (100 nM) for 24 h decreases by 50-75% GH-induced tyrosyl phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK1 and ERK2, the transcription factor Stat3/APRF, the GH receptor-associated tyrosine kinase JAK2, and the GH receptor. These effects appear to be specific to GH. Dexamethasone does not inhibit induction of tyrosyl phosphorylation of ERK proteins by epidermal growth factor or phorbol myristate acetate, nor does it block induction of tyrosyl phosphorylation of Stat3/APRF by leukemia inhibitory factor or interleukin-6, or induction of JAK2 by leukemia inhibitory factor or interferon-gamma. Dexamethasone does not decrease the expression of ERK1 or -2, Stat3, or JAK2 proteins. Rather, the effects of dexamethasone on GH action appear to be due to a decrease in the number of GH receptors in the plasma membrane. Twenty-four-hour treatment with dexamethasone leads to a 50% decrease i GH binding, which Scatchard analysis suggests is due to a decrease in GH receptor number. These findings suggest that glucocorticoids antagonize cellular GH action by decreasing GH binding, suggesting a mechanism by which systemic glucocorticoids could antagonize GH action in peripheral tissues.
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PMID:Dexamethasone-induced antagonism of growth hormone (GH) action by down-regulation of GH binding in 3T3-F442A fibroblasts. 758 9

Exposure of the tracheal mucosa of rats to capsaicin evokes neurogenic inflammation, one manifestation of which is the adherence of neutrophils to the endothelium of venules. In the present experiments, with the use of aerosolized capsaicin, we determined whether this neutrophil adhesion is inhibited by dexamethasone and whether the effect of dexamethasone can be reversed by inhibiting endopeptidase 24.11 (neutral endopeptidase, NEP) and kininase II (angiotensin-converting enzyme, ACE), which degrade the neuropeptides that mediate neurogenic inflammation. Adult male pathogen-free F344 rats were treated for 2 days with dexamethasone or with vehicle (controls) and were then exposed for 2 min to aerosolized capsaicin. Neutrophils adhering to the endothelium of venules in tracheal whole mounts were stained histochemically for myeloperoxidase and then counted. Sites of increased vascular permeability were localized with Monastral blue. In the control rats, aerosolized capsaicin (10(-8)-10(-3) M) increased in a concentration-dependent fashion the number of adherent neutrophils and the amount of Monastral blue labeling of blood vessels. Dexamethasone in doses of 0.5, 1, 2, or 4 mg.kg-1.day-1 reduced by 49 63, 80, and 93%, respectively, the number of adherent neutrophils in capsaicin-exposed rats and caused similar reductions in the amount of Monastral blue labeling. When given alone, neither phosphoramidon, an inhibitor of NEP, nor captopril, an inhibitor of ACE, completely reversed this effect of dexamethasone, but when the two drugs were administered together, adherent neutrophils were as numerous in the dexamethasone-pretreated rats (112 +/- 9 neutrophils/mm2) as in controls (109 +/- 10 neutrophils/mm2). The amount of Monastral blue labeling was also similar in these two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Peptidase inhibitors reverse steroid-induced suppression of neutrophil adhesion in rat tracheal blood vessels. 846 Jul 20

Bone marrow (BM) stromal cells are required for normal hematopoiesis. A number of soluble factors secreted by these cells that mediate hematopoiesis have been characterized. However, the mechanism of hematopoiesis cannot be explained solely by these known factors, and the existence of other, still unknown stromal factors has been postulated. We showed that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is one such cytokine produced by human BM stromal cells. BM stromal cells were shown to constitutively produce HGF and also to express the c-MET/HGF receptor. The production of HGF was enhanced by addition of heparin and phorbol ester. Dexamethasone and tumor growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) inhibited the production of HGF. Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and N6,2'-o-dibutyryl-adenosine-3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (dbc-AMP) showed no obvious influence on HGF production. Western blot analysis of HGF derived from BM stromal cells showed two bands at 85 and 28 kD corresponding to native and variant HGF, respectively. Addition of recombinant HGF significantly promoted the formation of burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E) and colony-forming unit-granulocyte erythroid macrophage (CFU-GEM) by BM mononuclear cells in the presence of erythropoietin and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), but the formation of CFU-GM was not modified. However, HGF had no effects on colony formation by purified CD34+ cells. Within BM mononuclear cells, c-MET was expressed on a proportion of cells (CD34-, CD33+, CD13+, CD14+, and CD15+), but was not found on CD34+ cells. We conclude that HGF is constitutively produced by BM stromal cells and that it enhances hematopoiesis. In addition, expression of c-MET on the stromal cells suggests the presence of an autocrine mechanism, operating through HGF, among stromal cells.
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PMID:Hepatocyte growth factor is constitutively produced by human bone marrow stromal cells and indirectly promotes hematopoiesis. 905 37

The early response to inflammation is characterized by the synthesis of a variety of proteins under cytokine and glucocorticoid control. During episodes of infection or inflammation, a secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) appears in the circulation along with a variety of acute-phase proteins (APP), suggesting possible common regulatory elements amongst sPLA2 and APP. Using the human hepatoma line, HepG2, regulation of sPLA2 expression was examined in relation to synthesis of HP and ACH. The patterns of induction of sPLA2, HP and ACH were distinct for each of IL- 1, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and IL-6, oncostatin M, IL-11 and leukaemia inhibitory factor. Dexamethasone had an enhancing effect on IL-6-induced expression of HP and ACH, but inhibited sPLA2 expression by 50%. Both 8-bromo-cAMP and dibutyryl cAMP increased sPLA2 expression (48.8-fold and 64.2-fold, respectively), whereas KT5720, an inhibitor of protein kinase A, down-regulated cytokine-induced sPLA2 synthesis by 51%. These data show that a panel of cytokines induced varying patterns of up-regulation of sPLA2, ACH and HP. Although dexamethasone potentiated IL-6-induced APP expression in HepG2 cells, it suppressed sPLA2 expression in a dose-dependent manner. In several respects, sPLA2 regulation is similar to that of HP and ACH, but a notable difference is the reciprocal effect of glucocorticoids on sPLA2 expression compared with that of ACH and HP.
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PMID:Coordinate expression of group II phospholipase A2 and the acute-phase proteins haptoglobin (HP) and alpha1-anti-chymotrypsin (ACH) by HepG2 cells. 909 27

The adverse effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are mediated primarily by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). TNF-alpha production by LPS-stimulated macrophages is regulated at the levels of both transcription and translation. It has previously been shown that several mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are activated in response to LPS. We set out to determine which MAPK signaling pathways are activated in our system and which MAPK pathways are required for TNF-alpha gene transcription or TNF-alpha mRNA translation. We confirm activation of the MAPK family members extracellular-signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1 and ERK2), p38, and Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK), as well as activation of the immediate upstream MAPK activators MAPK/ERK kinases 1 and 4 (MEK1 and MEK4). We demonstrate that LPS also activates MEK2, MEK3, and MEK6. Furthermore, we demonstrate that dexamethasone, which inhibits the production of cytokines, including TNF-alpha, significantly inhibits LPS induction of JNK/SAPK activity but not that of p38, ERK1 and ERK2, or MEK3, MEK4, or MEK6. Dexamethasone also blocks the sorbitol but not anisomycin stimulation of JNK/SAPK activity. A kinase-defective mutant of SAPKbeta, SAPKbeta K-A, blocked translation of TNF-alpha, as determined by using a TNF-alpha translational reporting system. Finally, overexpression of wild-type SAPKbeta was able to overcome the dexamethasone-induced block of TNF-alpha translation. These data confirm that three MAPK family members and their upstream activators are stimulated by LPS and demonstrate that JNK/SAPK is required for LPS-induced translation of TNF-alpha mRNA. A novel mechanism by which dexamethasone inhibits translation of TNF-alpha is also revealed.
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PMID:Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) is required for lipopolysaccharide stimulation of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) translation: glucocorticoids inhibit TNF-alpha translation by blocking JNK/SAPK. 934 88

Nuclear steroid/retinoid and memgbrane c-erbB receptor tyrosine kinase signaling control proliferation and differentiation of mammary epithelial cells. Recently, we reported that retinoic acids are efficient repressors of c-erbB-2 and -3, but not of c-erbB-1 gene expresson. Here we demonstrate that retinoid acid- mediated growth inhibition is accompanied with reduced expression of c-erbB-4/HER4 in T47D breast cancer cells as determined by FACS, Western, and RT-PCR. All-trans and 9-cis retinoic acid reduce c-erbB-4 expression to 30%-60% of control, depending on the concentration. Dexamethasone (Dex) is inactive on D3 (D3), in contrast, acts as a strong inducer, elevation more that twofold at the mRNA, but does not significantly affect cell growth. We concolude that retinoic acids are efficient growth inhibitors and repressors of cell growth and c-erbB-4, whereas D3 represents a highly efficient inducer of c-erbB-4 expression with affecting cell proliferation.
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PMID:Expression of c-erbB-4/HER4 is regulated in T47D breast carcinoma cells by retinoids and vitamin D3. 1038 75

Although the endothelial cell is the most abundant cell type in the differentiated lung, little is known about regulation of lung developmental vasculogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an endothelial cell mitogen and angiogenic factor that has putative roles in vascular development. Mitogenic actions of VEGF are mediated by the tyrosine kinase receptor KDR/murine homologue fetal liver kinase Flk-1. HLF (hypoxia-inducible factor-like factor) is a transcription factor that increases VEGF gene transcription. Dexamethasone augments lung maturation in fetal and postnatal animals. However, in vitro studies suggest that dexamethasone blocks induction of VEGF. The objectives for the current study were to measure VEGF mRNA and Flk-1 mRNA in developing mouse lung and to measure the effects of dexamethasone treatment in vivo on VEGF and Flk-1 in newborn mouse lung. Our results show that VEGF and Flk-1 messages increase in parallel during normal lung development (d 13 embryonic to adult) and that the distal epithelium expresses VEGF mRNA at all ages examined. Dexamethasone (0.1-5.0 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) treatment of 6-d-old mice resulted in significantly increased VEGF, HLF, and Flk-1 mRNA. Dexamethasone did not affect cell-specific expression of VEGF, VEGF protein, or proportions of VEGF mRNA splice variants. These data suggest that the developing alveolar epithelium has an important role in regulating alveolar capillary development. In addition, unlike effects on cultured cells, dexamethasone, even in relatively high doses, did not adversely affect VEGF expression in vivo. The relatively high levels of VEGF and Flk-1 mRNA in adult lung imply a role for pulmonary VEGF in endothelial cell maintenance or capillary permeability.
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PMID:Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and Flk-1 in developing and glucocorticoid-treated mouse lung. 1081 85

The RET proto-oncogene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase activated by the binding of factors from the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family to receptor-alpha components such as GDNF family receptor alpha-1 (GFR alpha-1). Mutations within the sequence of the RET proto-oncogene are associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2), an inherited tumor syndrome characterized by the development of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and other neuroendocrine tumors. Despite Northern analysis showing that RET is expressed in the majority of MTCs, the factors regulating this expression are poorly understood. To address this issue we examined RET expression in response to glucocorticoids in the TT cell line, derived from a metastatic MTC. The synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone was found to reduce RET expression at both mRNA and protein levels. This effect was dose responsive and maximal at 24 h. The reduction in RET mRNA was shown to be specific to glucocorticoids and was also seen in a primary MTC culture. Nuclear run-on studies revealed the reduction in steady-state RNA to be due to a decrease in RET mRNA transcription and the effect was shown to be independent of new protein synthesis or RNA stability. Dexamethasone was also found to exert an inhibitory effect upon cell growth, suggesting a potential use for glucocorticoids in the treatment of medullary carcinoma and MEN 2.
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PMID:Glucocorticoids differentially inhibit expression of the RET proto-oncogene. 1094 80


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