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)

A subclass of proteins with the SEA (sea urchin sperm protein, enterokinase, and agrin) domain fold exists as heterodimers generated by autoproteolytic cleavage within a characteristic G(-1)S+1VVV sequence. Autoproteolysis occurs by a nucleophilic attack of the serine hydroxyl on the vicinal glycine carbonyl followed by an N-->O acyl shift and hydrolysis of the resulting ester. The reaction has been suggested to be accelerated by the straining of the scissile peptide bond upon protein folding. In an accompanying article, we report the mechanism; in this article, we provide further key evidence and account for the energetics of coupled protein folding and autoproteolysis. Cleavage of the GPR116 domain and that of the MUC1 SEA domain occur with half-life (t((1/2))) values of 12 and 18 min, respectively, with lowering of the free energy of the activation barrier by approximately 10 kcal mol(-1) compared with uncatalyzed hydrolysis. The free energies of unfolding of the GPR116 and MUC1 SEA domains were measured to approximately 11 and approximately 15 kcal mol(-1), respectively, but approximately 7 kcal mol(-1) of conformational energy is partitioned as strain over the scissile peptide bond in the precursor to catalyze autoproteolysis by substrate destabilization. A straining energy of approximately 7 kcal mol(-1) was measured by using both a pre-equilibrium model to analyze stability and cleavage kinetics data obtained with the GPR116 SEA domain destabilized by core mutations or urea addition, as well as the difference in thermodynamic stabilities of the MUC1 SEA precursor mutant S1098A (with a G(-1)A+1VVV motif) and the wild-type protein. The results imply that cleavage by N-->O acyl shift alone would proceed with a t((1/2)) of approximately 2.3 years, which is too slow to be biochemically effective. A subsequent review of structural data on other self-cleaving proteins suggests that conformational strain of the scissile peptide bond may be a common mechanism of autoproteolysis.
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PMID:SEA domain autoproteolysis accelerated by conformational strain: energetic aspects. 1830 34

Urea subunits are common components of various pharmaceuticals' core structure. Since in most cases the design and development of PET biomarkers is based on approved or potential drugs, there is a growing need for a general labeling methodology of urea-containing pharmacophores. As a part of research in the field of molecular imaging of angiogenic processes, we synthesized several highly potent VEGFR-2/PDGFR dual inhibitors as potential PET biomarkers. The structure of these inhibitors is based on the N-phenyl-N'-{4-(4-quinolyloxy)phenyl}urea skeleton. A representative inhibitor was successfully labeled with fluorine-18 by a three-step process. Initially, a two-step radiosynthesis of 4-[(18)F]fluoro-aniline from 1,4-dinitrobenzene (60min, EOB decay corrected yield: 63%) was performed. At the third and final step, the 4-[(18)F]fluoro-aniline synthon reacted for 30min at room temperature with 4-(2-fluoro-4-isocyanato-phenoxy)-6,7-dimethoxy-quinoline to give complete conversion of the labeled synthon to 1-[4-(6,7-dimethoxy-quinolin-4-yloxy)-3-fluoro-phenyl]-3-(4-[(18)F]fluoro-phenyl)-urea. The desired labeled product was obtained after total radiosynthesis time of 3h including HPLC purification with 46+/-1% EOB decay corrected radiochemical yield, 99% radiochemical purity, 99% chemical purity, and a specific activity of 400+/-37GBq/mmol (n=5).
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PMID:Formation of fluorine-18 labeled diaryl ureas--labeled VEGFR-2/PDGFR dual inhibitors as molecular imaging agents for angiogenesis. 1834 25

This work describes the preparation, physicochemical characterization, mechanical properties and in vitro biological properties of two bioresorbable aliphatic segmented poly(esterurethane urea)s (SPEUU) based on poly(epsilon-caprolactone) diol (PCL diol), 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate and two novel urea-diol chain extenders. To strengthen the interactions through hydrogen bonding in the hard segments of SPEUU, novel chain extenders containing urea groups were synthesized and used in the SPEUU formulation. The different chemical structures of the chain extenders modulated the phase separation of soft and hard segments, as demonstrated by the thermal behavior. The hard segment association was enhanced using a diurea-diol chain extender. The biological interactions between the obtained materials and blood were studied by in vitro methods. Research on the protein adsorption, platelet adhesion and thrombus formation is presented. Studies of protein adsorption onto polymeric surfaces showed that SPEUU adsorbed more albumin than fibrinogen. Studies on platelet adhesion and thrombus formation of SPEUU-coated coverslips indicated the antithrombogenic behavior of these surfaces. The synthesized SPEUU revealed no signs of cytotoxicity to Chinese hamster ovary cells, showing satisfactory cytocompatibility.
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PMID:Segmented poly(esterurethane urea)s from novel urea-diol chain extenders: synthesis, characterization and in vitro biological properties. 1835 73

In human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), RAS activity is upregulated in the majority of the tumors. Furthermore, the levels of phospho-mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK), a downstream effector of RAS, are also increased. In mice, activated KRas cooperates with the loss of INK4a-ARF locus or with activated Akt to induce gliomas, confirming an important role for this pathway in glioma biology. However, to correctly target therapies against the RAS signaling pathway, it is necessary to identify the effectors that contribute to RAS-mediated gliomagenesis. In this study, we investigated the contribution of RAF signaling in glioma oncogenesis. We find that the levels of RAF-1 and BRAF proteins and RAF kinase activity are increased in human GBM samples. We confirm the importance of this finding by demonstrating a causal role for a constitutively active Raf-1 mutant in glioma formation in mice. Specifically, we find that activated Raf-1 cooperates with Arf loss or Akt activation to generate gliomas similar to activated KRas under the same conditions. Our study suggests that the oncogenic effect of KRas in glioma formation may be transduced at least in part through Raf signaling and that therapeutic targeting of this pathway may be beneficial in glioma treatment.
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PMID:Constitutive activation of Raf-1 induces glioma formation in mice. 1847 67

This study assessed the prognostic value of several markers involved in gliomagenesis, and compared it with that of other clinical and imaging markers already used. Four-hundred and sixteen adult patients with newly diagnosed glioma were included over a 3-year period and tumour suppressor genes, oncogenes, MGMT and hTERT expressions, losses of heterozygosity, as well as relevant clinical and imaging information were recorded. This prospective study was based on all adult gliomas. Analyses were performed on patient groups selected according to World Health Organization histoprognostic criteria and on the entire cohort. The endpoint was overall survival, estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analysis was followed by multivariate analysis according to a Cox model. p14(ARF), p16(INK4A) and PTEN expressions, and 10p 10q23, 10q26 and 13q LOH for the entire cohort, hTERT expression for high-grade tumours, EGFR for glioblastomas, 10q26 LOH for grade III tumours and anaplastic oligodendrogliomas were found to be correlated with overall survival on univariate analysis and age and grade on multivariate analysis only. This study confirms the prognostic value of several markers. However, the scattering of the values explained by tumour heterogeneity prevents their use in individual decision-making.
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PMID:Prognostic molecular markers with no impact on decision-making: the paradox of gliomas based on a prospective study. 1850 88

Sorafenib (BAY 43-9006) is a novel oral bis-aryl urea compound originally developed as an inhibitor to RAF kinase for its anti-proliferative property. It also inhibits receptor tyrosine kinases of multiple pro-angiogenic factors such as VEGFR-2/3, Flt-3/ and PDGFR-beta. The combination of both its anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic properties makes sorafenib an attractive agent in cancer treatment. Phase I studies demonstrated that sorafenib was well tolerated, and the recommended phase II dose was 400 mg twice daily continuously. Common toxicities included skin toxicity (rash and hand-foot syndrome), gastrointestinal toxicities (nausea and diarrhea) and fatigue. Anti-tumor activities were observed in multiple tumors types including renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. Randomized phase III studies in these tumor types are ongoing, and results are eagerly waited.
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PMID:Sorafenib (BAY 43-9006): review of clinical development. 1866 47

Deregulated HOX expression, by chromosomal translocations and myeloid-lymphoid leukemia (MLL) rearrangements, is causal in some types of leukemia. Using real-time reverse transcription-PCR, we examined the expression of 43 clustered HOX, polycomb, MLL and FLT3 genes in 119 newly diagnosed adult acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) selected from all major cytogenetic groups. Downregulated HOX expression was a consistent feature of favorable AMLs and, among these cases, inv(16) cases had a distinct expression profile. Using a 17-gene predictor in 44 additional samples, we observed a 94.7% specificity for classifying favorable vs intermediate/unfavorable cytogenetic groups. Among other AMLs, HOX overexpression was associated with nucleophosmin (NPM) mutations and we also identified a phenotypically similar subset with wt-NPM. In many unfavorable and other intermediate cytogenetic AMLs, HOX levels resembled those in normal CD34+ cells, except that the homogeneity characteristic of normal samples was not present. We also observed that HOXA9 levels were significantly inversely correlated with survival and that BMI-1 was overexpressed in cases with 11q23 rearrangements, suggesting that p19(ARF) suppression may be involved in MLL-associated leukemia. These results underscore the close relationship between HOX expression patterns and certain forms of AML and emphasize the need to determine whether these differences play a role in the disease process.
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PMID:HOX expression patterns identify a common signature for favorable AML. 1866 34

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal neoplasm in the gastrointestinal tract and is associated with mutations of the KIT or PDGFRA gene. In addition, other genetic events are believed to be involved in GIST tumorigenesis. Cytogenetic aberrations associated with these tumors thus far described include loss of 1p, 13q, 14q, or 15q, loss of heterozygosity of 22q, numeric chromosomal imbalances, and nuclear/mitochondrial microsatellite instability. Molecular genetic aberrations include loss of heterozygosity of p16(INK4A) and p14(ARF), methylation of p15(INK4B), homozygous loss of the Hox11L1 gene, and amplification of C-MYC, MDM2, EGFR1, and CCND1. GISTs in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 appear to lack the KIT and PDGFRA mutations characteristic of GISTs and may have a different pathogenetic mechanism. Gene mutations of KIT or PDGFRA are critical in GISTs, because the aberrant versions not only are correlated with the specific cell morphology, histologic phenotype, metastasis, and prognosis, but also are the targets of therapy with imatinib and other agents. Furthermore, specific mutations in KIT and PDGFR appear to lead to differential drug sensitivity and may in the future guide selection of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Activation of the receptor tyrosine kinases involves a signal transduction pathway whose components (mitogen-activated protein kinase, AKT, phosphoinositide 3-kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin, and RAS) are also possible targets of inhibition. A new paradigm of classification, integrating the standard clinical and pathological criteria with molecular aberrations, may permit personalized prognosis and treatment.
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PMID:Genetic aberrations of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. 1867 Dec 47

We report on three adult patients with primary glioblastomas showing prominent adipocytic (lipomatous) differentiation, hence referred to as "glioblastomas with adipocyte-like tumor cell differentiation." Histologically, the tumors demonstrated typical features of glioblastoma but additionally contained areas consisting of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytic tumor cells resembling adipocytes, that is, containing large intracellular lipid vacuoles. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and focused molecular genetic analyses demonstrated gains of chromosomes 7, losses of chromosomes 9 and 10, as well as homozygous deletion of p14(ARF) in one of the tumors. The second tumor showed gains of chromosomes 3, 4, 8q and 12 as well as losses of chromosomes 10, 13, 15q, 19 and 22. In addition, this tumor carried homozygous deletions of CDKN2A and p14(ARF) as well as point mutations in the TP53 and PTEN genes. The third tumor also had a mutation in the PTEN gene. None of the tumors demonstrated EGFR, CDK4 or MDM2 amplification. Taken together, our results define a rare glioblastoma differentiation pattern and indicate that glioblastomas with adipocyte-like tumor cell differentiation share common molecular genetic features with other primary glioblastomas.
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PMID:Glioblastoma with adipocyte-like tumor cell differentiation--histological and molecular features of a rare differentiation pattern. 1869 Dec 68

Two series of biomedical segmented polyurethanes (SPU) based on poly(epsilon-caprolactone) diol (PCL diol), 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) or L: -lysine methyl ester diisocyanate (LDI) and three novel chain extenders, were synthesized and characterized. Chain extenders containing urea groups or an aromatic amino-acid derivative were incorporated in the SPU formulation to strengthen the hard segment interactions through either bidentate hydrogen bonding or pi-stacking interactions, respectively. By varying the composition of the hard segment (diisocyanate and chain extender), its structure was varied to investigate the structure-property relationships. The different chemical composition and symmetry of hard segment modulated the phase separation of soft and hard domains, as demonstrated by the thermal behavior. Hard segment association was more enhanced by using a combination of symmetric diisocyanate and urea-diol chain extenders. The hard segment cohesion had an important effect on the observed mechanical behavior. Polyurethanes synthesized using HDI (Series H) were stronger than those obtained using LDI (Series L). The latter SPU exhibited no tendency to undergo cold-drawing and the lowest ultimate properties. Incorporation of the aromatic chain extender produced opposite effects, resulting in polyurethanes with the highest elongation and tearing energy (Series H) and the lowest strain at break (Series L). Since the synthesized biodegradable SPU possess a range of thermal and mechanical properties, these materials may hold potential for use in soft tissue engineering scaffold applications.
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PMID:Effect of the hard segment chemistry and structure on the thermal and mechanical properties of novel biomedical segmented poly(esterurethanes). 1870 46


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