Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.10.2 (focal adhesion kinase)
 44,029 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

At 43 degrees (but not at 41 degrees), the polyene antibiotic amphotericin B effectively inactivates mammalian cells in vitro even at doses which are used prophylactically, routinely, and continuously in some tissue culture laboratories. The greatly enhanced killing may reflect interactions between the drug and hyperthermia at the level of the cells' plasma membrane. A similar enhancement of cell killing at 43 degrees was seen when cells were exposed to nonisotonic salt solutions. Another polyene, nystatin, shows no temperature dependence, at least over the dose range examined, while another antifungal agent, polymyxin B, does so only at very high doses. The in vitro thermosensibility of cells to amphotericin B is reflected in vivo: EMT-6 murine tumor cells were killed much more efficiently in situ at 43 than at 37 degrees. Amphotericin B may be a useful agent in multiple drug thermochemotherapy.
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PMID:Interaction of amphotericin B and 43 degrees hyperthermia. 18 13

While the effects of the ligand (hormone) binding domain (LBD) on other receptor domain functions are known, the effects of other domains on LBD functions have not been studied. In this work, we examined the importance of the structural integrity of other domains of the human glucocorticosteroid receptor (hGR) on LBD activity (stability of 8S complexes, binding of hormone, and transformation from the 8S to the 4S form). Several mutations introduced outside the LBD affect neither the formation of stable 8S heterooligomeric complexes nor the hGR binding affinity for the agonist triamcinolone acetonide (TA) or the antagonist RU486. However, some of them led to an easier salt-induced transformation of the 8S-hGR into a 4S form. Deletion of the second zinc finger of the DNA binding domain (DBD) facilitated 8S dissociation whether the ligand was TA or RU486. Deletion of the first zinc finger facilitated dissociation only in the presence of RU486, while replacement of PRO 416 (in the N-terminal region of the DBD) by ARG destabilized the 8S form only in the presence of TA. Variations in the salt-sensitivity of the mutated 8S GR complexes as a function of the ligand suggest that the DBD may interact functionally (if not physically) with the LBD. This interaction (possibly mediated by hsp90) could be influenced by minor structural differences between agonist and antagonist-GR complexes.
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PMID:Mutations in the "zinc fingers" or in the N-terminal region of the DNA binding domain of the human glucocorticosteroid receptor facilitate its salt-induced transformation, but do not modify hormone binding. 156 46

From the studies presented above, it is obvious that fatty acylation is a common modification among proteins involved in cellular regulatory pathways, and in certain cases mutational analyses have demonstrated the importance of covalent fatty acids in the functioning of these proteins. Indeed, certain properties provided by fatty acylation make it an attractive modification for regulatory proteins that might interact with many different substrates, particularly those found at or near the plasma membrane/cytosol interface. In the case of intracellular fatty acylated proteins, the fatty acyl moiety allows tight binding to the plasma membrane without the need for cotranslational insertion through the bilayer. For example, consider the tight, salt-resistant interaction of myristoylated SRC with the membrane, whereas its nonmyristoylated counterpart is completely soluble. Likewise for the RAS proteins, which associate weakly with the membrane in the absence of fatty acylation, while palmitoylation increases their affinity for the plasma membrane and their biological activity. Fatty acylation also permits reversible membrane association in some cases, particularly for several myristoylated proteins, thus conferring plasticity on their interactions with various signaling pathway components. Finally, although this has not been demonstrated, it is conceivable that covalent fatty acid may allow for rapid mobility of proteins within the membrane. Several questions remain to be answered concerning requirements for fatty acylation by regulatory proteins. The identity of the putative SRC "receptor" will provide important clues as to the pathways in which normal SRC functions, as well as into the process of transformation by oncogenic tyrosine kinases. The possibility that other fatty acylated proteins associate with the plasma membrane in an analogous manner also needs to be investigated. An intriguing observation that can be made from the information presented here is that at least three different families of proteins involved in growth factor signaling pathways encode both acylated and nonacylated members, suggesting that selective fatty acylation may provide a means of determining the specificity of their interactions with other regulatory molecules. Further studies of fatty acylated proteins should yield important information concerning the regulation of intracellular signaling pathways utilized during growth and differentiation.
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PMID:Fatty acylated proteins as components of intracellular signaling pathways. 218 94

A short and up-to-date review on the great advances made in the field of the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is presented. All the short active peptides (up to 33 AA) isolated after purification of atrial homogenates have the same core of 23 amino acids (Ser 103-ARG 125). The ANF liberated in the medium of cultures of rat atrial cardiocytes is the 26 amino acid Arg 101-Tyr 126. Cloning of the cDNA encoding for ANF and of the rat, mouse, and human ANF gene has been accomplished. ANF has a most potent and short-lasting diuretic and natriuretic effect that appears to be predominantly due to a significant increase in glomerular filtration rate. ANF inhibits the release of aldosterone both in vitro and in vivo. It produces a profound inhibition of vascular contraction induced by norepinephrine and angiotensin II. This vasorelaxation is followed by a prolonged refractory period. ANF administration corrects the hypertension in 2K-1C hypertensive rats and in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Specific high-density binding sites have been found in the brain, especially in the hypothalamus, subfornical organ, median eminence, area postrema, and nucleus tractus solitarius, all areas involved in the brain control of hypertension and in the regulation of salt and water. ANF has no effect on the known sodium transport mechanisms across cell membrane. It has a major effect on the stimulation of guanylate cyclase activity, especially in renal glomeruli. Specific radioimmunoassay procedures have been established and results of preliminary studies that establish clearly that ANF is a circulating hormone are presented.
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PMID:Atrial natriuretic factor. 294 45

Biochemical analysis of the kinetics of assembly of two cytoplasmic plaque proteins of the desmosome, desmoplakins I (250,000 Mr) and II (215,000 Mr), in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells, demonstrated that these proteins exist in a soluble and insoluble pool, as defined by their extract ability in a Triton X-100 high salt buffer (CSK buffer). Upon cell-cell contact, there is a rapid increase in the capacity of the insoluble pool at the expense of the soluble pool; subsequently, the insoluble pool is stabilized, while proteins remaining in the soluble pool continue to be degraded rapidly (Pasdar, M., and W. J. Nelson. 1988. J. Cell Biol. 106:677-685). In this paper, we have sought to determine the spatial distribution of the soluble and insoluble pools of desmoplakins I and II, and their organization in the absence and presence of cell-cell contact by using differential extraction procedures and indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. In the absence of cell-cell contact, two morphologically and spatially distinct patterns of staining of desmoplakins I and II were observed: a pattern of discrete spots in the cytoplasm and perinuclear region, which is insoluble in CSK buffer; and a pattern of diffuse perinuclear staining, which is soluble in CSK buffer, but which is preserved when cells are fixed in 100% methanol at -20 degrees C. Upon cell-cell contact, in the absence or presence of protein synthesis, the punctate staining pattern of desmoplakins I and II is cleared rapidly and efficiently from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane in areas of cell-cell contact (less than 180 min). The distribution of the diffuse perinuclear staining pattern remains relatively unchanged and becomes the principal form of desmoplakins I and II in the cytoplasm 180 min after induction of cell-cell contact. Thereafter, the relative intensity of staining of the diffuse pattern gradually diminishes and is completely absent 2-3 d after induction of cell-cell contact. Significantly, double immunofluorescence shows that during desmosome assembly on the plasma membrane both staining patterns coincide with a subpopulation of cytokeratin intermediate filaments. Taken together with the preceding biochemical analysis, we suggest that the assembly of desmoplakins I and II in MDCK epithelial cells is regulated at three discrete stages during the formation of desmosomes.
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PMID:Kinetics of desmosome assembly in Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells: temporal and spatial regulation of desmoplakin organization and stabilization upon cell-cell contact. II. Morphological analysis. 327 50

A 32-year-old male (Mr. A.), monitored during an 8-d heat acclimation (HA) investigation, unexpectedly exhibited heat intolerance and heat exhaustion. Thirteen other males completed HA without indications of either heat intolerance or heat exhaustion. Because Mr. A. responded normally to HA on days 1-4, the intervention of an unknown host factor on days 5-8 was suggested. Mr. A.'s heat exhaustion episode (day 8) was apparently forewarned by loss of body weight and increased delta HR, delta Tsk (days 5-8) and delta Tre (days 7-8) during daily 90-min trials. His symptoms indicated classical salt depletion heat exhaustion, but the calculated salt deficit (less than 0.1 g NaCl.kg-1 body weight) was mild. Post-heat exhaustion serum enzyme levels were either normal (ALT, AST) or acutely elevated (CPK). Blood beta-endorphin and cortisol levels were six times and two times greater than control values, respectively. This case report is unique because clinical/physiological measurements and blood analyses were performed before, during, and after heat intolerance and heat exhaustion.
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PMID:Heat intolerance, heat exhaustion monitored: a case report. 335 82

We assessed the use of a colorimetric assay for determination of radiosensitivity for cells taken directly from murine solid tumors. The assay uses microtier plates and measures the ability of viable cells to reduce a tetrazolium salt (MTT) to an insoluble form, a formazan salt. We established the dependency of the assay on the cell number and time of assay for two murine tumors (EMT-6 and RIF-1). We compared the MTT assay to the standard clonogenic assay and had good agreement of surviving fraction after radiation doses of 2 and 4 Gy. It is possible, therefore, to adapt the MTT assay for use with cell suspensions prepared directly from fresh murine tumors. This may provide a methodology for the determination of the clinical radiosensitivity of tumors including fresh clinical tumor specimens.
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PMID:Use of a colorimetric microtiter (MTT) assay in determining the radiosensitivity of cells from murine solid tumors. 341 90

The cytotoxicity of citrated gallium nitrate (NSC 15200) to EMT-6/UW mouse sarcoma cells growing in vitro was assayed as growth inhibition in treated cultures as well as cell survival (colony-forming ability) after acute or chronic exposure to graded doses. Gallium nitrate is both cytostatic and lethal to cells, with some growth inhibition occurring after chronic exposure to low doses (10 micrograms/ml) which kill essentially no cells. Cell kill and growth inhibition were both observed if cells were exposed for 24 hr or more to doses greater than 50 micrograms/ml. The growth inhibitory and lethal effects of gallium nitrate were enhanced by the addition of human transferrin to the medium. This enhanced toxicity was consistent with, and proportional to, the increased gallium uptake in the presence of transferrin rather than a direct effect of this iron transport protein. The addition of ferric citrate greatly reduced the toxic effect of the gallium salt. Cells in stationary plateau phase cultures appear to be as sensitive to gallium nitrate as exponentially growing cells. Ga3+ may mimic Fe3+ in some aspects of cellular metabolism, and competition between the two metals occurs at the initial uptake step, binding to transferrin, and possibly at other points in cell metabolism.
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PMID:Tumor cell toxicity of stable gallium nitrate: enhancement by transferrin and protection by iron. 688 67

Hexadecafluorinated zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcF16), an analogue of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) in which all hydrogen atoms have been substituted by fluorine, was prepared as a single isomeric product via the condensation of tetrafluorophthalonitrile with zinc acetate. Fluorination renders the ZnPc soluble in most common solvents. The photodynamic properties and pharmacokinetics of the ZnPcF16 were evaluated in EMT-6 tumour-bearing Balb/c mice using 65Zn-radiolabelled analogues. Both dyes, administered i.v. at 1 mumol kg-1 as Cremophor emulsions, revealed good tumour uptake [approximately 8-9 per cent of the injected dose per g tissue (%IDg-1)] at 24 h post injection (p.i.), with the fluorinated dye reaching higher concentrations (approximately 11%IDg-1) at 48 h p.i. and subsequently higher tumour-blood ratios due to rapid blood clearance. ZnPcF16 at a dose of 5 mumol kg-1 (4.3 mg kg-1) induced complete tumour regression after phototherapy (24 h p.i., 650-700 nm band, 360 J cm-2, 200 mW cm-1). At a dose of 2 mumol kg-1 and phototherapy at 24 h p.i., the tumour volume doubling time increased to 11 days vs 6 days for the control tumours. A similar tumour growth delay was observed when phototherapy was conducted at 48 h or 72 h after dye injection implying that tumour response correlates with tumour dye concentrations rather than serum concentrations. As a result of its low solubility, the administered dose of ZnPc was limited to 1 mumol kg-1 and at this drug level significant tumour response was only observed when the dye was solubilised as the pyridinium salt. Isolation of the neoplastic cells after in vivo dye administration and in vitro exposure to red light followed by a colony formation assay showed that the ZnPcF16 exhibited a 1-2 order of magnitude higher potential for direct cell killing as compared with Photofrin and about a five times lower efficiency than ZnPc. However, all three photosensitisers induced complete occlusion of tumour vasculature immediately after PDT, suggesting that tumour regression mainly resulted from vascular stasis. The ZnPcF16 offers several advantages over ZnPc for clinical applications, including improved solubility in most solvents, resulting in facilitated drug formation, favourable pharmacokinetics as well as the potential use in fluorine magnetic resonance (F-MR) imaging.
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PMID:Hexadecafluorinated zinc phthalocyanine: photodynamic properties against the EMT-6 tumour in mice and pharmacokinetics using 65Zn as a radiotracer. 855 82

Signal transduction of two mitogens for pancreatic beta-cells, GH and PRL, was investigated using the differentiated insulin-secreting cell line, INS-1. Addition of human GH (hGH) or ovine PRL in a serum-substitute medium increased growth, insulin content, and nutrient metabolism evaluated by tetrazolium salt reduction. hGH, bovine GH (bGH), and PRL also stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation in a dose-dependent manner (1 pM - 1 nM). hGH induced cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) rises, which were transient, dependent on the presence of extracellular Ca2+, blocked by verapamil, calciseptine, and the hyperpolarizing agent diazoxide, suggesting that hGH stimulates Ca(2+)-influx through L-type Ca(2+)-channels. Similar effects on [Ca2+]i were observed with bGH or PRL. hGH caused membrane depolarization in a small proportion of the cells ( < 25%) as detected by cell-attached patch-clamp analysis. However, hGH failed to stimulate acute insulin secretion. hGH, bGH, and PRL promoted tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK2 tyrosine kinase. Verapamil inhibited neither [3H]thymidine incorporation nor JAK2 phosphorylation stimulated by hGH, whereas a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, lavendustin A, blocked the mitogenic effect. Involvement of cAMP is suggested because Rp-cyclic adenosine-3', 5'-monophosphorothioate, a competitive inhibitor of protein kinase A, abolished hGH-induced [Ca2+]i rises and DNA synthesis. cAMP appears to play a permissive role, although hGH failed to raise cellular cAMP levels. These results support the idea that activation of JAK2 is a major signaling event, whereas the [CA2+]i rise is not a prerequisite, for the mitogenic effects of GH and PRL in insulin-secreting cells.
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PMID:Postreceptor signalling of growth hormone and prolactin and their effects in the differentiated insulin-secreting cell line, INS-1. 861 23


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