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)

Streptococci of Lancefield Group B (GBS) are known to cause maternal sepsis and neonatal infection, whereas streptococci Lancefield Group A (GAS) cause vulvo-vaginitis in both children and adults. Prevalence of SGB colonization of the lower genital tract of normal women is between 4-18%, with higher rates found in hospital personnel and delivery rooms. Such high carriage rates may be a significant factor in nosocomial transmission of GBS to neonates. Symptomatic infection is uncommon and usually secondary to other pathological states. Amnionitis is a complication of vaginal carriage of GBS and there is now evidence that chorioamnionitis is associated with pre-term labour and its attendant problems. GBS infection of the male genitalia has also been described. Intrapartum chemoprophylaxis has been shown to prevent early onset GBS disease of the neonate. Prevalence of GAS in the genital tract is lower than that for GBS, but is more likely to be symptomatic. The response to penicillin is usually prompt. Optimal drug regimens need to be determined, particularly for use in pregnancy.
Int J STD AIDS
PMID:Streptococci and the genital tract. 884 14

In this investigation, we show that the gene encoding p48, a subunit of transcription factor ISGF3, is transcriptionally induced by interferon gamma (IFN-gamma). We have identified a novel IFN-gamma-activated response element in the p48 gene promoter. This motif, notated as gamma-activated transcriptional element (GATE), has no significant resemblance to either pIRE (palindromic IFN-response element) or GAS (the IFN-gamma-activated sequence) but has partial homology to ISRE (IFN-stimulated response element). When fused to a neutral promoter, GATE, a 24-bp element, induced the expression of reporter genes following IFN-gamma treatment. In murine RAW cells, two IFN-gamma-inducible factors (GIF) bind to GATE. Binding of these factors to GATE is inhibited by cycloheximide and staurosporine. Although p48 gene induction is dependent on STAT1 and JAK1, activated STAT1 does not bind to GATE. Thus, GIFs appear to be novel trans-acting factors in the IFN-signaling pathway.
 ...
PMID:Interferon gamma-induced transcription of the murine ISGF3gamma (p48) gene is mediated by novel factors. 899 Jan 68

Cytokine receptors activate multiple signal transduction pathways, resulting in the induction of specific target genes. We have recently identified a hematopoietic cell-specific immediate-early gene, DUB-1, that encodes a growth-regulatory deubiquitinating enzyme. The DUB-1 gene contains a 112-bp enhancer element that is specifically induced by the beta c subunit of the interleukin-3 (IL-3) receptor. To investigate the mechanism of DUB-1 induction, we examined the effects of dominant-negative forms of JAK kinases, STAT transcription factors, and Raf-1 in transient transfection assays. In Ba/F3 cells, IL-3 induced a dose-dependent activation of DUB-1-luciferase (luc) and GAS-luc reporter constructs. A dominant-negative form of JAK2 (truncated at amino acid 829) inhibited the induction of DUB-1-luc and GAS-luc by IL-3. A dominant-negative form of STAT5 (truncated at amino acid 650) inhibited the induction of GAS-luc but not DUB-1-luc. A dominant-negative form of Raf-1 inhibited the induction of DUB-1-luc but had no effect on the induction of GAS-luc by IL-3. The requirement for JAK2 in the stimulation of the DUB-1 enhancer was further supported by the suppression of DUB-1 induction in Ba/F3 cells stably expressing the dominant-negative JAK2 polypeptide. We hypothesize that IL-3 activates a JAK2/Raf-1 signaling pathway that is required for DUB-1 induction and is independent of STAT5.
 ...
PMID:JAK2 is required for induction of the murine DUB-1 gene. 915 35

STAT proteins are important transcription factors that regulate cell growth and differentiation. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of insulin actions, we have studied how insulin activates STAT proteins in Hep3B cells. Insulin rapidly phosphorylated Stat1alpha at tyrosine residues and increased its specific binding activities to a GAS/ISRE consensus oligonucleotide. IL-4 also phosphorylated Stat1alpha and increased DNA binding activities to the same Stat1alpha responsive element. There was no increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK family of kinases following insulin stimulation. In contrast, IL-4 stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK1, JAK2 and tyk2 in this cell line. These data indicate that insulin receptor signaling can activate the transcriptional regulatory function of STAT protein, and that insulin actions on Stat1alpha are mediated through signaling pathways independent of JAK family of kinases.
 ...
PMID:Novel pathway of insulin signaling involving Stat1alpha in Hep3B cells. 919 89

GH is known to activate JAK2 tyrosine kinase and members of the Stat family of transcription factors, including Stats 1, 3, and 5. The recent observation that at least two Stat5 proteins (Stat5A and Stat5B) exist in mouse and human, raises the question of whether GH activates both Stat5A and Stat5B and, if so, whether the requirements for activation are the same. An initial report investigating this issue demonstrated GH-dependent activation of Stat5A but not Stat5B. In this paper, we demonstrate (in COS cells expressing rat GH receptor (rGHR) and either Stat5A or Stat5B, 3T3-F442A fibroblasts, and CHO cells expressing rGHR) that GH induces tyrosyl phosphorylation of both Stat5A and Stat5B. Similar time courses of phosphorylation were observed for the two proteins. Interestingly, the pattern of observed bands differs for the two forms of Stat5. Two closely migrating Stat5A bands can be detected in cells treated with or without GH. Both of these bands become tyrosyl phosphorylated in response to GH. Three species of Stat5B are observed in untreated cells. An additional, more slowly migrating Stat5B band, appears upon treatment with GH. The three more slower migrating Stat5B bands observed in response to GH contain phosphorylated tyrosyl residues. We further demonstrate that GH induces binding of Stat5A and Stat5B, as well as Stat1, to the GAS-like element in the beta-casein promoter. We and others have demonstrated previously that specific regions of GHR are required for GH-dependent activation of what is here identified as Stat5B. To gain insight into the mechanism by which GH promotes tyrosyl phosphorylation of Stat5A, GH-dependent tyrosyl phosphorylation of Stat5A was examined in CHO cells expressing truncated and mutated rGHR. The results indicate that Stat5A and Stat5B require the same regions of rGHR for maximal activation by GH: the C-terminal half of the cytoplasmic domain; tyrosines 333 and/or 338 in the N-terminal half of the cytoplasmic domain; and the regions required for JAK2 activation. To dissect further the mechanism by which GH activates Stat5A and B, the requirement for JAK2 in GH-dependent Stat5 tyrosyl phosphorylation was assessed using JAK2-deficient cells expressing GHR (gamma2A-GHR) and the wild-type parental cell line expressing GHR (2C4-GHR). GH-induced tyrosyl phosphorylation of Stat5B in 2C4-GHR cells but not in the JAK2 deficient, gamma2A-GHR cells, indicating that JAK2 is required for GH-dependent tyrosyl phosphorylation of Stat5B. Western blotting revealed that Stat5A is not expressed in this cell type. Taken together, these findings suggest that: 1) GH activates both Stat5A and Stat5B in several cell types; 2) the pattern of bands observed differs for Stat5A and Stat5B; 3) GH-dependent tyrosyl phosphorylation of Stat5A requires specific regions of GHR, and these requirements are the same as for Stat5B; and 4) JAK2 kinase is required for GH-dependent tyrosyl phosphorylation of Stat5B and, most likely, Stat5A.
 ...
PMID:Growth hormone-induced tyrosyl phosphorylation and deoxyribonucleic acid binding activity of Stat5A and Stat5B. 923 97

Interferons (IFNs) are potent inhibitors of cell proliferation that are used for the treatment of several haematological malignancies. The mechanisms through which IFNs exert their antiproliferative effects on target cells, however, are largely unknown. Here we show that IFN-alpha, in murine Ba/F3 cells, directly interferes with the action of the essential mitogen interleukin (IL)-3. In transiently transfected Ba/F3 cells, IFN-alpha efficiently inhibited the IL-3-stimulated expression of a luciferase reporter construct, GAS-luc, that is activated through the JAK2/STAT5 pathway. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and Northern blot experiments, however, revealed that neither the IL-3-induced DNA binding of STAT5 nor the transcription of the STAT5-dependent genes oncostatin-M, pim-1 and c-fos were suppressed by IFN-alpha, suggesting that the diminished expression of the luciferase protein was due to a direct inhibition of IL-3-stimulated protein synthesis. This hypothesis was supported by the observation that IFN-alpha, even though it had no effect on the transcription of the c-fos gene, efficiently suppressed the IL-3-dependent expression of the c-Fos protein. Furthermore, our results indicate that IFN-alpha induced an overexpression of the double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR), an enzyme that inhibits protein synthesis through the phosphorylation and inactivation of the eukaryotic initiation factor-2. Therefore, we hypothesize that IFN-alpha, in Ba/F3 cells, interrupts IL-3-dependent mitogenic signals, at least in part, through the suppression of protein synthesis and that induction of PKR activity may play a pivotal role in this process.
 ...
PMID:Interferon-alpha inhibits proliferation of Ba/F3 cells by interfering with interleukin-3 action. 1057 32

Interferons (IFNs) encode a large family of multifonctional secreted proteins that are involved in antiviral defense, the regulation of cell growth and modulation of the immune response. They are subdivided into two types that activate transduction pathways via different cell surface receptors. Binding of both IFN type I and II results in the differential activation of JAK (Janus kinases) that phosphorylate latent cytoplasmic transcription factors termed STATs (signal transducer and activator of transcription). Phosphorylated STATs translocate to the nucleus, bind specific DNA elements and direct transcription. Type I IFN induces the phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT2 proteins by tyrosine phosphorylation involving the type I IFN receptor-associated tyrosine kinases TYK2 and JAK1. Following phosphorylation, STAT1 and STAT2 form the transcriptionally active IFN-stimulated gene factor 3 (ISGF3) by association with a protein of the IFN regulatory factor (IRF) family, p48. The specificity of the transcriptional activation by ISGF3 is mediated by specific elements termed IFN-stimulatory response element (ISRE) located in the promoter region of IFN-inducible genes. ISREs drive the expression of most IFN type I-regulated genes and a few IFN type II-regulated genes. Gene induction by type II IFN involves the phosphorylation of only STAT1 by JAK1 and Jak2 kinases. This phosphorylation generates a homodimer of STAT1 which is able to bind the IFNgamma-activated site (GAS) to activate transcription. This signaling is rapid and direct. Molecules involved in the IFN signaling pathways have been shown to be used by other polypeptide ligands in their own signal transduction pathways. Pathways other than JAK/STAT are also involved in IFN signaling, but their mechanisms are less clear. The best documented are the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, the components of the TCR (T cell receptor) signaling cascade and the Pi3 kinase pathway.
 ...
PMID:[Interferon signaling pathways]. 1058 7

Some biochemical events following the binding of prolactin (PRL) to its receptor in normal human leukocytes were investigated. PRL enhanced JAK2 phosphorylation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) but not in granulocytes. PRL also induced phosphorylation of Stat-5 in PBMC and Stat-1 in granulocytes. Subsequent binding of Stat-5- and of Stat-1-like molecules to a GAS responsive element from the beta-casein promoter was detected by EMSA. p38 MAPK (but not p42/p44 MAPK) was activated by PRL in both leukocyte populations. PRL induced iNOS and CIS mRNA expression in granulocytes. Increased expression of IRF-1 and SOCS-2 was observed in granulocytes and of SOCS-3 and iNOS in PBMC. Similar effects were obtained with ovine and human PRL. Antiserum to PRL reduced iNOS and IRF-1 expression induced by PRL in granulocytes and reduced iNOS expression in PBMC. Also, pretreatment of granulocytes with a p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB 203580) prevented in part PRL-induced iNOS and IRF-1 expression. In PBMC, the p38 inhibitor decreased PRL-induced iNOS gene expression. These results indicate that PRL-induced gene regulation in leukocytes requires the activation of at least two different pathways: the Stat and the MAP kinase pathways. Moreover, although PRL activates Stat in both leukocyte types, signal transduction is different in granulocytes and in PBMC. Most importantly, PRL modulates the expression of genes crucial to leukocyte function. The present findings reinforce the concept that PRL has "cytokine-like" activity in human leukocytes.
 ...
PMID:Cytokine-like effects of prolactin in human mononuclear and polymorphonuclear leukocytes. 1169 20

GM-CSF signals through JAK2 and STAT5 and stimulates the expression of STAT5 target genes, such as pim-1 and CIS. Analyzed by EMSA, GM-CSF stimulation led to much stronger STAT5 DNA-binding to pim-1 or CIS GAS elements in primary human monocytes compared with mature macrophages. Similarly, GM-CSF-induced expression of pim-1 and CIS mRNAs was much stronger in monocytes. These differencies were not a result of downregulation of the GM-CSF receptor system or STAT5 expression, because monocytes and macrophages readily expressed GM-CSF receptor, JAK2, STAT5A, and STAT5B mRNAs and proteins. Monocytes expressed significant amounts of truncated STAT5 forms that took part in STAT5-DNA complex formation in GM-CSF-stimulated monocytes. This resulted in faster moving STAT5 complexes compared with macrophages in EMSA. Our results demonstrate that STAT5 isoform expression, GM-CSF-induced STAT5 activation, and STAT5 target-gene expression are altered significantly during monocyte/macrophage differentiation.
 ...
PMID:Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-induced STAT5 activation and target-gene expression during human monocyte/macrophage differentiation. 1186 89

Neuronal cell membranes are particularly rich in gangliosides, which play important roles in brain physiology and pathology. Previously, we reported that gangliosides could act as microglial activators and are thus likely to participate in many neuronal diseases. In the present study we provide evidence that JAK-STAT inflammatory signaling mediates gangliosides-stimulated microglial activation. Both in rat primary microglia and murine BV2 microglial cells, gangliosides stimulated nuclear factor binding to GAS/ISRE elements, which are known to be STAT-binding sites. Consistent with this, gangliosides rapidly activated JAK1 and JAK2 and induced phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3. In addition, gangliosides increased transcription of the inflammation-associated genes inducible nitric-oxide synthase, ICAM-1, and MCP-1, which are reported to contain STAT-binding elements in their promoter regions. AG490, a JAK inhibitor, reduced induction of these genes, nuclear factor binding activity, and activation of STAT1 and -3 in gangliosides-treated microglia. AG490 also inhibited gangliosides-induced release of nitric oxide, an inflammation hallmark. Furthermore, AG490 markedly reduced activation of ERK1/2 MAPK, indicating that ERKs act downstream of JAK-STAT signaling during microglial activation. However, AG490 did not affect activation of p38 MAPK. We also report that the sialic acid residues present on gangliosides may be one of the essential components in activation of JAK-STAT signaling. The present study indicates that JAK-STAT signaling is an early event in gangliosides-induced brain inflammatory responses.
 ...
PMID:JAK-STAT signaling mediates gangliosides-induced inflammatory responses in brain microglial cells. 1219 95


1 2 3 Next >>