Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.11.1 (protein kinase)
 81,284 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The effect of modulators of protein phosphorylation on the transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor (AR) was studied under transient expression conditions. Activators of protein kinase-A [8-bromo-cAMP (8-Br-cAMP)] and protein kinase-C (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate) or an inhibitor of protein phosphatase-1 and -2A (okadaic acid) influenced minimally pMMTV-chloramphenicol acetyl-transferase (CAT) activity in CV-1 cells cotransfected with an AR expression plasmid in the absence of androgen. In the presence of testosterone, however, all compounds enhanced AR-mediated transactivation by 2- to 4-fold. A nonsteroidal antiandrogen, Casodex, behaved as a pure antagonist; it blunted the action of testosterone and was not rendered agonistic by activators of protein kinase-A. A reporter plasmid containing two androgen response elements (AREs) in front of the thymidine kinase promoter (pARE2tk-CAT) was also used to examine promoter specificity. It was activated by 8-Br-cAMP, forskolin, or okadaic acid even without AR or androgen. However, when forskolin or okadaic acid was used together with androgen and AR, the resulting AR-dependent transactivation of pARE2tk-CAT was more than additive. Intact DNA- and ligand-binding domains, but not the N-terminal amino acid residues 40-147, of the receptor were mandatory for the synergism between protein kinase-A activators and androgen. Immunoreactive AR content in transfected COS-1 cells was not influenced by exposure to 8-Br-cAMP. Similar results were obtained by ligand binding assays. Quantitative or qualitative differences were not observed in DNA-binding characteristics between receptors extracted from cells treated with testosterone with or without protein kinase-A activator. Collectively, the synergistic stimulation of AR-dependent transactivation by androgen and protein kinase activators is not due to changes in cellular AR content or affinity of the receptor for the cognate DNA element; rather, this phenomenon seems to result from altered interaction of ligand-activated AR with other proteins in the transcription machinery.
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PMID:Stimulation of androgen-regulated transactivation by modulators of protein phosphorylation. 792 97

The molecular mechanism of androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer after androgen ablation was explored in LNCaP cells. An androgen-dependent clonal subline of the LNCaP human prostate carcinoma cell line, LNCaP 104-S, progressed to a slow growing stage (104-R1) and then to a faster growing stage (104-R2) during more than 2 yr of continuous culture in the absence of androgen. Androgen-induced proliferation of 104-S cells is inhibited by the antiandrogen Casodex, while proliferation of 104-R1 and 104-R2 cells is unaffected by Casodex. This indicates that proliferation of 104-R1 and 104-R2 cells is not supported by low levels of androgen in the culture medium. Compared with LNCaP 104-S cells, both 104-R1 and 104-R2 cells express higher basal levels of androgen receptor (AR), and proliferation of these two cell lines is paradoxically repressed by androgen. After continuous passage in androgen-containing medium, 104-R1 cells reverted back to an androgen-dependent phenotype. The mechanism of androgenic repression of 104-R1 and 104-R2 sublines was further evaluated by examining the role of critical regulatory factors involved in the control of cell cycle progression. At concentrations that repressed growth, androgen transiently induced the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor p21waf1/cip1 in 104-R1 cells, while expression of the cdk inhibitor p27Kip1 was persistently induced by androgen in both 104-R1 and 104-R2 cells. Induced expression of murine p27Kip1 in 104-R2 cells resulted in G1 arrest. Specific immunoprecipitates of Cdk2 but not Cdk4 from androgen-treated 104-R1 cells contained both p21waf1/cip1 and p27Kip1. This observation was confirmed by in vitro assay of histone H1 and Rb (retinoblastoma protein) phosphorylation by the proteins associated with the immune complex. Furthermore, inhibition of Cdk2 activity correlated with the accumulation of p27Kip1 and not p21waf1/cip1. From these results we conclude that androgenic repression of LNCaP 104-R1 and 104-R2 cell proliferation is due to the induction of p27Kip1, which in turn inhibits Cdk2, a factor critical for cell cycle progression and proliferation.
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PMID:Progression of LNCaP prostate tumor cells during androgen deprivation: hormone-independent growth, repression of proliferation by androgen, and role for p27Kip1 in androgen-induced cell cycle arrest. 965 99

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels are frequently elevated in sera of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. IL-6 receptors are expressed in prostate cancer cell lines, as well as in benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer tissue specimens. The androgen receptor (AR) is a key transcription factor that is present in all stages of prostate carcinoma, even in therapy-refractory tumors. In an attempt to investigate possible cross-talk between IL-6 and androgen signal transduction cascades, we tested the effects of this cytokine on AR transcriptional activity. The regulation of AR activity by IL-6 was studied in DU-145 cells, which were cotransfected with the androgen-responsive reporter plasmid ARE2TATACAT and the AR expression vector pSG5AR. We show that IL-6 up-regulates AR activity in a ligand-independent manner, as well as synergistically, with very low doses of the synthetic androgen methyltrienolone (5-10 pM). Therefore, AR activation by IL-6 may be operative in prostate cancer patients who have decreased androgen levels because of androgen ablation therapy. The maximal induction of reporter gene activity by IL-6 alone (50 ng/ml) was 67% of that stimulated by 1 nM of methyltrienolone. The nonsteroidal antiandrogen bicalutamide (Casodex) nearly completely inhibited AR activation by IL-6. IL-6 effects on AR activity were also abolished or greatly reduced by inhibitors of protein kinase A and C and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. In concordance with the results obtained in DU-145 cells, IL-6 induced AR-regulated prostate-specific antigen mRNA and protein in LNCaP cells. Stimulation of prostate-specific antigen protein secretion by IL-6 was antagonized by bicalutamide and inhibitors of protein kinase A and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. Taken together, our data show for the first time that IL-6 is a nonsteroidal activator of the AR and that this activation is implicated in the regulation of prostate-specific proteins. Keeping in mind that IL-6, its receptor, and the AR are expressed in prostate cancers, cross-talk between IL-6 and AR signaling pathways may have clinical significance.
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PMID:Interleukin-6 regulates prostate-specific protein expression in prostate carcinoma cells by activation of the androgen receptor. 978 16

Androgen is involved in both normal development and malignant transformation of prostate cells. The signal transduction pathways associated with these processes are not well understood. Using a novel kinase display approach, we have identified a protein kinase, human male germ cell-associated kinase (hMAK), which is transcriptionally induced by the androgenic hormone 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The kinetics of induction is rapid and dose-dependent, and the induction is not blocked by cycloheximide treatment. Real time reverse transcription-PCR studies demonstrated a 9-fold induction of hMAK by 10 nm DHT at 24 h post-stimulation. The expression levels of hMAK in prostate cancer cell lines are in general higher than those of normal prostate epithelial cells. A reverse transcription-PCR product encompassing the entire hMAK open reading frame was isolated. The results from sequencing analysis showed that the hMAK protein is 623 amino acids in length and contains a kinase catalytic domain at its N terminus, followed by a proline/glutamine-rich domain. The catalytic domain of this kinase contains sequence motifs related to both the cyclin-dependent kinase and the mitogen-activated protein kinase families. When expressed in COS1 cells, hMAK is kinase-active as demonstrated by autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of exogenous substrate and is localized in the nucleus. A 3.7-kilobase pair promoter of the hMAK locus was isolated from a human genomic DNA bacterial artificial chromosome clone and was shown to be activated by DHT. This activation can be blocked by an anti-androgen drug bicalutamide (Casodex), implicating the involvement of androgen receptor in this process. Taken together, these data suggest that hMAK is a protein kinase targeted by androgen that may participate in androgen-mediated signaling in prostate cancer cells.
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PMID:Identification of human male germ cell-associated kinase, a kinase transcriptionally activated by androgen in prostate cancer cells. 1208 20

A cure for prostate cancer (CaP) will be possible only after a complete understanding of the mechanisms causing this disease to progress from androgen dependence to androgen independence. To carry on a careful characterization of the phenotypes of CaP cell lines before and after acquisition of androgen independence, we used two human CaP LNCaP sublines: LNCaP(nan), which is androgen dependent (AD), and LNCaP-HP, which is androgen independent (AI). In AD LNCaP(nan) cells, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) stimulated in an androgen receptor (AR)-dependent way a phosphorylation signaling pathway involving steroid receptor coactivator (Src)-mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK)-1/2-ERK-1/2-cAMP-response element binding-protein (CREB). Activation of this pathway was associated with increased [(3)H]thymidine incorporation and resistance to apoptosis. Use of dominant-negative forms of MEK-1/2 and CREB demonstrated in LNCaP(nan) cells that DHT induced [(3)H]thymidiine incorporation through a thus far unidentified molecule activated downstream of MEK-1/2, and antiapoptosis through phosphorylation of the transcription factor CREB. In contrast, in AI LNCaP-HP cells, the Src-MEK-1/2-ERK-1/2-CREB pathway was constitutively active. Because it was not further stimulated by addition of DHT, no increase of [(3)H]thymidine incorporation or apoptosis resistance was demonstrated in LNCaP-HP cells. Additional experiments showed that Src and the scaffold protein MNAR coimmunoprecipitated with AR, indicating a role for Src as an apical molecule in the Src-MEK-1/2-ERK-1/2-CREB pathway. Interestingly, differences between the two cell lines were that in LNCaP-HP cells presence of an AI phenotype and lack of response to DHT were associated with constitutive activation of the protein kinase Src and interaction among Src, AR, and MNAR. In contrast, in LNCaP(nan) cells, presence of an AD phenotype and ability to respond to DHT were associated with DHT-dependent activation of Src kinase activity and interaction among Src, AR, and MNAR. Intriguingly, in LNCaP(nan) cells, we found that transcription through the prototypical CREB-responsive promoter c-fos could be induced in a DHT-dependent way, and this action was inhibited by the AR antagonist Casodex and MEK-1 inhibitor PD98059. In contrast, transcription through the PSA P/E promoter, a prototypical AR-dependent promoter directly activated by agonist, was obliterated only by Casodex. Additional experiments with genital skin fibroblasts derived from patients with a variety of AR abnormalities indicated that nongenotropic AR signaling does not depend on an intact DNA-binding domain or on the ability of AR to translocate to the nucleus. The results suggest the following: (1) Constitutive activation of the Src-MEK-1/2-ERK-1/2-CREB pathway is associated with the AI phenotype observed in LNCaP-HP cells. (2) Activation of the Src-MEK-1/2-ERK-1/2-CREB pathway is DHT dependent in AD LNCaP(nan) cells. (3) DHT activation of this pathway is associated with induction of [(3)H]thymidine incorporation by a molecule activated downstream of MEK-1/2 and of antiapoptosis through activation of the transcription factor CREB in AD LNCaP(nan) cells. (4) AR regulates transcription either directly upon ligand binding and nuclear translocation or indirectly through kinase pathways leading to activation of downstream transcription factors. (5) Nuclear translocation and ability of the DNA-binding domain of AR to interact with DNA are not prerequisites for nongenotropic AR activity.
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PMID:Changes in androgen receptor nongenotropic signaling correlate with transition of LNCaP cells to androgen independence. 1546 14

Antiandrogens are initially effective in controlling prostate cancer (CaP), the second most common cancer in men, but resistance, associated with the loss of androgen-regulated cell cycle control, is a major problem. At present there is no effective treatment for androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC). Cellular proliferation is driven by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) with kinase inhibitors (for example, p27) applying the breaks. We present the first investigation of the therapeutic potential of CDK inhibitors, using the guanine-based CDK inhibitor NU2058 (CDK2 IC(50)=17 microM, CDK1 IC(50)=26 microM), in comparison with the antiandrogen bicalutamide (Casodex) in AIPC cells. A panel of AIPC cells was found to be resistant to Casodex-induced growth inhibition, but with the exception of PC3 (GI(50)=38 microM) and CWR22Rv1 (GI(50)=46 microM) showed similar sensitivity to NU2058 (GI(50)=10-17 microM) compared to androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells (GI(50)=15 microM). In LNCaP cells and their Casodex-resistant derivative, LNCaP-cdxR, growth inhibition by NU2058 was accompanied by a concentration-dependent increase in p27 levels, reduced CDK2 activity and pRb phosphorylation, a decrease in early gene expression and G1 cell cycle phase arrest in both cell lines. In response to Casodex, there were similar observations in LNCaP cells (GI(50)=6+/-3 microM Casodex) but not in LNCaP-cdxR cells (GI(50)=24+/-5 microM Casodex).
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PMID:Therapeutic potential of CDK inhibitor NU2058 in androgen-independent prostate cancer. 1759 54