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)

Signaling through toll-like receptors (TLRs) is essential for dendritic cell (DC) maturation induced by bacteria and other pathogens. The mechanism for virus-induced DC maturation is not known. By use of pairs of live viruses with different abilities to induce the interferon (IFN) pathway, a strong correlation between DC maturation and the ability of the virus to induce type I IFN synthesis was demonstrated. The secreted IFN was not necessary, nor was it sufficient to induce full DC maturation. Intracellular viral replication is necessary for this process, and the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB was crucial for cytokine induction. The double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase was not essential for DC maturation. Similar to TLR-induced DC maturation, after virus infection, separate pathways for the induction of cytokine secretion and the up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex and costimulatory molecules were activated. It was demonstrated that these pathways have different sensitivities to the presence of viral stimulus.
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PMID:Type I interferon induction pathway, but not released interferon, participates in the maturation of dendritic cells induced by negative-strand RNA viruses. 1266 Sep 27

On encountering a danger signal, dendritic cells (DCs) undergo a complex maturation process and become specialized in antigen presentation. We previously reported that engagement of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules located on immature DCs in membrane rafts by lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3; CD223) leads to DC maturation. In contrast, exposure of DCs to class II-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) did not lead to maturation. Here, we have investigated the signal transduction pathways involved in the LAG-3-induced maturation of human monocyte-derived DCs. We first show that areas of raft aggregation (both cholesterol rich and CDw78 microdomains) could be visualized using a soluble LAG-3 protein and confocal microscopy. Engagement of class II molecules by both its natural ligand LAG-3 and class II mAb induces rapid protein phosphorylation of phospholipase Cgamma2 (PLCgamma2) and p72syk as well as activation of phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase/Akt, p42/44 extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Studies using inhibitors demonstrate that these 3 pathways are all important in inducing the maturation process of LAG-3-stimulated DCs. When class II molecules were ligated with LAG-3 versus specific antibody, differences in the phosphorylation pattern of c-Akt were observed. Thus, MHC class II signaling in DCs involves several pathways that have to be finely regulated to lead to cell activation and maturation.
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PMID:MHC class II signal transduction in human dendritic cells induced by a natural ligand, the LAG-3 protein (CD223). 1277 70

The herpes simplex virus (HSV) virion host shutoff (vhs) protein, the product of the UL41 (vhs) gene, is an important determinant of HSV virulence. vhs has been implicated in HSV interference with host antiviral immune responses, down-regulating expression of major histocompatibility complex molecules to help HSV evade host adaptive immunity. The severe attenuation of vhs-deficient viruses in vivo could reflect their inability to escape immune detection. To test this hypothesis, BALB/c or congenic SCID mice were infected intravaginally (i.vag.) with the HSV type 2 (HSV-2) vhs null mutant 333d41 or the vhs rescue virus 333d41(R). vhs-deficient virus remained severely attenuated in SCID mice compared with rescue virus, indicating that vhs regulation of adaptive immune responses does not influence HSV pathogenesis during acute infection. Innate antiviral effectors remain intact in SCID mice; prominent among these is alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta). The attenuation of HSV-2 vhs mutants could reflect their failure to suppress IFN-alpha/beta-mediated antiviral activity. To test this hypothesis, 129 and congenic IFN-alpha/beta receptor-deficient (IFN-alpha/betaR(-/-)) mice were infected i.vag. with wild-type virus, vhs null mutants 333-vhsB or 333d41, or the vhs rescue virus 333d41(R). Whereas vhs-deficient viruses showed greatly reduced replication in the genital mucosa of 129 mice compared with wild-type or vhs rescue viruses, they were restored to nearly wild-type levels of replication in IFN-alpha/betaR(-/-) mice over the first 2 days postinfection. Only wild-type and vhs rescue viruses caused severe genital disease and hind limb paralysis in 129 mice, but infection of IFN-alpha/betaR(-/-) mice restored the virulence of vhs-deficient viruses. vhs-deficient viruses replicated as vigorously as wild-type and rescue viruses in the nervous systems of IFN-alpha/betaR(-/-) mice. Restoration was specific for the vhs mutation, because thymidine kinase-deficient HSV-2 did not regain virulence or the capacity to replicate in the nervous systems of IFN-alpha/betaR(-/-) mice. Furthermore, the defect in the IFN-alpha/beta response was required for restoration of vhs-deficient virus replication and virulence, but the IFN-alpha/beta-stimulated protein kinase R pathway was not involved. Finally, vhs of HSV-2 has a unique capacity to interfere with the IFN-alpha/beta response in vivo, because an HSV-1 vhs null mutant did not recover replication and virulence after i.vag. inoculation into IFN-alpha/betaR(-/-) mice. These results indicate that vhs plays an important role early in HSV-2 pathogenesis in vivo by interfering with the IFN-alpha/beta-mediated antiviral response.
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PMID:Herpes simplex virus type 2 virion host shutoff protein regulates alpha/beta interferon but not adaptive immune responses during primary infection in vivo. 1291 49

It has been widely shown that many plant-derived compounds present significant anti-inflammatory effects. For this reason, they represent potential molecules for the development of new drugs, especially designed for the treatment and/or control of chronic inflammatory states such as rheumatism, asthma, inflammatory bowel diseases, atherosclerosis, etc. This review focuses on the naturally-occurring compounds with anti-inflammatory properties and attempts to correlate their actions with the modulation of cytokines and associated intracellular signalling pathways; it continues the review published in the November, 2003 issue of Planta Medica. Abbreviations. AP-1:activator protein-1 CCR1:chemokine receptor 1 CINC-1:cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant 1 COX:cyclooxygenase EGCG:(-)-epigallocatechin gallate ELAM-1:endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 ERK:extracellular signal-regulated kinase GRO:growth-related oncogene HUVEC:human umbilical vein endothelial cells ICAM-1:intercellular adhesion molecule-1 IFN:interferon IL:interleukin iNOS:inducible nitric oxide synthase IRA:the natural interleukin receptor activation JAK:janus kinase JNK:c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase LPS:lipopolysaccharide MAPK:mitogen-activated protein kinases MCP:monocyte chemotactic protein MHC:major histocompatibility complex MIP:macrophage inflammatory protein MMP:matrix metalloproteinases MPO:myeloperoxidase NF-kappaBnuclear factor kappa B NO:nitric oxide PAF:platelet aggregation factor PGEE:prostaglandin PK:protein kinase PMA/TPA:phorbol myristate acetate RANTES:regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted TGF-beta:transforming growth factor-beta TNFalpha:tumour necrosis factor VCAM-1:vascular cell adhesion molecule-1
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PMID:Anti-inflammatory compounds of plant origin. Part II. modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules. 1499 84

Most of gastrointestinal, breast and lung cancer cells express carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Therefore, this protein represents a suitable target for innovative diagnostic and immunotherapeutic strategies of various tumours. Presently CEA can be involved in three main approaches concerning cancer detection and therapy, i.e. (a) detection of tumour cells in the peripheral blood, bone marrow or lymph node using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based measurement of CEA mRNA; (b) targeting of anticancer agents or radionuclides by tumour-selective anti-CEA monoclonal antibodies (mAbs); (c) use of antitumour vaccines capable of eliciting major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted immune responses against CEA-derived peptides. Actually, it has been shown that the expression of CEA can be up-regulated by pharmacological agents including, antineoplastic drugs (i.e. 5-fluorouracil), cytokines (i.e. interferons or interleukin-6), differentiating agents (i.e. sodium butyrate) and protein kinase inhibitors (i.e. staurosporine). Therefore, the use of drugs capable of increasing CEA expression, could amplify the sensitivity of diagnostic procedures that rely on CEA determination. Moreover, the same agents could increase the efficacy of vaccines based on immunogenic CEA-derived peptides restricted by the MHC. The purpose of this review is to describe several agents that are able to increase CEA expression and to discuss the rational bases for new strategies in cancer detection and therapy aimed at increasing the expression of tumour-associated antigens.
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PMID:Drug-induced increase of carcinoembryonic antigen expression in cancer cells. 1499 48

A T cell receptor (TCR) recognizes and responds to an antigenic peptide in the context of major histocompatibility complex-encoded molecules. This provokes T cells to produce interleukin-2 (IL-2) through extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation. We investigated the roles of B-Raf in TCR-mediated IL-2 production coupled with ERK activation in the Jurkat human T cell line. We found that TCR cross-linking could induce up-regulation of both B-Raf and Raf-1 activities, but Raf-1 activity was decreased rapidly. On the other hand, TCR-stimulated kinase activity of B-Raf was sustained. Expression of a dominant-negative mutant of B-Raf abrogated sustained but not transient TCR-mediated MEK/ERK activation. The inhibition of sustained ERK activation by either expression of a dominant-negative B-Raf or treatment with a MEK inhibitor resulted in a decrease of the TCR-stimulated nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) activity and IL-2 production. Collectively, our data provide the first direct evidence that B-Raf is a positive regulator of TCR-mediated sustained ERK activation, which is required for NFAT activation and the full production of IL-2.
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PMID:B-Raf contributes to sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation associated with interleukin-2 production stimulated through the T cell receptor. 1533 34

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) initiate an innate immune response. TLR3 on dendritic cells recognize double-stranded (ds) RNA and then signal increases in cytokines and recognition molecules important for immune cell interactions. In this report, we demonstrate TLR3 mRNA and protein are expressed on Fisher rat thyroid cell line-5 (FRTL-5) thyroid cells and are functional because incubating cells with polyinosine-polycytidylic acid causes 1) transcriptional activation of both the nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB)/Elk1 and interferon (IFN) regulatory factor-3/IFN-beta signal paths, 2) posttranscriptional activation of NF-kappaB and ERK1/2, and 3) increased IFN-beta mRNA. TLR3 can be overexpressed, along with dsRNA-dependent protein kinase, major histocompatibility complex-I or II, and IFN regulatory factor-1, by transfecting dsRNA into the cells, infection with Influenza A virus, or incubation with IFN-beta, but not by incubation with dsRNA or IFNgamma, or by dsDNA transfection. A methimazole (MMI) derivative, phenylmethimazole, to a significantly greater degree than MMI, prevents overexpression by inhibiting increased transcriptional activation of IRF-3 and of IFN-stimulated response elements, phosphorylation of signal transducers and activation of transcription (STAT-1), but not NF-kappaB activation. TLR3 can be functionally overexpressed in cultured human thyrocytes by dsRNA transfection or IFN-beta treatment. Immunohistochemical studies show that TLR3 protein is overexpressed in human thyrocytes surrounded by immune cells in 100% of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis examined, but not in normal or Graves' thyrocytes. We conclude that functional TLR3 are present on thyrocytes; TLR3 downstream signals can be overexpressed by pathogen-related stimuli; overexpression can be reversed by phenylmethimazole to a significantly greater extent than MMI by inhibiting only the IFN regulatory factor-3/IFN-beta/signal transducers and activation of transcription arm of the TLR3 signal system; and TLR3 overexpression can induce an innate immune response in thyrocytes, which may be important in the pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and in the immune cell infiltrates.
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PMID:Thyrocytes express a functional toll-like receptor 3: overexpression can be induced by viral infection and reversed by phenylmethimazole and is associated with Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis. 1566 32

The Q10 gene is a member of the major histocompatibility complex of the mouse that is expressed in the liver and kidney of the adult. Using transient expression assays, we found that the Q10 promoter was activated by retinoic acid (RA) and exogenous RARs and/or RXRs in a cell type-dependent manner. In addition, the basal activity of the Q10 promoter in HepG2 cells is lowered by expressing a dominant negative form of RARalpha. Incidentally, we have identified two cis-elements which consist of sequences related to retinoic acid response elements (RAREs) and a putative cAMP responsive element (CRE) the sequence of which overlaps one of the RAREs. RAR, RXR, CREB-ATF, and COUP-TF factors bind these elements and/or affect their activity. We also demonstrate that the CRE mediates part of the stimulation induced by activation of the cAMP pathway on the Q10 promoter, the residual activation being mediated by RARs. Our results suggest that Q10 expression in liver depends upon RA and the interaction between nuclear receptors that are expressed in this organ. The overlapping of the CRE with one of the RAREs together with the results of PKA activation also suggest that RA and cAMP signalling pathways are linked.
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PMID:Two RAREs and an overlapping CRE are involved in the hepatic transcriptional regulation of the Q10 MHC class I gene. 1718 53

MODPROPEP is a web server for knowledge-based modeling of protein-peptide complexes, specifically peptides in complex with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins and kinases. The available crystal structures of protein-peptide complexes in PDB are used as templates for modeling peptides of desired sequence in the substrate-binding pocket of MHCs or protein kinases. The substrate peptides are modeled using the same backbone conformation as in the template and the side-chain conformations are obtained by the program SCWRL. MODPROPEP provides a number of user-friendly interfaces for visualizing the structure of the modeled protein-peptide complexes and analyzing the contacts made by the modeled peptide ligand in the substrate-binding pocket of the MHC or protein kinase. Analysis of these specific inter-molecular contacts is crucial for understanding structural basis of the substrate specificity of these two protein families. This software also provides appropriate interfaces for identifying, putative MHC-binding peptides in the sequence of an antigen or phosphorylation sites on the substrate protein of a kinase, by scoring these inter-molecular contacts using residue-based statistical pair potentials. MODPROPEP would complement various available sequence-based programs (SYFPEITHI, SCANSITE, etc.) for predicting substrates of MHCs and protein kinases. The program is available at http://www.nii.res.in/modpropep.html.
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PMID:MODPROPEP: a program for knowledge-based modeling of protein-peptide complexes. 1747

We show here that the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) open reading frame 66 (ORF66) protein kinase is one mechanism employed to reduce class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) surface expression in VZV-infected cells. Cells expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged functional and inactivated ORF66 (GFP-66 and GFP-66kd) from replication-defective adenovirus vectors revealed that ORF66 reduced MHC-I surface levels in a manner dependent on kinase activity. Cells infected with recombinant VZV expressing GFP-66 exhibited a significantly greater reduction in MHC-I surface expression than that observed in cells infected with VZV disrupted in GFP-66 expression. MHC-I maturation was delayed in its transport from the endoplasmic reticulum through the Golgi in both adenovirus-transduced cells expressing only GFP-66 and in VZV-infected cells expressing high levels of GFP-66, and this was predominantly kinase dependent. MHC-I levels were reduced in VZV-infected cells, and analyses of intracellular MHC-I revealed accumulation of folded MHC-I in the Golgi region, irrespective of ORF66 expression. Thus, the ORF66 kinase is important for VZV-mediated MHC-I downregulation, but additional mechanisms also may be involved. Analyses of the VZV ORF9a protein, the ortholog of the bovine herpesvirus 1 transporter associated with antigen processing inhibitor UL49.5 revealed no effects on MHC-I. These results establish a new role for viral protein kinases in immune evasion and suggest that VZV utilizes unique mechanisms to inhibit antigen presentation.
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PMID:Downregulation of class I major histocompatibility complex surface expression by varicella-zoster virus involves open reading frame 66 protein kinase-dependent and -independent mechanisms. 1756 2


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