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)

Growth hormone (GH) is known to stimulate luteinizing hormone (LH) release via paracrine interactions between somatotrophs and gonadotrophs. However, it is unclear if LH can exert a reciprocal effect to modulate somatotroph functions. Here we examined the paracrine effects of LH on GH gene expression using grass carp pituitary cells as a cell model. LH receptors were identified in grass carp somatotrophs and their activation by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) increased 'steady-state' GH mRNA levels. Removal of endogenous LH by immunoneutralization using LH antiserum inhibited GH release and GH mRNA expression. GH secretagogues, including gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH), pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and apomorphine, were effective in elevating GH mRNA levels but these stimulatory actions were blocked by LH antiserum. In pituitary cells pretreated with actinomycin D, the half-life of GH mRNA was not affected by hCG but was enhanced by LH immunoneutralization. Treatment with LH antiserum also suppressed basal levels of mature GH mRNA and primary transcripts. hCG increased cAMP synthesis in carp pituitary cells and hCG-induced GH mRNA expression was mimicked by forskolin but suppressed by inhibiting adenylate cyclase and protein kinase A. Similarly, the stimulatory actions of hCG and forskolin on GH mRNA expression were blocked by inhibiting Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and MAP kinase (MAPK), including P42/44(MAPK) and P38 (MAPK). These results suggest that LH is essential for the maintenance of GH release, GH gene expression, and somatotroph responsiveness to GH-releasing factors. The paracrine actions of LH on GH mRNA expression are mediated by a concurrent increase in GH gene transcription and GH mRNA turnover, probably through JAK2/MAPK coupled to the cAMP-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Paracrine regulation of growth hormone gene expression by gonadotrophin release in grass carp pituitary cells: functional implications, molecular mechanisms and signal transduction. 1582 Nov 7

Renal interstitial fibrosis is believed to play a key role in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN), and advanced glycation end-products (AGE) may contribute importantly to this. Recent reports have shown that nitric oxide (NO) is closely linked to the renal interstitial fibrosis of DN. In this study, the mechanisms by which NO and its downstream signals mediate the AGE-induced proliferative response in normal rat kidney fibroblasts (NRK-49F) are examined. AGE decreased NO production, cyclic guanosine 5'monophosphate (cGMP) synthesis, and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) activation time- and dose-dependently. These effects were not observed when cells were treated with nonglycated BSA. NO and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) stimulated by NO donors S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)/sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and PKG activator 8-para-chlorophenylthio-cGMP (8-pCPT-cGMP) prevented both AGE-induced proliferation and Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)-signal transducers and activators of transcription 5 (STAT5) activation but not p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. The ability of NO-PKG to inhibit AGE-induced cell cycle progression was verified by the observation that SNAP, SNP, and 8-pCPT-cGMP inhibited both cyclin D1 and cdk4 activation. Furthermore, induction of NO-PKG significantly increased p21Waf1/Cip1 expression in AGE-treated NRK-49F cells. The data suggest that the NO-PKG pathway inhibits AGE-induced proliferation by suppressing activation of JAK2-STAT5 and cyclin D1/cdk4 and induction of p21Waf1/Cip1.
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PMID:Effect of nitric oxide-cGMP-dependent protein kinase activation on advanced glycation end-product-induced proliferation in renal fibroblasts. 1595 24

Erythropoietin (Epo) is used for managing anemia in cancer patients. However, recent studies have raised concerns for this practice. We investigated the expression and function of Epo and the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) in tumor biopsies and cell lines from human head and neck cancer. Epo responsiveness of the cell lines was assessed by Epoetin-alpha-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) protein kinase. Transmigration assays across Matrigel-coated filters were used to examine the effects of Epoetin-alpha on cell invasiveness. In 32 biopsies, we observed a significant association between disease progression and expression of Epo and its receptor, EpoR. Expression was highest in malignant cells, particularly within hypoxic and infiltrating tumor regions. Although both Epo and EpoR were expressed in human head and neck carcinoma cell lines, only EpoR was upregulated by hypoxia. Epoetin-alpha treatment induced prominent JAK2 phosphorylation and enhanced cell invasion. Inhibition of JAK2 phosphorylation reduced both basal and Epo-induced invasiveness. Our findings support a role for autocrine or paracrine Epo signaling in the malignant progression and local invasiveness of head and neck cancer. This mechanism may also be activated by recombinant Epo therapy and could potentially produce detrimental effects in rhEpo-treated cancer patients.
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PMID:Erythropoietin signaling promotes invasiveness of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. 1596 6

Nitric oxide (NO) has been suggested to be associated with tubulointerstitial fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy. Abnormal glucose handling in the tubulointerstitium may play an important role in the development of diabetic nephropathy. This study was designed to investigate the effect of NO generation and action in renal fibroblasts exposed to high glucose (HG). We found that HG (500 mg/dl) significantly decreased nitrite production compared with normal glucose (100 mg/dl) when the incubation period was for 12, 18, or 24 h. HG inhibited cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) activation at 4, 8, and 12 h. Both NO donors and PKG activator treatment induced high levels of NO, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and PKG in HG-incubated cells. Interestingly, HG-induced Janus kinase 2-signal transducers and activators of transcription 1 (STAT1) activation but not STAT3 or STAT5 activation at 30 min were blocked by NO donors and PKG activator. Moreover, HG-enhanced Raf-1 and p42/p44 MAPK phosphorylation were markedly suppressed by NO donors or PKG activator. The ability of NO-PKG to inhibit HG-induced cell cycle progression was verified by the observation that NO donors and PKG activator inhibited cdk4 activation and increased p21(Waf1/Cip1) and p16(INK4a) (but not p27(Kip1)) expression in HG-treated renal fibroblasts. Collectively, these data suggest that HG significantly blunted NO signaling, and activation of the NO-PKG pathway may modulate HG-enhanced mitogenic response via specific pathways.
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PMID:Role of nitric oxide in high glucose-induced mitogenic response in renal fibroblasts. 1676 78

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) can be stimulated by several G(s)-coupled receptors, but the precise mechanism of action has not yet been elucidated. We therefore examined the ability of Galpha(s)Q226L (Galpha(s)QL), a constitutively active mutant of Galpha(s), to stimulate STAT3 Tyr705 and Ser727 phosphorylations in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Apart from Galpha(s)QL, the stimulation of Galpha(s) by cholera toxin or beta2-adrenergic receptor and the activation of adenylyl cyclase by forskolin, (Sp)-cAMP, or dibutyryl-cAMP all promoted both STAT3 Tyr705 and Ser727 phosphorylations. Moreover, the removal of Galpha(s) by RNA interference significantly reduced the beta2-adrenergic receptor-mediated STAT3 phosphorylations, denoting its capacity to regulate STAT3 activation by a G protein-coupled receptor. The possible downstream signaling molecules involved were assessed by using specific inhibitors and dominant negative mutants. Induction of STAT3 Tyr705 and Ser727 phosphorylations by Galpha(s)QL was suppressed by inhibition of protein kinase A, Janus kinase 2/3, Rac1, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and a similar profile was observed in response to beta2-adrenergic receptor stimulation. In contrast to the Galpha16-mediated regulation of STAT3 in HEK 293 cells (Lo, R. K., Cheung, H., and Wong, Y. H. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 52154-52165), the Galpha(s)-mediated responses, including STAT3-driven luciferase activation, were resistant to inhibition of phospholipase Cbeta. Surprisingly, Galpha(s)-mediated phosphorylation at Tyr705, but not at Ser727, was resistant to inhibition of c-Src, Raf-1, and MEK1/2 as well as to the expression of dominant negative Ras. Therefore, as with other Galpha-mediated activations of STAT3, the stimulatory signal arising from Galpha(s) is transduced via multiple signaling pathways. However, unlike the mechanisms employed by Galpha(i) and Galpha(14/16), Galpha(s) distinctively requires protein kinase A, JNK, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase for STAT3 activation.
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PMID:Activation of STAT3 by G alpha(s) distinctively requires protein kinase A, JNK, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. 1700 15

Beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is an essential enzyme for the production of beta amyloid. Since we found that injection of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) into young mouse brains increased BACE1 expression in astrocytes, we investigated molecular mechanisms underlying this process by cloning a putative BACE1 promoter. BACE1 promoter activity was differentially regulated by IFN-gamma in a region specific manner and down-regulated by an inhibitor of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2). A dominant negative mutant of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) expression suppressed BACE1 promoter activity, and this was rescued by transfecting wild type STAT1. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay and promoter activity assays indicated that STAT1 binds directly to the putative STAT1 binding sequence of BACE1 promoter. Because IFN-gamma treatment induced STAT1 phosphorylation, we examined whether the expression of a suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS), negative regulator of JAK2, suppresses BACE1 promoter activity. The results show that SOCS1 or SOCS3 expression suppressed BACE1 promoter by blocking phosphorylation of Tyr701 residue in STAT1. Also, because IFN-gamma treatment specifically potentiated extracellular signal regulated MAP kinase (ERK) 1/2 activation, pretreatment of mitogen-activated or extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitor, PD98059, significantly attenuated IFN-gamma-induced BACE1 promoter activity and protein expression through blocking phosphorylation of Ser727 residue in STAT1, suggesting that ERK1/2 is associated with IFN-gamma-induced STAT1 signaling cascade. Taken together, our results suggest that IFN-gamma activates JAK2 and ERK1/2 and then phosphorylated STAT1 binds to the putative STAT1 binding sequences in BACE1 promoter region to modulate BACE1 protein expression in astrocytes.
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PMID:IFN-gamma-induced BACE1 expression is mediated by activation of JAK2 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways and direct binding of STAT1 to BACE1 promoter in astrocytes. 1709 94

Growth hormone (GH) is a major regulatory factor for overall body growth as evidenced by the height extremes in people with abnormal circulating GH levels or GH receptor (GHR) disruptions. GH also affects metabolism, cardiac and immune function, mental agility and aging. Currently, GH is being used therapeutically for a variety of clinical conditions including promotion of growth in short statured children, treatment of adults with GH deficiency and HIV-associated wasting. To help reveal previous unrecognized functions of GH, better understand the known functions of GH, and avoid adverse consequences that are often associated with exogenous GH administration, careful delineation of the molecular mechanisms whereby GH induces its diverse effects is needed. GH is a peptide hormone that is secreted into the circulation by the anterior pituitary and acts upon various target tissues expressing GHR. GH binding of GHR activates the tyrosine kinase Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), thus initiating a multitude of signaling cascades that result in a variety of biological responses including cellular proliferation, differentiation and migration, prevention of apoptosis, cytoskeletal reorganization and regulation of metabolic pathways. A number of signaling proteins and pathways activated by GH have been identified, including JAKs, signal transducers and activators of transcription (Stats), the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Although these signal transduction pathways have been well characterized, the manner by which GH activates these pathways, the downstream signals induced by these pathways, and the cross-talk with other pathways are not completely understood. Recent findings have added vital information to our understanding of these downstream signals induced by GH and mechanisms that terminate GH signaling, and identified new GH signaling proteins and pathways. This review will highlight some of these findings, many of which are unexpected and some of which challenge previously held beliefs about the mechanisms of GH signaling.
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PMID:Recent advances in growth hormone signaling. 1730 65

Hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress is a key mediator of renal tubular hypertrophy in diabetic nephropathy (DN). The molecular mechanisms of antioxidants responsible for inhibition of renal tubular hypertrophy in DN are incompletely characterized. We now aim at verifying the effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and taurine on cellular hypertrophy in renal tubular epithelial cells under high ambient glucose. We found that NAC and taurine treatments significantly attenuated high glucose (HG)-inhibited cellular growth and HG-induced hypertrophy. HG-induced Raf-1, p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and STAT3 (but not STAT5) activation was markedly blocked by NAC and taurine. Moreover, NAC and taurine increased cyclin D1/cdk4 activation and suppressed p21(Waf1/Cip1) and p27(Kip1) expression in HG-treated cells. It seems that apoptosis was not observed in these treatments. There were no changes in bcl-2 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase expression, and mitochondrial cytochrome c release. However, NAC or taurine markedly inhibited the stimulation by HG of fibronectin and type IV collagen protein levels. It is concluded that both NAC and taurine significantly attenuated HG-induced activation of the Raf-1/MAPK and the JAK2-STAT1/STAT3 signaling pathways and hypertrophic growth in renal tubular epithelial cells.
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PMID:Antioxidants attenuate high glucose-induced hypertrophic growth in renal tubular epithelial cells. 1759 33

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1) plays a central role in the cellular adaptive response to hypoxic conditions, which are closely related to pathophysiological conditions, such as cancer. Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the regulation of hypoxic and non-hypoxic induction of HIF-1 under various conditions, the role of ROS is quite controversial, and the mechanism underlying the HIF-1 regulation by ROS is not completely understood yet. Here, we investigated the biochemical mechanism for the ROS-induced HIF-1 by revealing a novel role of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the upstream signal components. AMPK plays an essential role as energy-sensor under adenosine triphosphate-deprived conditions. Here we report that ROS induced by a direct application of H(2)O(2) and menadione to DU145 human prostate carcinoma resulted in accumulation of HIF-1alpha protein by attenuation of its degradation and activation of its transcriptional activity in an AMPK-dependent manner. By way of contrast, AMPK was required only for the transcriptional activity of HIF-1 under hypoxic condition, revealing a differential role of AMPK in these two stimuli. Furthermore, our data show that inhibition of AMPK enhances HIF-1alpha ubiquitination under ROS condition. Finally, we show that the regulation of HIF-1 by AMPK in response to ROS is under the control of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and Janus kinase 2 pathways. Collectively, our findings identify AMPK as a key determinant of HIF-1 functions in response to ROS and its possible role in the sophisticated HIF-1 regulatory mechanisms.
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PMID:Reactive oxygen species stabilize hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha protein and stimulate transcriptional activity via AMP-activated protein kinase in DU145 human prostate cancer cells. 1825 5

To clarify the mechanisms of purvalanol A in the induction of apoptosis, we investigated whether purvalanol A influenced the RNA synthesis and expression of RNA polymerase II and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). When MKN45 cells were treated with 30 micromol/l purvalanol A, mitochondrial dysfunction occurred before the induction of the apoptosis and the expression of antiapoptotic proteins survivin, Bcl-XL, and Bcl-2 was reduced. The treatment with parvalanol A was also shown to reduce not only mRNA for these proteins but also global RNA synthesis. The phosphorylation of the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II, which was involved in transcriptional regulation, was strongly inhibited by purvalanol A, followed by the partial inhibition of the expression of RNA polymerase II. Furthermore, the phosphorylation at Tyr705 of STAT3, which is known to be a phosphorylation site for Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), was completely inhibited by purvalanol A early (3 h) after drug treatment, although the phosphorylation of STAT3 at Ser727, which is a phosphorylation site for Ras/Raf/MEK and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2, was still detectable until late (12 h) after treatment. In addition, the tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK2 was efficiently inhibited by purvalanol A. These results suggest that the inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 and RNA polymerase II is crucial in the downregulation of antiapoptotic proteins leading to the apoptotic cell death induced by parvalanol A.
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PMID:Purvalanol A induces apoptosis and downregulation of antiapoptotic proteins through abrogation of phosphorylation of JAK2/STAT3 and RNA polymerase II. 1852 15


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