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)

Tolerance in vivo and its in vitro counterpart, anergy, are defined as the state in which helper T lymphocytes are alive but incapable of producing IL-2 and expanding in response to optimal antigenic stimulation. Anergy is induced when the T cell receptor (TCR) is engaged by antigen in the absence of costimulation or IL-2. This leads to unique intracellular signaling events that stand in contrast to those triggered by coligation of the TCR and costimulatory receptors. Specifically, anergy is characterized by lack of activation of lck, ZAP 70, Ras, ERK, JNK, AP-1, and NF-AT. In contrast, anergizing stimuli appear to activate the protein tyrosine kinase fyn, increase intracellular calcium levels, and activate Rap1. Moreover, anergizing TCR signals result in increased intracellular concentrations of the second messenger cAMP. This second messenger upregulates the cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor p27kip1, sequestering cyclin D2-cdk4, and cyclin E/cdk2 complexes and preventing progression of T cells through the G1 restriction point of the cell cycle. In contrast, costimulation through CD28 prevents p27kip1 accumulation by decreasing the levels of intracellular cAMP and promotes p27kip1 down-regulation due to direct degradation of the protein via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Subsequent autocrine action of IL-2 leads to further degradation of p27kip1 and entry into S phase. Understanding the biochemical and molecular basis of T cell anergy will allow the development of new assays to evaluate the immune status of patients in a variety of clinical settings in which tolerance has an important role, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and organ transplantation. Precise understanding of these biochemical and molecular events is necessary in order to develop novel treatment strategies against cancer. One of the mechanisms by which tumors down-regulate the immune system is through the anergizing inactivation of helper T lymphocytes, resulting in the absence of T cell help to tumor-specific CTLs. Although T-cells specific for tumor associated antigens are detected in cancer patients they often are unresponsive. Reversal of the defects that block the cell cycle progression is mandatory for clonal expansion of tumor specific T cells during the administration of tumor vaccines. Reversal of the anergic state of tumor specific T cells is also critical for the sufficient expansion of such T cells ex vivo for adoptive immunotherapy. On the other hand, understanding the molecular mechanisms of anergy will greatly improve our ability to design novel clinical therapeutic approaches to induce antigen-specific tolerance and prevent graft rejection and graft-versus-host disease. Such treatment approaches will allow transplantation of bone marrow and solid organs between individuals with increasing HLA disparity and therefore expand the donor pool, enable reduction in the need for nonspecific immunosuppression, minimize the toxicity of chemotherapy, and reduce the risk of opportunistic infections.
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PMID:Helper T cell anergy: from biochemistry to cancer pathophysiology and therapeutics. 1143 20

In normal T-cell development interleukin-7 (IL-7) functions as an antiapoptotic factor by regulating bcl-2 expression in immature thymocytes and mature T cells. Similar to what occurs in normal immature thymocytes, prevention of spontaneous apoptosis by IL-7 in precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells correlates with up-regulation of bcl-2. IL-7 is also implicated in leukemogenesis because IL-7 transgenic mice develop lymphoid malignancies, suggesting that IL-7 may regulate the generation and expansion of malignant cells. This study shows that in the presence of IL-7, T-ALL cells not only up-regulated bcl-2 expression and escaped apoptosis but also progressed in the cell cycle, resulting in sequential induction of cyclin D2 and cyclin A. Down-regulation of p27kip1 was mandatory for IL-7-mediated cell cycle progression and temporally coincided with activation of cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk)4 and cdk2 and hyperphosphorylation of Rb. Strikingly, forced expression of p27kip1 in T-ALL cells not only prevented cell cycle progression but also reversed IL-7-mediated up-regulation of bcl-2 and promotion of viability. These results show for the first time that a causative link between IL-7-mediated proliferation and p27kip1 down-regulation exists in malignant T cells. Moreover, these results suggest that p27kip1 may function as a tumor suppressor gene not only because it is a negative regulator of cell cycle progression but also because it is associated with induction of apoptosis of primary malignant cells.
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PMID:Interleukin-7 promotes survival and cell cycle progression of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells by down-regulating the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(kip1). 1152 Aug 3

Gap junctions are known to play a role in the control of cell proliferation, and connexins (Cx) are considered to be tumor suppressors. However, the effects of Cx on cell proliferation are dependent on the Cx which is expressed and on the cell type under consideration. We previously found that restoration of cell-to-cell communication by stable transfection of two independent thyroid-derived cell lines, FRTL-5 and FRT cells, with the Cx32 gene induced a marked reduction of their proliferation rate. This study aimed i) at determining whether Cx43, which is coexpressed with Cx32 by thyroid epithelial cells, exerts the same action as Cx32 on cell proliferation and ii) at identifying alterations of the cell cycle control system that might account for the Cx32-induced proliferation slowdown in thyrocytes. In contrast with previous data on different epithelial cell types, we report that restoration of intercellular communication in FRTL-5 and FRT cells by stable expression of Cx43 did not modify their proliferation properties. Cell cycle analyses revealed that the Cx32-induced proliferation slow-down was related to a lengthening of the G1 phase. The level of expression of two regulatory proteins of the Cip/Kip cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor family, p27kip1 and p2cip1, was increased in the two cell lines expressing Cx32. In conclusion, Cx32 and Cx43, physiologically coexpressed by thyrocytes, have a differential impact on thyroid cell proliferation in vitro. The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p27kip1 and p21cip1 might represent cell cycle effectors relaying the down-regulatory effect of Cx32 on the proliferation of thyroid epithelial cells.
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PMID:Thyroid cell proliferation in response to forced expression of gap junction proteins. 1206 60

The therapeutic promise of hematopoietic stem cells in medicine has been expanded as broader differentiation potential of the cells has gained experimental support. However, hurdles for stem cell manipulation in vitro and tissue regeneration in vivo remain because of lack of the molecular biology of the stem cells. In particular, elucidating the molecular control of cell cycle entry is necessary for rational stem cell expansion strategies. Understanding how the stem and progenitor cell populations are controlled by negative regulators of cell cycle entry may provide one basis for manipulating these cells. In this mini-review, we focus on the rationale of targeting the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs) in stem cell biology. Two CKI members, p21(Cip1/Waf1) (p21) and p27kip1 (p27), have been shown to govern the pool sizes of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, respectively. Of note, their inhibitory roles in primitive hematopoietic cells are distinct from the action of the inhibitory cytokine, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1). Therefore, the distinct roles of p21, p27, and TGF-beta1 in hematopoietic cells offer attractive targets for specific manipulation of the stem or progenitor cell populations in therapeutic strategies.
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PMID:Cell cycle entry of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells controlled by distinct cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. 1209 44

To study a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), an antibody was raised against the C-terminal 16 amino acids of the protein cdc2aMs. The cdc2Ms protein was immunopurified with this antibody and its histone kinase activity was measured. The cdc2Ms kinase is activated at the G1/S transition when phosphate-starved cells from the G0 phase re-enter the cell cycle and remain active as cells transit the S, G2, and M phases, indicating that the same CDK regulates all of these phases in alfalfa. In contrast, when cdc2Ms kinase was purified by binding to p13suc1, it was active only in the G2 and M phases. In immunoblots the C-terminal antibody detected an equal amount of the cdc2Ms protein in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. By indirect immunofluorescence, however, the cytoplasmic form of cdc2Ms could not be found in the S phase of the cells, indicating that the epitope for the cdc2 antibody is not accessible. Binding of putative inhibitor proteins to cdc2 was shown by inactivation of purified plant CDK when cell extracts were added. Furthermore, purified CDK inhibitors, such as the mouse p27kip1 and the yeast p40sic1, blocked the purified plant CDK activity.
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PMID:The cdc2Ms Kinase Is Differently Regulated in the Cytoplasm and in the Nucleus. 1222 48

In an attempt to find a strategy to modulate the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells, we examined whether constitutive activation of proto-oncogen protein p21 (Ras) induced the reentry of confluent human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) into the S phase. When an adenovirus construct expressing a constitutively active Ras mutant (Ad/RasG12V) was infected into HUVECs, their morphology changed strikingly and they appeared to be transformed. However, Ad/RasG12V-infected HUVECs did not enter the S phase, as determined by assessing 3H-thymidine incorporation. In accordance with the above results, the expression of cyclin A both at the transcript and protein levels did not increase in Ad/RasG12V-infected HUVECs relative to that in control cells, although the expression of cyclin D1 was induced in Ad/RasG12V-infected cells. Interestingly, the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p21cip1 was remarkably increased while that of p27kip1 did not decrease in Ad/RasG12V-infected HUVECs. Furthermore, CDK2 activity was not induced in Ad/RasG12V-infected HUVECs. These results suggested that the constitutive activation of Ras promoted the reentry of confluent HUVECs in the G0 phase into the G1 phase, but not into the S phase. The results also indicated that the constitutive activation of Ras might have induced the persistent expression of p21cip1 and p27kip1, and that this induction of p21cip1 and p27kip1 expression possibly caused the cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase.
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PMID:Constitutive activation of proto-oncogen protein p21 induces cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase in contact-inhibited vascular endothelial cells. 1245 32

Selenium has been implicated as a promising chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer. Whereas the anticancer mechanisms have not been clearly defined, one hypothesis relates to selenium metabolites, especially the monomethyl selenium pool, generated under supranutritional selenium supplementation. To explore potential molecular targets for mediating the chemopreventive activity, we contrasted the effects of methylseleninic acid (MSeA), a novel precursor of methylselenol, versus sodium selenite, a representative of the hydrogen selenide metabolite pool, on apoptosis execution, cell cycle distribution, and selected protein kinases in DU145 human prostate cancer cells. Exposure of DU145 cells to 3 microM MSeA led to a profound G1 arrest at 24 h, and exposure to greater concentrations led to not only G1 arrest, but also to DNA fragmentation and caspase-mediated cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), two biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis. Immunobiot analyses indicated that G1 arrest induced by the subapoptogenic doses of MSeA was associated with increased expression of p27kip1 and p21cip1, but apoptosis was accompanied by dose-dependent decreases of phosphorylation of protein kinase AKT and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) in the absence of any phosphorylation change in p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK1/2). In contrast, selenite exposure caused S-phase arrest and caspase-independent apoptotic DNA fragmentation, which were associated with decreased expression of p27kip1 and p21cip1 and increased phosphorylation of AKT, JNK1/2, and p38MAPK. Although apoptosis induction by MSeA exposure was not sensitive to superoxide dismutase added into the cell culture medium, cell detachment and DNA nucleosomal fragmentation induced by selenite exposure were greatly attenuated by this enzyme, supporting a chemical mediator role of superoxide for these processes. Despite a temporal relationship of AKT and ERK1/2 de-phosphorylation changes before the onset of PARP cleavage in MSeA-exposed cells, experiments with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002 did not show an enhancing effect of specific blocking of AKT on MSeA-induction of PARP cleavage. Taken together, exposure of DU145 cells to MSeA versus selenite induced differential patterns of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis execution as well as distinct patterns of effects on AKT, ERK1/2, JNK1/2, and p38MAPK phosphorylation and p27kip1 and p21cip1 expression. Multiple molecular pathways are likely differentially targeted by selenium metabolite pools to mediate cancer chemoprevention.
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PMID:Distinct effects of methylseleninic acid versus selenite on apoptosis, cell cycle, and protein kinase pathways in DU145 human prostate cancer cells. 1248 29

According to current concepts, the cell cycle commitment after restriction (R) point passage requires the sustained stimulation by mitogens of the synthesis of labile d-type cyclins, which associate with cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 to phosphorylate pRb family proteins and sequester the CDK inhibitor p27kip1. In primary cultures of dog thyroid epithelial cells, the cAMP-dependent cell cycle induced by a sustained stimulation by thyrotropin or forskolin differs from growth factor mitogenic pathways, as cAMP does not upregulate d-type cyclins but increases p27 levels. Instead, cAMP induces the assembly of required cyclin D3-CDK4 complexes, which associate with nuclear p27. In this study, the arrest of forskolin stimulation rapidly slowed down the entry of dog thyrocytes into S phase and the phosphorylation of pRb family proteins. The pRb kinase activity, but not the formation, of the cyclin D3-CDK4-p27 complex was strongly reduced. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, a phosphorylated form of CDK4 was separated. It appeared in response to forskolin and was bound to both cyclin D3 and p27, presumably reflecting the activating Thr-172 phosphorylation of CDK4. Upon forskolin withdrawal or after cycloheximide addition, this CDK4 phosphoform unexpectedly persisted in p27 complexes devoid of cyclin D3 but it disappeared from the more labile cyclin D3 complexes. These data demonstrate that the assembly of the cyclin D3-CDK4-p27 holoenzyme and the subsequent phosphorylation and activation of CDK4 depend on distinct cAMP actions. This provides a first example of a crucial regulation of CDK4 phosphorylation by a mitogenic cascade and a novel mechanism of cell cycle control at the R point.
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PMID:Cyclic AMP-dependent phosphorylation of cyclin D3-bound CDK4 determines the passage through the cell cycle restriction point in thyroid epithelial cells. 1273 Feb 25

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) alters B-cell differentiation, as evidenced by a marked decrease in immunoglobulin M (IgM) secretion and in the number of antibody-forming cells (AFC) induced by antigenic stimulation. The objective of the present studies was to evaluate the effect of TCDD on the level of p27kip1, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that is a critical regulator of cellular differentiation. In the well-characterized B-cell line, CH12.LX, a modest decrease in p27kip1 was observed during the initial 24-h post-LPS (lipopolysaccharide) activation, which then gradually increased above background at 48 and 72 h. Conversely, in the presence of TCDD, p27kip1 was not induced and remained unchanged from LPS unstimulated cells throughout the entire 72-h period post-LPS activation. In addition, Western blotting revealed that TCDD treatment altered the profile of p27kip1 migration as compared to the LPS-activated control. Time-of-addition studies demonstrated that the greatest sensitivity of p27kip1 to TCDD treatment occurred within the initial 24-h post-LPS activation. Interestingly, LPS-induced Ig kappa light chain and IgM secretion also exhibited the greatest period of sensitivity (i.e., inhibition) to TCDD during the first 24-h post-LPS activation. In addition, TCDD markedly suppressed the LPS-induced differentiation of CH12.LX cells into IgM secreting AFC, with a modest but cumulative effect on cell proliferation over a 72-h period. Collectively, these findings show that TCDD altered the cellular concentration and posttranslational modification of p27kip1 in this activated B-cell line model, which occurred concomitantly with altered B-cell differentiation and suggests that cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors may be an important intracellular target in TCDD-mediated inhibition of B-cell differentiation.
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PMID:2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) alters the regulation and posttranslational modification of p27kip1 in lipopolysaccharide-activated B cells. 1288 80

4-1BB, a T cell co-stimulatory receptor, prolongs the survival and multiplication of CD4 T cells. Cross-linking 4-1BB stimulated expression of the anti-apoptotic genes bcl-XL and bcl-2, as well as of cyclins D2 and E, and inhibited expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor p27kip1. Ova-activated CD4 T cells of 4-1BB-deficient/DO11.10 TCR transgenic mice survived less well and underwent less expansion than cells of wild type DO11.10 TCR transgenic mice. These findings demonstrate that 4-1BB is a co-stimulatory molecule for CD4 T cell survival and expansion in vivo.
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PMID:4-1BB cross-linking enhances the survival and cell cycle progression of CD4 T lymphocytes. 1452 12


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