Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.11.13 (protein kinase C)
 49,245 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) play major roles in promoting pancreatic fibrosis. We previously reported that angiotensin II (Ang II) enhances activated PSC proliferation through EGF receptor transactivation. In the present study, we elucidated a novel intracellular mechanism by which Ang II stimulates cellular proliferation. TGF-beta1 inhibits activated PSC proliferation via a Smad3 and Smad4-dependent pathway in an autocrine manner. We demonstrated that Ang II inhibited TGF-beta1-induced nuclear accumulation of Smad3 and Smad4. Furthermore, Ang II rapidly induced inhibitory Smad7 mRNA expression. Adenovirus-mediated Smad7 overexpression inhibited TGF-beta1-induced nuclear accumulation of Smad3 and Smad4, and potentiated activated PSC proliferation. PKC inhibitor Go6983 blocked the induction of Smad7 mRNA expression by Ang II. In addition, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol 13-acetate, a PKC activator, increased Smad7 mRNA expression. These results suggest that Ang II enhances activated PSC proliferation by blocking autocrine TGF-beta1-mediated growth inhibition by inducing Smad7 expression via a PKC-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Angiotensin II promotes the proliferation of activated pancreatic stellate cells by Smad7 induction through a protein kinase C pathway. 1638 81

Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are now recognized as the key mediators of pancreatic fibrosis, a characteristic feature of chronic pancreatitis. The role of PSC in alcoholic pancreatic fibrosis has been examined in vivo (using pancreatic tissue from patients with alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis and from animal models of experimental pancreatitis) and in vitro (using PSC in culture). These studies indicate that PSC are activated early in the course of pancreatic injury and are the predominant source of collagen in the fibrotic pancreas. The factors responsible for mediating PSC activation during chronic alcohol exposure include ethanol, its metabolite acetaldehyde, oxidant stress and cytokines (released during episodes of alcohol-induced pancreatic necroinflammation). Most recently, the intracellular signaling mechanisms regulating ethanol-induced PSC activation have been identified and include the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase C (PKC), and the transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP-1).
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PMID:Battle-scarred pancreas: role of alcohol and pancreatic stellate cells in pancreatic fibrosis. 1695 84

Alcohol abuse is a major cause of pancreatitis, a condition that can manifest as both acute necroinflammation and chronic damage (acinar atrophy and fibrosis). It is generally accepted that alcohol-induced pancreatic injury is a consequence of the metabolism of alcohol by the pancreas (via the oxidative and non-oxidative pathways) producing the toxic metabolites acetaldehyde and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) respectively. Ethanol oxidation within the pancreas also leads to oxidant stress within the gland. Acetaldehyde, oxidant stress and FAEEs cause numerous molecular changes in pancreatic acinar cells which predispose the gland to autodigestion and necroinflammation. An important recent development relates to the identification of pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) as the key mediators of alcohol-induced pancreatic fibrosis, when activated by ethanol, acetaldehyde or oxidant stress. Recent studies implicate the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, a major signalling pathway in mammalian cells, as a critical regulator of the effects of ethanol and acetaldehyde on acinar cells as well as PSCs. Particularly important are the modulatory effects of ethanol and its metabolites on downstream transcription factors NF-kappaB and AP-1 (which regulate inflammatory responses via cytokine production) in acinar cells. In PSCs, additional signalling molecules identified as important to the process of ethanol and acetaldehyde-induced PSC activation include protein kinase C (PKC), phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma). Interestingly, cross-talk has been demonstrated between PI3K and MAPK in acetaldehyde-treated PSCs. The above advances in the identification of relevant signalling molecules may enable therapeutic targeting of these pathways so as to prevent/reduce alcohol-induced acute as well as chronic injury of the pancreas.
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PMID:Pancreatic MAP kinase pathways and acetaldehyde. 1759 Sep 96