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Query: EC:2.7.11.13 (protein kinase C)
 49,245 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades are conserved in fungal, plant, and metazoan species. We expressed murine MAP kinase kinase kinase (MEKK) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to determine whether this kinase functions as a general or specific activator of genetically and physiologically distinct MAP-kinase-dependent signaling pathways and to investigate how MEKK is regulated. Expression of MEKK failed to correct the mating deficiency of a ste11 delta mutant that lacks an MEKK homolog required for mating. MEKK expression also failed to induce expression of a reporter gene controlled by the HOG1 gene product (Hog1p), a yeast MAP kinase homolog involved in response to osmotic stress. Expression of MEKK did correct the cell lysis defect of a bck1 delta mutant that lacks an MEKK homolog required for cell-wall assembly. MEKK required the downstream MAP kinase homolog in the BCK1-dependent pathway, demonstrating that it functionally replaces the BCK1 gene product (Bck1p) rather than bypassing the pathway. MEKK therefore selectively activates one of three distinct MAP-kinase-dependent pathways. Possible explanations for this selectivity are discussed. Expression of the MEKK catalytic domain, but not the full-length molecule, corrected the cell-lysis defect of a pkc1 delta mutant that lacks a protein kinase C homolog that functions upstream of Bck1p. MEKK therefore functions downstream of the PKC1 gene product (Pkc1p). The N-terminal noncatalytic domain of MEKK, which contains several consensus protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, may, therefore, function as a negative regulatory domain. Protein kinase C phosphorylation may provide one mechanism for activating MEKK.
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PMID:Mammalian mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MEKK) can function in a yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway downstream of protein kinase C. 819 59

Transforming growth factor type beta (TGF-beta) is a multifunctional factor that regulates proliferation and differentiation of many cell types. TGF-beta mediates its effects by binding to and activating cell surface receptors that possess serine/threonine kinase activity. However, the intracellular signaling pathways through which TGF-beta receptors act remain largely unknown. Here we show that TGF-beta activates a 78-kDa protein (p78) serine/threonine kinase as evidenced by an in-gel kinase assay. Ligand-induced activation of the kinase was near-maximal 5 min after TGF-beta addition to the cells and occurred exclusively on serine and threonine residues. This kinase is distinct from TGF-beta receptor type II, as well as several cytoplasmic serine/threonine kinases of similar size, including protein kinase C, Raf, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, and ribosomal S6 kinase. Indeed, these kinases can be separated almost completely from p78 kinase by immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies. Furthermore, using different cell lines, we demonstrate that p78 kinase is activated only in cells for which TGF-beta can act as a growth inhibitory factor. These data raise the interesting possibility that protein serine/threonine kinases contribute to the intracellular relay of biological signals originating from receptor serine/threonine kinases such as the TGF-beta receptors.
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PMID:Activation of a serine/threonine kinase signaling pathway by transforming growth factor type beta. 861 54

Yeast cells with mutations in BRO1 display phenotypes similar to those caused by deletion of BCK1, a gene encoding a MEK kinase that functions in a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway mediating maintenance of cell integrity. bro1 cells exhibit a temperature-sensitive growth defect that is suppressed by the addition of osmotic stabilizers or Ca2+ to the growth medium or by additional copies of the BCK1 gene. At permissive temperatures, bro1 mutants are sensitive to caffeine and respond abnormally to nutrient limitation. A null mutation in BRO1 is synthetically lethal with null mutations in BCK1, MPK1, which encodes a mitogen-activated protein kinase that functions downstream of Bck1p, or PKC1, a gene encoding a protein kinase C homolog that activates Bck1p. Analysis of the isolated BRO1 gene revealed that it encodes a novel, 97-kDa polypeptide which contains a putative SH3 domain-binding motif and is homologous to a protein of unknown function in Caenorhabditis elegans.
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PMID:BRO1, a novel gene that interacts with components of the Pkc1p-mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 864 66

Ligation of the B cell Ag receptor (BCR) activates a protein-tyrosine kinase (PTK) and CD45 protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase)-dependent signaling cascade that results in the activation of Ras. This pathway of Ras activation can operate independently of protein kinase C (PKC) activity. Activation of Ras may lead to two distinct Ras-dependent pathways involving either a Raf1/MEK/MAPK module or a MEKK/SEK/SAPK module; however, it is unclear as to how Ras controls the independent activation of either of these pathways. We have used genistein and phenylarsine oxide (PAO) as inhibitors of PTK and PTPase, respectively, to investigate whether they regulate the BCR- and Ca2+/PKC-dependent activation of the Ras/Raf1/MEK/MAPK module. Assays of phosphotransferase activities conducted with Ag (TNP6-OVA)-specific 7.9 murine B lymphoma cells demonstrated that BCR-mediated stimulation of the Raf1/MEK/MAPK module is controlled by PTK and PTPase activities. An elevation in [Ca2+]i was required to optimally activate Raf1 and MEK through the BCR. However, when signaling through the BCR was bypassed by direct stimulation of the Raf1/MEK/MAPK module via a rise in [Ca2+]i and phorbol ester-induced PKC activation, the phosphotransferase activities of Raf1, MEK and MAPK were still regulated in a PTK-dependent manner that was also partially sensitive to the PTPase inhibitor PAO. Thus, at least two alternate routes, i.e. a BCR/PTK/Ras-dependent route and another PKC/Ca(2+)-dependent route, may converge at the level of Raf1 for activation of the Raf1/MEK/MAPK module in B cells.
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PMID:Regulation of BCR- and PKC/Ca(2+)-mediated activation of the Raf1/MEK/MAPK pathway by protein-tyrosine kinase and -tyrosine phosphatase activities. 864 50

The two-hybrid system for the identification of protein-protein interactions was used to screen for proteins that interact in vivo with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pkc1 protein, a homolog of mammalian protein kinase C. Four positive clones were isolated that encoded portions of the protein kinase Mkk1, which acts downstream of Pkc1p in the PKC1-mediated signalling pathway. Subsequently, Pkc1p and the other PKC1 pathway components encoding members of a MAP kinase cascade, Bck1p (a MEKK), Mkk1p, Mkk2p (two functionally homologous MEKs), and Mpk1p (a MAP kinase), were tested pairwise for interaction in the two-hybrid assay. Pkc1p interacted specifically with small N-terminal deletions of Mkk1p, and no interaction between Pkc1p and any of the other known pathway components could be detected. Interaction between Pkc1p and Mkk1p, however, was found to be independent of Mkk1p kinase activity. Bck1p was also found to interact with Mkk1p and Mkk2p, and the interaction required only the predicted C-terminal catalytic domain of Mkk1p. Furthermore, we detected protein-protein interactions between two Bck1p molecules via their N-terminal regions. Finally, Mkk2p and Mpk1p also interacted in the two-hybrid assay. These results suggest that the members of the PKC1-mediated MAP kinase cascade form a complex in vivo and that Pkc1p is capable of directly interacting with at least one component of this pathway.
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PMID:Protein-protein interactions in the yeast PKC1 pathway: Pkc1p interacts with a component of the MAP kinase cascade. 875 99

Both angiotensin II (Ang II) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) rapidly increase intracellular Ca2+ and activate protein kinase C (PKC) and MAP kinase in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, Ang II causes cell hypertrophy, whereas PDGF causes hyperplasia. These findings indicate that VSMCs are a good model for studying the relationship between cell growth and the MAP kinase pathway. In this study, we investigated the role of Raf in activation of 42- and 44-kD MAP kinases. Western blot analysis showed that c-Raf-1 was the predominant Raf isozyme in cultured rat aortic VSMCs. In response to Ang II, there was translocation of Raf to the membrane, which occurred significantly earlier than MAP kinase activation, suggesting that Raf activation precedes MAP kinase activation. Translocation of Raf to the membrane resulted in association with H-Ras as shown by c-Raf-1 coprecipitation with anti-Ras anti-bodies. Western blot analysis of H-Ras immunoprecipitates revealed c-Raf-1, but c-mos, MEK (MAP kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase) kinase-1 (MEKK-1), and Raf-B were not present. MAP kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) activity was assayed in c-Raf-1 and H-Ras immunoprecipitates by MAP kinase kinase-dependent phosphorylation of catalytically inactive 42-kD MAP kinase. In Ras immunoprecipitates, MAPKKK activity was stimulated approximately threefold by both Ang II and PDGF, with a peak at 5 minutes. Downregulation of PKC by 24-hour exposure to phorbol ester significantly inhibited Ang II-stimulated and PDGF-stimulated MAPKKK activity (approximately 80% decrease) and Raf translocation (approximately 90% decrease), suggesting that a phorbol-responsive PKC is upstream from MAPKKK and Raf. In contrast, Ang II (but not PDGF) stimulation of MAP kinase was unaffected by PKC downregulation or pharmacological PKC inhibition. These findings demonstrate for the first time that Ang II stimulation of MAP kinase may occur via a pathway independent of c-Raf-1 and of the phorbol-responsive PKC isozymes. The differing effects of Ang II and PDGF on VSMC growth may be a consequence of specific signal transduction events, as demonstrated here for activation of MAP kinase.
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PMID:Angiotensin II stimulates MAP kinase kinase kinase activity in vascular smooth muscle cells, Role of Raf. 888 93

We have previously shown that osmotic stress activates both the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade and the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK, also known as JNK) cascade in rat fibroblastic 3Y1 cells and rat PC12 cells. Here, we show that treatment of these cells with sodium arsenite, a chemical compound that mimics the effects of heat shock, or anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, induces activation of SAPKs potently. These chemical compounds also stimulated the activity of SEK1/MKK4/JNKK, SAPK activator, and the activity of MEKK, SEK1 activator. Expression of a dominant negative mutant of Ras blocked the anisomycin-induced activation of SAPK and SEK1, but did not affect markedly the arsenite-induced or heat shock-induced activation in PC12 cells. The osmotic-stress-induced activation of SAPK was insensitive to the expression of a dominant negative Ras, but was partly sensitive to down-regulation of protein kinase C. These results suggest the existence of Ras-dependent and Ras-independent activation pathways for the SAPK cascade triggered by environmental stresses including chemical stress in PC12 cells. Cell staining with a specific anti-SAPK serum showed that SAPKs were present in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus under normal conditions, and became located mainly in the nucleus after osmotic stress or ultraviolet treatment, suggesting the nuclear translocation of SAPKs.
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PMID:Ras-dependent and Ras-independent activation pathways for the stress-activated-protein-kinase cascade. 891 25

Mechanisms of neutrophil activation in response to chemoattractants remain incompletely understood. We have recently reported a Ras-mediated c-Raf pathway leading to the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in human neutrophils stimulated with the chemoattractant formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP). However, concern that Raf activation may not fully account for the early FMLP-mediated human neutrophil responses prompted us to investigate the activation of MAP kinase/ERK kinase (MEK) by MEK kinase (MEKK). In cell lysates we identified protein species at 180, 160, 110, 72, and 54 kDa with a monoclonal antibody to MEKK. Activation of MEKK was determined on immunoprecipitates from FMLP-stimulated neutrophils by in vitro kinase assay, which utilized both MEK1 and MEK2 as substrates. It was rapid, detectable at 30 s and reaching a plateau at 5 min, and it was inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by a specific phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor, wortmannin. Partial inhibition by pertussis toxin was observed. We were unable to show inhibition of the MEKK response by GF 109203X, a protein kinase C-specific inhibitor. These data indicate that in neutrophils activation of MEKK in addition to Raf may underlie stimulation of MAP kinase and other MAP kinase homologues by FMLP.
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PMID:Activation of MEKK by formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine in human neutrophils. Mapping pathways for mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. 896 28

Activation of 44 and 42 kDa extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)1/2 by angiotensin II (angII) plays an important role in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) function. The dual specificity mitogen-actived protein (MAP) kinase/ERK kinase (MEK) activates ERK1/2 in response to angII, but the MEK activating kinases remain undefined. Raf is a candidate MEK kinase. However, a kinase other than Raf appears responsible for angII-mediated signal transduction because we showed previously that treatment with 1 microM phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate (PDBU) for 24 h completely blocked Raf-Ras association in VSMC but did not inhibit activation of MEK and ERK1/2 by angII. We hypothesized that an atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isoform, which lacks a phorbol ester binding domain, mediated ERK1/2 activation by angII. Western blot analysis of rat aortic VSMC with PKC isoform-specific antibodies showed PKC-alpha, -beta1, -delta, -epsilon, and -zeta in relative abundance. All isoforms except PKC-zeta were down-regulated by 1 microM PDBU for 24 h suggesting that PKC-zeta was responsible for angII-mediated ERK1/2 activation. In response to angII, PKC-zeta associated with Ras as shown by co-precipitation of PKC-zeta with anti-H-Ras antibody. To characterize further the role of PKC-zeta, PKC-zeta protein was depleted specifically by transfection with antisense PKC-zeta oligonucleotides. Antisense PKC-zeta oligonucleotide treatment significantly decreased PKC-zeta protein expression (without effect on other PKC isoforms) and angII-mediated ERK1/2 activation in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, ERK1/2 activation by platelet-derived growth factor and phorbol ester was not significantly inhibited. These results demonstrate an important difference in signal transduction by angII compared with PDGF and phorbol ester in VSMC, and suggest a critical role for PKC-zeta and Ras in angII stimulation of ERK1/2.
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PMID:Protein kinase C-zeta mediates angiotensin II activation of ERK1/2 in vascular smooth muscle cells. 904 26

The involvement of serine/threonine protein phosphatases in signaling pathways that control the expression of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene in human chondrocytes was examined. Okadaic acid (OKA), an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 (PP-1) and 2A (PP-2A), induced a delayed, time-dependent increase in the rate of COX-2 gene transcription (runoff assay) resulting in increased steady-state mRNA levels and enzyme synthesis. The latter response was dose dependent over a narrow range of 1-30 nmol/L with declining expression and synthesis of COX-2 at higher concentrations due to cell toxicity. The delayed increase in COX-2 mRNA expression was accompanied by the induction of the proto-oncogenes c-jun, junB, junD, and c-fos (but not FosB or Fra-1). Increased phosphorylation of CREB-1/ATF-1 transcription factors was observed beginning at 4 h and reached a zenith at 8 h. Gel-shift analysis confirmed the up-regulation of AP-1 and CRE nuclear binding proteins, though there was little or no OKA-induced nuclear protein binding to SP-1, AP-2, NF-kappaB or NF-IL-6 regulatory elements. OKA-induced nuclear protein binding to 32P-CRE oligonucleotides was abrogated by a pharmacological inhibitor of protein kinase A (PKA), KT-5720; the latter compound also inhibited OKA-induced COX-2 enzyme synthesis. Calphostin C (CalC), an inhibitor of PKC isoenzymes, had little effect in this regard. Inhibition of 12P-CRE binding was also observed in the presence of an antibody to CREB-binding protein (265-kDa CBP), an integrator and coactivator of cAMP-responsive genes. The binding to 32P-CRE was unaffected in the presence of excess radioinert AP-1 and COX-2 NF-IL-6 oligonucleotides, although a COX-2 CRE-oligo competed very efficiently. 32P-AP-1 consensus sequence binding was unaffected by incubation of chondrocytes with KT-5720 or CalC, but was dramatically diminished by excess radioinert AP-1 and CRE-COX-2 oligos. Supershift analysis in the presence of antibodies to c-Jun, c-Fos, JunD, and JunB suggested that AP-1 complexes were composed of c-Fos, JunB, and possibly c-Jun. OKA has no effect on total cellular PKC activity but caused a delayed time-dependent increase in total PKA activity and synthesis. OKA suppressed the activity of the MAP kinases, ERK1/2 in a time-dependent fashion, suggesting that the Raf-1/MEKK1/MEK1/ERK1,2 cascade was compromised by OKA treatment. By contrast, OKA caused a dramatic increase in SAPK/JNK expression and activity, indicative of an activation of MEKK1/JNKK/SAPK/JNK pathway. OKA stimulated a dose-dependent activation of CAT activity using transfected promoter-CAT constructs harboring the regulatory elements AP-1 (c-jun promoter) and CRE (CRE-tkCAT). We conclude that in primary phenotypically stable human chondrocytes, COX-2 gene expression may be controlled by critical phosphatases that interact with phosphorylation dependent (e.g., MAP kinases:AP-1, PKA:CREB/ATF) signaling pathways. AP-1 and CREB/ATF families of transcription factors may be important substrates for PP-1/PP-2A in human chondrocytes.
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PMID:Transcriptional induction of cyclooxygenase-2 gene by okadaic acid inhibition of phosphatase activity in human chondrocytes: co-stimulation of AP-1 and CRE nuclear binding proteins. 962 Jan 67


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